WOOL AND OTHER FIBERS 251 it was introduced into in the fourth century under the romantic circumstances of a marriage between Chinese and Indian royal families. At the request of Byzantine Emper- or Justinian in A.D. 552, two monks Wool and Other made the perilous journey and risked smuggling silkworm eggs out of China in the hollow of their bamboo canes, and so the secret finally left Asia. Animal Fibers Constantinople remained the center of Western silk culture for more than 600 years, although raw silk was also HORACE G. PORTER and produced in Sicily, southern Spain, BERNICE M. HORNBECK northern , and Greece. As a result of military victories in the early 13 th century, Venetians obtained some silk districts in Greece. By the 14th century, the knowledge of seri- ANIMAL FIBERS are the hair, wool, culture reached England, but despite feathers, fur, or filaments from sheep, determined efforts it was not particu- goats, , , cattle, , larly successful. Nor was it successful birds, fur-bearing , and silk- in the British colonies in the Western worms. Hemisphere. Let us consider silk first. There are three main, distinct A legend is that in China in 2640 species of silkworms—Japanese, Chi- B.C. the Empress Si-Ling Chi noticed nese, and European. Hybrids have been a beautiful cocoon in her garden and developed by crossing different com- accidentally dropped it into a basin of binations of the three. warm water. She caught the loose end The production of silk for textile of the filament that made up the co- purposes involves two operations: coon and unwound the long, lustrous Sericulture, or the raising of the silk- strand. She was eager to create a fabric worms, and the processing of the silk of the lovely fiber and prevailed on the filament from their cocoons. Emperor to let her try. She is said to The commercially cultivated silk- have developed the methods of reeling, worm species (which is actually a spinning, and weaving silk that form caterpillar—not a worm) is the Bom- the basis for the techniques used today. byx mori. The moths are made to lay Growing silkworms and producing their eggs on sheets of paper and, if silk were a Chinese monopoly for many they are to be for breeding, in cells. centuries. Death was the penalty for The eggs are kept cool and dry until trying to steal the secret. Silk fabrics spring, when mulberry trees have their are thought to have reached Europe leaves, on which the larvae feed. about 75 B.C., when a Roman general Then the eggs are hatched in an brought some home from China. By incubator or in the sun. A.D. 126, a ''" nearly 6 thou- Villages of China and Japan have sand miles long was opened to enable community incubators, but the larger the transport of silk from China. At the silk farmers have their own facilities. end of the -train path was Da- Larvae are one-eighth to one-fourth mascus, the marketplace where East inch long and about as thick as a and West met. Silk cloth was in great hair when they emerge from the eggs. demand in Greece and Rome. During the 5 weeks to 2 months that By A.D. 300, the Japanese had the larvae eat, they grow about 70 learned about sericulture. Presumably times their original size, change skin 252 THE YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 1964 4 times, and consume several thousand from the cocoons onto the reels. The times their own weight in mulberry number of filaments brought together leaves—perhaps 200 pounds to pro- depends on the fineness of the raw duce a pound of silk. silk thread desired. In their early stages, silkworms There may be 300 to 1,600 yards of must be fed five times during the day reelable filament on each cocoon. and twice a night. At full growth the They are so fine that a pound of silkworm may be 2 to 3.5 inches long. thread made of three to five filaments During this period, silk glands along together would reach a thousand miles. each side of the caterpillar's body are The amount of reelable silk and its filling with sticky fluid. When the quality depend on the care with larvae is full grown, it ceases to eat which the operations are conducted, and begins swinging its head about. the variety of silkworm, and the Then the silkworm farmer provides a region in which it is grown. cell for each in a framework, which The technology of silk produc- becomes the support for the cocoon. tion (except the reeling process) has Fluid issues from two spinnerets changed little over the centuries. In at the front of the silkworm's head, the beginning, reeling always was done forms into one strand, and is spun by hand. about the larvae in figure-8 patterns. Once the silk is removed from the At the end of this process, the silkworm cocoons, the remainder of the process- is about half of the weight that it ing at the filature consists of cleaning, was at the beginning. drying, and preparation into skeins A few carefully selected cocoons are for shipment to textile centers of the permitted to mature into moths that world. The product of the reeling are later to lay the eggs. Moths process is called by several names— develop from cocoons in 2 to 3 weeks. raw silk, silk yarn, silk thread, grege. Moths