ALL ABOUT WOOL PREPARING TI1K STAPLE FOR TDK MARKKT. Sorting" the Sheared Wool In the Bill It Scouring, T)rtng and lye ing Blending nnd Mlxlns; What Wool Loici In Weight. T I THE three prinoipal natural I fibers which aro used in the I manufacture ol fabrics, says cT the Chicaao Record, ere cot ton, silk and wool, and under a tang ntfying glass the three are seen to vary widely in structure. Cotton ia ft veg- table fiber, which flatten and taints when it dries, for it is tubular in its form and this flat twist gives it the holding quality: needed in textile fibers. A silk filament is almost dead smooth on its sur'soe, but wool is barbed, its scales form little nooks which eatoh'in to each other, and easily make a "felt" Without weaving or twisting. Wool is classed in two orders long staple and short staple. The long staple wool is less barbed and the fibers are smoother and longer, and are straightened by a "comb," and benoe are called "combing" wools. The short staple wools are called"card ing" wools because they cannot be straightened by combing, but are treated by "cords, " which are some thing like curry combs. Before a sheep has its wool clipped from its baok it is well washed, aud as much dirt as possible is taken from the wool. This is done by clipping the sheep in water, either of a running stream or in a largo box in which the men stand waist deep. The sheep is plunged under the water, and the wool is squeezed, pressed and rubbed, and then the washed sheep is kept in a clean place nntil the wool is dry. Sheep shearing is done in tha barn or in a shed set apart for that purposo, and the shearers are so expert that, with their springod sheep shenrs, they clip the wool so that it comes off in one mass, like ootton batting. .The sheep is laid on a low table or on the floor, and the shearer, begin ning at the breast, clips one side up to the baokbone, and then turning the aheop on its other side shears that i ide. Tbe fleece is collected and baled for market. "Fulled" wool is wool taken from pells whioh are first treated with SHEARING lime to loosen the wool, This wool is not so good as fleooo sheared from the living sheep. The bales of wool ore sent to the woolen- mills and are opened in the "sorting room." Eooh fleece is spread on a table before the "sorter," who qniokly deoides its quality and grade, nd lays it in its proper basket. The dirty, dusty wool for, no matter how thoroughly the sheep is scrubbed, its wool is not clean is plaoed in a duster, whioh is a box in which pronged slats revolve, picking up and dusting the wool and shaking the dirt from it. The wool is next ssonrod in hot water and strong soap to remove the grease in the wjiol, and after tbe "yolk" or "saint''' has been dissolved the soap is washed ut in clean water. The machine whioh does this delivers the wool botweon rollers whioh squeeze ont the water. Then the wool is dried, unless it is to he taktu at onoe to the dye room. For drying the woo is first pnt into centrifugal machine, which, revolv ing at a high speed, throws the exooss ct moisture from tbe fleeoe. Tbe dry ing is completed by spreading the wool over frames of wire net in the taught of a warm-air blast, or else I treading tbe wool on the slats of a I tvelinir carrier which moves alowlv r steam pipes. Vool is colored by boiling it in the i stuff for severaj hours. The dye ( room is full of great Tata from jh steam and queer-smelling v i oonatantlj tint, The men who soimna wool. work in this room do so at a great sacrifice to personal appearance, for their hands and arms are stained with the dyes and their beards and hair do not escape the coloring matter. If the wool is to be dyed black it is first treated for two hours to a bath of vitriol, potash and red tartar. After this preliminary bath the wool is rinsed off in clear water and d ied iu the air and it is then ready for the black dye, which is made of logwood and fustic. The chips of these woods are packed in bags and boiled in water for some time. The mixture is allowed to cool before the wool is plunged in and then the steam is turned on again, and the wool is kept in the boiling dye until tbe proper depth ol black tins been at tained. The dyer, by squeezing a sample and holding it to the light, tolls when the color is just right. Then the dye liquor is run off and clear water is sent through the wool until it is well rinsed. The wool