Laurel outlook., 1947-01-29
TELLS OF PRODUCTION.
MANUFACTURE OF WOOL

worn skins of animals as clothing
he probably found he could twist
the hair of some animals and make
it into a kind of cloth with which
to cover himself. While humans
were still on the border line be-
tween savagery and civilization they
began to prize sheep, which in time
became a very valuable possession.
AS a result wooden fabrics have fig
ured in the lives of people for many
centuries. This was disclosed Tues
day at the weekly meeting of the
Laurel Rotary club when w. c..
Hartpence of Billings, manager for
Wilkins & Co., Ltd, wool buyers,
spoke on the subject of wool.
When the speaker was introduced
by o. X. Chapman, Chapman ex-
planned that although H~artpence
was a native born American his
parents took him to Australia when
he was an infant and that he did
not return to the United States
until he was near his majority. 1t
was in Australia that he had his
first knowledge of sheep and wool
and began a career that has since
occupied his attention.
After giving several minutes of
general history he turned to produc-
ton, including in which were the
different outstanding breeds. The
industry had it's greatest develop
ment in Europe and as a conse-
quence some of the principal breeds
still bear names of French origin.
Selection and breeding have contrib
uted greatly to quality and guam
tity Of wool production. One of the
of quality is length of
the curly hairs.
A characteristic of wool is that
although it will stretch it will al
ways return to it's original length,
even when wet and stretched slow
ly. The hairs, comparable to fibers
in some other materials, consist of
divisions: the outer covering
Of scales forming an armour; a
soft inside layer, and a tubular cent
or. This last accounts for the ease
with which wool is dyed. Z
After shearing and packing into {
huge bales the pelts are storted and
for quality and cleanliness. {
So good are the experts who do {
his work they often make perfect +
cores when their decisions are S
:hecked by chemical tests, and when f
hey miss it is by a trifling per {
entage. To become an expert re- +
.uires much experience as we'll as
latural ability. y
Along the line towards cloth pro- v
uction there are other sortings, the f.
of the choicest parts of i,
he pelts. Black wool, which is T
eally a dark brown and not black, G
) kept separate throughout the \
n
Some of the finest wool is event o.
ally made into cloth for ladies' ele- q
ant gowns after being dyed beauti- =,
III hues and shades. Sometimes the
oven material looks like silk. VI
One of the processing steps be- +,
ore weaving is s~crubbing, in which .,
ne raw wool is thoroughly washed "
, remove grease, and dirt. The 81
rease m from the bodies of -
sheep, when it is absent it
dictates the animals are not well. ~
he dirt varies in quantity accord @
ing to the locality, some areas and ce
producing wool with more ~
.rt than others, noticeable par
where there are sandy soil -
nd winds. Cleansing also includes Z
.moval of woody particles such as
eed stems, which is done chemi-
lily.
Hartpence described the entire
process and the care exer-
sed as to water temperature in
different steps.
Weaving has experienced some
One mentioned was that
any weavers> do not make the
IN they use. That is often done
concerns who convert the wool
to yarns for the weavers to thin,
in and make into cloth.
The speaker brought with him
veral samples of wool, used at
mes to illustrate his lecture. Near
e close he said that although pro-
of wool began in America
the eastern states and progress
later to some of the middle
ates, western states are now ma
r producers, including Montana.
lie wool grown here is. unusually