have no mouth and cannot eat An average batch of fresh cocoons and live only a few days. They mate, weighing i thousand pounds will yield and the female lays about 500 eggs. about 360 pounds of dried cocoons and Except for those selected to mature 137 pounds of filament, which in- for breeding, the life of the silkworm cludes raw silk and silk waste. is ended in the chrysalis stage by Something less than 10 percent of steam, boiling water, or dry heat. Japan's cocoon crop consists of double Cocoons are graded as to quality. cocoons, which produce dupion silk, The next step is reeling, which one cocoon produced by two larvae. usually is done by machinery at It is difficult to reel, although it pro- filatures, or reeling factories. duces a slubby yarn much in demand The cocoons are prepared for reeling for novelty fabrics. by the removal of an outer layer of The only other major type of silk floss by brushing after boiling in a produced commercially is the wild, tank. The equipment includes a uncultivated silk known as tussah. It reeling basin, a thread guide, a device comes from worms that feed on the for crossing the threads, and a reel, a leaves of oak, castor, cherry, and un- hexagonal drum of laths on which the cultivated mulberry. The filament is silk filaments are gathered. In the flat, hairy, and several times thicker reeling operation, a number of cocoons than silk from the Bombyx morí. are placed in warm water, which Several types of other wild silks are softens the gum that binds the tiny found in Japan, India, Asia, and in threads together. America and parts of Africa, but they The ends on several cocoons are are not of commercial significance. assembled, passed through a fine eye Attempts have been made to com- of glass, porcelain, or polished metal, mercialize production of spider silk. fastened to the reel, and so unwound It has been found to be not practical WOOL AND OTHER ANIMAL FIBERS 253 for textile uses, but is used for cross- 800 thousand pounds of thrown silk, lines for optical instruments. and about 7 million pounds of silk ^ea silk, sometimes called pinna silk fabrics and other goods. or fish wool, is obtained from certain Japan also exports silk cocoons, silk types of mollusks and is used in Italy waste, spun silk yarns (yarns made of and France for making braids. short silk fibers, usually waste) and Another silk product of commercial other types of made-up goods. It has importance is silk waste, which is been estimated that about 25 percent produced in the rearing of worms, the of the raw silk that is processed in reeling of raw silk thread, and the Japan eventually moves into inter- process of converting raw silk into national trade channels. yarn, thread, and fabric. Silk waste Japan's export trade in raw silk, may be 3.5 to 6.5 inches long and is silk fabrics, and silk products of other used for spun yarns. Lengths below kinds was valued at more than 100 3.5 inches are called noils, and are million dollars in 1962, about one- used mainly to mix with wool. half of which was raw silk. Other large Raw silk sometimes is used for weav- producers of raw silk also ship to ex- ing without further twisting, but it port markets. is generally advanced by throwing, The United States is the largest im- which consists of several operations: port market for raw silk, silk yarn, Cleaning, first twisting (also known as fabrics, and made-up goods. Other spinning), doubling (the twisting of leading silk-importing countries are two or more threads together), and the Italy, France, Switzerland, West Ger- second twisting. many, and Great Britain. Several of The first and second twistings are in these countries, particularly France opposite directions, and the number of and Switzerland, export large quanti- turns per inch is determined by the ties of made-up silk goods. use to which the silk yarn is to be put. Raw silk for the American market is The several basic types of silk yarn put up in standard skeins, which are are singles, tram, organzine, crepe, about 58 inches in circumference and and grenadine. weigh 2.4 ounces. About 30 skeins are The harder the twist, the better the formed into compact bundles called quality of silk required. The throwing books. About 30 books are combined to process adds greatly to the strength of make a bale of 130 to 135 pounds. the silk filaments and reduces the Silk is extremely strong, quite elastic, raveling of the yarn. and smooth and lustrous. Its major end About 73 million pounds of raw silk use is in apparel and homefurnishings, were produced throughout the world but it also has some industrial applica- in 1962. Japan produced about 60 tions. Hosiery was once an important percent, or about 44 million pounds. use for silk in the United States, but Mainland China, also a large pro- this market has been virtually taken ducer, accounts for more than 20 over by nylon. percent of the world's total production. Silk is one of the most valuable tex- Other major producing countries are tile fibers and in 1963 sold in the the Soviet Union, India, Italy, Korea, American market at prices above 5 and . dollars a pound for the standard grade