is next sent back to the cen trifugal dryer and al terward thoroughly dried by hot air or steam heat. Wools are mixed beoause, to secure a desired quality of cloth, it is neoes- sary to combine different "staples." American wools are mixed with foreign wools, and with cotton and silk and shoddy, and this mixing requires great skill and a thorough knowledge of the business. Wools of different oolors are blended to make a mixed color, and Irowns, grays and other plain colors are secured by blending together wools of different dyes. THE 8 FIE EP, Blending and mixing are two dis tinct operations, for blending is done after the wool is dyed to secure plain oolors, and mixing may be done be fore the wool is washed. In blending tho wools are spread in layers on the floor, or "bedded," as it isoalled. The blender first expert ments by taking certain proportions of tbe different oolors and making an intimate combination by carding the wools with a hard carder. Ho weighs out each color and adds or takes away until ne nas tne proper blend. Then, knowing the proper propor tions, ne weighs out tne wool in quan tities and it is beddod on the door, eaoh layer of one oolor. While tbe woo I. is on the blending floor it is spra d with oil, for, as the natural grease v were removed in washing the wool, tLjy must be rostorod else the fibers will be wiry and harsh and be apt to break. Lard or olive oil is used for oiling the wool, and then the real blending is done by tbe "teaser." Tbe wool is taken from the edge of the beds and fed into tbe machine, which is a com bination of drums and smaller cylin ders, thickly staddod with pins whioh open the wool, pull it apart and thus mix all the oolors together. A blast of air which continually plnys noon the wool in the teaser aids tho interworking spikes and pins to opon the wool, and it is finally deliv ered in soft fleecy clouds to the stor age bin ready to be spun into yarn. Washing and beatiug tbe wool re moves tbe dirt and dust, but does not take out tbe burrs and other prickly seeds which are picked up by the shetxj in its pasture. These mnst be removed either mechanically or chem ioally. In the latter case the wool is treated to oertain oids which burn out the vegetable n.Utter, but do not touch tbe animal fiber. For removing tbe burrs and seeds meohan ioally the wool is fed into a maobine whioh spreads it out in thin sheets. This is done by a drum, studded with metal points, which spreads tbe wool apart so that tbe blades of tbe "knocker-otf ' can beat upon every part of tbe sheet and break tbe burrs into pieoes that are shaken down into tbe dust bor beneath the maobine. Wool loses a great deal of its weight in the processes to whioh it is subjected in preparing it for the spinning mill. One-third of its weight is lost when it is washed on tbe sheep's baok, and an other third is lost ia the mooring pro- OT San,, Wov If j 3 Times TEXTTLB Finp.ns. cess. Borne wools lose so much weight ' that loss than twenty-five per cent, of the original weight remains wnen tn wool is fed into the last storage bin. In a modern mill the washing. scouring and rinsing, which follow the opening of the bale of "wool in the sorting-room, are all done in one ma chine, which takes in the wool on a traveling oarrier nnd delivers it clean and nearly dry at the other end. lint the sorting, dyeing, mixing and blending mnst be done by hand, for in those four stagos' manual skill nnd individual judgment are recessary to secure satisfactory results. HOT WATER HEATIXJ. The Idenl System of Warming Resi dences In Town and Country. Hot-water heating for dwellings has some prominent advantages that have done mnoh to estabiisn it nrmiy in favor. It is the safest, for one thing, and it provides the most equable tem perature, as it can be carried a long distance horizontally. It is very easily regulated, nnd the matter of at tendance is reduced to a minimum, which is no small consideration. There is no circulation of dust, whioh is the inevitable concomitant of hot-air heat ing. To get the very best results a hot-water plant should be installed in rRnspEcnvE visw. a new honee, planned with this in view. Hot-water heating is estimated to require one-fourth more radiating surface than stoam, and of necessity there must be more and larger radia tors ; these can be placed whero they will not be obtrusive. They can b adjusted beneath the windows