Japan is also the largest domestic and size. At such prices, it is a luxury consumer and the largest exporter of fiber in some countries. raw silk and silk products. About one- fourth of the raw silk produced in WOOL is widely produced. Sheep are Japan is exported in the form of raw raised in at least 80 countries. In 1963, silk. In 1962, exports from the silk there were about 991 million sheep in markets of Yokohama and Kobe the world. totaled 10 million pounds of raw silk, Fifteen countries each had 20 million 254 THE YEARBOOK OP AGRICULTURE 1964 or more head and accounted for nearly The wool of breeds that produce three-fourths of the estimated world long, coarse wool is known commer- total. and the Soviet Union, cially as carpet wool. Carpet wool with 160 and 140 million, respectively, breeds include the fat-tailed sheep account for nearly one-third of the that are common in the Middle East world total. Argentina, the Republic and occur elsewhere, karakul sheep, of South Africa, India, mainland and various breeds of mountain sheep. China, and New Zealand each has Economics and climate determine roughly 40 million to 50 million sheep. which breeds are grown where. For The United States, Brazil, Uruguay, example, in most of western Europe Spain, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, and the Eastern States, feed tends to , and Turkey have about 20 be abundant and good. Cities are million to 30 million. close, and the demand for lamb and The five principal wool-exporting mutton generally is good. Market countries are Australia, New Zealand, conditions and competitive forces that Argentina, South Africa, and Uruguay. affect the use of land there dictate that They account for 32 percent of the sheep production be rather intensive world sheep numbers and about 80 and mainly for meat; wool is secondary. percent of the wool in world trade. Breeds or crosses are favored that The domesticated sheep appear to produce a good carcass, as farmers have been related to the urial and usually get four to six times as much moufflon types of wild sheep. Early return from the lambs for market as domesticated sheep were hair covered, from the sale of wool. and the wool was merely a short, In dry rangelands, where sheep have downlike covering next to the skin. to feed on a large area, the more prof- The Phoenicians are believed to have itable operation often is wool produc- introduced sheep into Spain hundreds tion. Merino sheep predominate in of years before the Christian Era. such regions, although Merino crosses With the passage of time, finer wool are not uncommon where it is feasible types were brought to Spain from to also produce feeder lambs. In such various countries surrounding the cases, the Merino ewes will produce a Mediterranean, and between A.D. good crop of fine-grade wool, and 1400 and 1700 these various blood- their crossbred lambs produce a good lines were fused into the famous carcass. Spanish Merino sheep, from which Most wool produced in the world is most of the fine-wool sheep in the shorn—that is, clipped from the live world today trace their ancestry. animal. Wool, known as pulled wool, For many years, Spain would not also is obtained from the pelts or hides permit the export of Merino sheep, of dead sheep. Wool is generally but breeding stock found its way into a sheared annually in the late spring or number of countries in the latter half early summer, but it is quite common of the 1700's. in Texas and California to shear twice Variations in climate and breeding a year. objectives in different countries have In its natural state, a bale of raw caused differences in fineness of wool wool contains considerable grease and and fleece weight within strains of foreign matter, which is removed Merinos. by scouring. Relatively high scoured Since the Middle Ages, the Spanish yields are had in places where the sheep industry has had keen rivalry fleece remains fairly free of foreign from that of Great Britain. The matter. The scoured yield may be only British climate was not suitable for half as high in areas where much sand Merinos, but Merinos were crossed and dirt become embedded in the with native stock, and a number of fleece. breeds have emerged there. Most wool moves in trade as fleece WOOL AND OTHER ANIMAL FIBERS 255 wool in the grease despite its extra 6o's; medium crossbreds, from 50's to weight. The practice arises partly out 56's; and the coarse crossbreds from of the wide range in quality both be- 36's to 48's. tween fleeces and within a fleece; be- United States wool grades are fine sides, many users prefer to sort their (counts of 64 and finer); half-blood wool into batches for various uses be- (58's to 62's); three-eighths blood fore it is scoured. Some wool also moves (56's) ; quarter blood (48's and 50's) ; as scoured wool and some as pulled low quarter blood (46's); comnion wool. Normally only the very dirty (44's); braid (36's to 40's). wool would be scoured before it is ex- The terms refer only to the fineness ported, but some low-value lots also or the diameter of the wool fiber. may be scoured before being exported. Other terms are used to describe The United Kingdom, the United length. For example, the finer wool— States, Japan, France, Italy, West 64's and finer—is normally separated Germany, and Belgium imported about into three length groupings that are 2.6 billion pounds of wool in 1961 and commonly accepted by the trade— 1962 and accounted for more than 80 strictly combing, which has a length percent of total world trade. Each of of more than 2.5 inches; French them produces some wool but has to combing, which ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 import wool. inches; and clothing or carding wool, The United Kingdom imported 626 which is less than 1.5 inches in length. million pounds in 1962; Japan, 472 In the coarser grades, only two length million; France, 388 million; the groupings are customary—combing United States, 363 million; Italy, 310 and clothing. million; Belgium, 242 million; and West Germany, 223 million. THE GOAT FAMILY supplies several im- The Soviet Union has been a large portant textile fibers—mohair, cash- net importer of wool, despite a marked mere, and common goat hair. increase in numbers of sheep and wool Mohair is the main specialty hair production per sheep. The Soviet fiber used by the textile industry. It is Union imported about 121 million the long, strong, lustrous hair of the pounds in 1961. Angora goat, which originated in Tur- The quality of wool depends on key. For many years Turkey supplied breeding, locality, care in handling, the world's needs for mohair. The and other factors. Designations of qual- growth of the textile industry in the ity are based primarily on fineness but early 19th century created demands also on length of fiber. that Turkey could not supply. Herds The British have major subdivisions of Angora goats were established in based on fineness for merino, fine South Africa and the United States be- crossbred, medium crossbred, and fore the middle of the 19th century. coarse crossbred. They are further Annual world production of mohair subdivided by numbers that are at has been 50 million to 60 million least loosely related to the fineness of pounds in recent years. The United the worsted yarn into which they can States, the largest producer, accounts be spun. for about 45 percent of the world pro- The numbers are based on the num- duction. Turkey accounts for about ber of hanks of worsted yarn 560 yards one-third. Most of the remainder is in length that can be produced from a produced in the Republic of South pound of the scoured wool. The num- Africa. Basutoland, ranking fourth, ac- bers range from loo's or more down counts for about 2 percent of world to 2o's—the higher the number, the production. better the quality of wool. Thus, the Within the United States, Texas ac- merino wools cover the range 60's and counts for 97 percent of all production finer; the fine crossbreds, from 56's to of mohair. The remainder is produced 256 THE YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 1964 in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevertheless, varying amounts of Oregon, Utah, and Missouri. coarse hair are still mixed with the The United Kingdom has become high-value wool or downlike cashmere the largest user of mohair. In the when it is marketed. The yield of the United States, the use of mohair in mixture per animal has been estimated automobile and furniture upholstery at not more than one-half pound per fabrics and certain other items has de- animal. clined, and more has gone into woolen Common goat hair is used seldom in and worsted clothing fabrics and knit- worsted or woolen goods but some- ting yarns. times in place of kemp in fabrics to be Among other large users of mohair used in ladies' wear. are Japan, Italy, France, and the Netherlands. THE CAMEL FAMILY includes true cam- Because the United States has raised els and the various members of the production and lowered the consump- family. Each produces distinc- tion of mohair, increasing amounts tive hair that is valued in the textile have been exported. industry. Most mohair is produced on ranges The moving in interna- where goats have access to plants they tional trade and used in the wool can browse and graze. textile industry of the United States There has been a steady gain in aver- and other industrialized countries is age clip per goat from about 4 pounds grown chiefly in , Chinese in the thirties to about 6.5 pounds in Turkistan, and the northwestern prov- the sixties. inces of mainland China. It comes In the United States and the Re- mainly from the Bactrian-type camel, public of South Africa, it is customary which has two humps and is native to for Angora goats to be clipped twice a those northern areas. Some comes from year. The length of fiber then is 4 to 6 the , or one-hump, camel, inches for a half year's growth. If it is which may be native to southwestern clipped only once a year, the length is Asia. 8 to 12 inches. In the spring as warmer weather ar- Because of the fineness of kid mohair, rives, instead of being sheared or each of the first three shearings of plucked as with other fleece-bearing young goats is marketed separately animals, the camel hair begins to from those of adult goats. form matted strands and tufts. They Cashmere, a luxurious animal hair, are gathered as they fall oflf the ani- is obtained from the cashmere goat, mal's head, sides, neck, and legs. which originated in Tibet and is now Most camel hair is shed in the spring produced mainly in the northwestern but some is shed throughout the year. provinces of mainland China. One camel may yield about 5.3 The cashmere goat is smaller than pounds of hair a year. the Angora goat and is covered with Each caravan usually is followed by straight, coarse, long hairs, about 1.5 a trailer, who gathers the tufts and to 5 inches long, under which is a fine places them in baskets, which are undercoat, or downlike wool. The. un- strapped to the last camel in the dercoat is valued especially. caravan. The contents of the baskets The undercoat and some of the out- are sold at the first opportunity, and ercoat are shed through molting each the camel hair may change hands spring. For several weeks through the several times before reaching a ship- shedding season, each goat is combed ping point, where it is sorted and regularly. graded for export. At the time of combing, much of the The camel has an outer coat of long hair is removed from the down coarse, tough, and wiry hair, which and the two are marketed separately. can be as long as 15 inches. The under WOOL AND OTHER ANIMAL FIBERS 257 layer is a soft, woollike down of fine Textiles utilize the fur fiber of hares, fibers I to 5 inches long. The two types rabbits, muskrats, nutria, beavers, fox, are normally separated by processing , mink, skunk, and many others. through combing machines. Most Brush fibers—bristle and hair—are camel hair is used undyed in overcoat obtained from the tails or bodies of fabrics. Some is used to make soft various animals. Bristle from hogs is brushes used by artists. used mostly in stiflf paint, hair, and The llama family comprises four clothes brushes. Brush-quality hair is distinct and two species that taken from the tails of squirrels, grow in the mountains of South kolinsky (a mink found in the Far America. East), fitch (from Europe and the Far The llama and have been East), skunk, and civet, and is used domesticated for probably 1,200 years. for artists' and optical brushes. Hair The and vicuña are wild. from all parts of the badger is used. The hybrids are the (progeny Down sometimes is mixed with other of a llama father and alpaca mother) fibers for textiles. Goose down is best. and the paco-llama, or misti (the Duck down and the finer feathers of offspring of the reverse cross). the ostrich, chicken, and turkey also Except for the guanaco, which are used. Down also is used as a stuflñng exists chiefly in Patagonia and the material. Feathers are too coarse and rocky islands south of the Strait of resilient for easy spinning and weav- Magellan, the members of the llama ing, but the finer ones are used in family are principally in the high bedding. Andes of southern Ecuador, Peru, Fur-bearing animals have two types Bolivia, and northwestern Argentina. of hair coverings. The relatively long, The llama, mainly a beast of burden, spikelike guard hairs are the animal's has a thick, coarse coat. Its fleece is raincoat. The short, soft inner hairs valuable as fur, and its hair is a mix- keep the animal warm. The soft fibers ture of fine hair and kemp. grow silkier and finer in the fall. In The alpaca is more important to the spring, these inner hairs are molted, textile industry. Its hair normally is and the longer guard hairs become 8 to 16 inches long but may grow to 30 more prominent. inches if it is not sheared. Its fleece is Garments are made from some pelts. fine and strong. The alpaca normally The hair from scraps of such pelts and shears 4 to 7 pounds every 2 years. most rabbit pelts become felt for hats. The fleeces of the huarizo and misti The guard hair, which is not used in are less fine and valuable than those of making felt, is sold for spinning. The the alpaca. fur fiber also is blended with nearly all The vicuña, the smallest member of other apparel textile fibers, to which the llama family, produces the finest it imparts a soft hand, or feel. and rarest woollike fiber. It is wild in Peru at elevations to 16,500 feet. The HORACE G. PORTER has served with vicuña fleece averages about a pound. the European Headquarters of the Marshall Only a few thousand pounds are plan and with the Bureau of Agricultural obtained in a year. Economics of the Department. He became chief of the Foreign Competition Branch, THE HAIR COVERING of fur-bearing Cotton Division, Foreign Agricultural Serv- animals has been used in textiles ice, in 1957. since ancient times. BERNICE M. HORNBECK worked in other Chinchillas were used by early branches of Government in the fields of tex- natives of South America to make a tiles and international trade before joining soft fabric. In Europe, the hair cover- the Foreign Agricultural Service in 1956. ing of hares and rabbits has been She holds a bachelor's degree from the Uni- mixed with other fibers for years. versity of California at Los Angeles. 712-224°—64- -18