and en cased, and arrangements can be made for the passage of a current of fresh air over the radiators, thus contribut ing admirablo toward tbe ventilators of the bouse. The very latest appli cation of hot water to heating is in combination with hot air, and in many ways this is the most perfect system of all. Both sources of heat are in tbe same furnace, which need bo no larger than if either system was used by it self. The furnace is like tbe ordinary hot-air furuace, except that a hot water dram occupies the contral part of the dome. Those rooms that can easily bo reached by a direct current of hot air, are heated by registers, while those further away from tho furnace are equipped with radiators. This system is particulatly well adapted for large and rambling country bouses, which, from tbe very nature of their con struction, oan never be thoroughly heated by hot air alcne. In so far as the consumption of fuel is concernod, the combination system is as economi cal as any other; perhaps, indeed, a greater amount of heat can be obtained from a fire of thesamesize. With prop er care on tbe part of architects in ar tanging inlet ducts for fresh air to accelerate the draught, any desir able degree of ventilation may be scoured. Suon arrangements should, however, be studied in advance, from principal elements in the design of a building Instead of being wholly sub ordinated (as is oommonly the custom) to less important architectural feat ures, Tbe design presented with this is arranged for the use of the combin ation system (hot air and hot water). A brief description we make as fol lows : General Dimensions: Width, through library and dining-room, 81 ft. 10 ins. ; depth, including veranda, 53 ft. 10 ins. Heights of Stories: Cellar, 7 ft.; first story, 10 ft. i seoond story, 0 ft. Exterior Materials: Foundation, brick; first story, clapboards; second story and gablos, shmglas, roof, slate. rime FLOOS. Interior Finish : Hard white plas- tor ; cellar ceiling plastered one heavy ooat. Bolt wood flooring throughout. Trim in hall and bedroom, oak ; in library and diniug-room, cherry; elsewhere, soft wood. Main staircase, oak. Picture molding in principal rooms and ball of first story. Panel baoks nnder windows, in parlors, li brary and dining-room, bath-room iljiw TV jfTjr'j Kitchen pJJ llX5'-fe 14' I 5' 14'XIS 111 E frlorT -H u'xis' J clo. Vftt I Var And I -7 wide. . K and kitchen wainscoted. Front en trance doors, oak. Interior wood work finished with hard oil I soft wood stained to suit owner. SECOND FLOOR, Colors : All clapboards and sashes, buff. Trim, inoluding water-table, corner boards casings, bands, rain conductors, also front and rear out side doors and outside blinds, Tuscan yellow. Veranda ceiling and floor, oiled. Brick-work, dark red. Veranda columns, all moldings and balusters, buff. Pedestals of columns and top and bottom rail of balusters, Tuscan yellow. Wall shingles dipped in and brush-coated with sienna stain. Accommodations: The principal rooms and their sizes, closets, etc., are shown by the floor plans. Cellar under the whole house, with inside and outside entrances and ooncrete oor. Laundry under kitchen. Fur nace cellar under library and dining room. Vegetable collar under parlor and hall, separated by brick partition walls. Attio floored but untinishod ; spaoe for three rooms and storage. Sliding doors connect parlor, library and dining-room. Open fireplaces iu parlor, library, dining-room and two bedrooms. Hat and coat closet off vestibule. Three thousand four hundred and fifty dollars is tbe actual cost to build this house, not inoluding heating ap paratus, and a fair estimate for a sys tem ot hot-water heating giving in direct radiation downstairs and direct radiation in the second story would be about 8150. .Radiators should ba placed as near the windows as pos sible in parlor, dining-room, library and hall down stairs, and in the three larger bedrooms and bathroom in the second story. The estimate is based on New York prices for materials and labor. In many sections ot thQ coun try tbe cost should be leas, Copyright 1800. Black Ingratitude, 1. "Here is an eng. It would bo only kind to sit on it." !!. "It is a long job, but" 8. "I really must see it through." 4. Tbe rest is silt nee. Japan's Ancient Banking Hons;, Commercial houses which have ex isted for over 100 years are by no means commou in Europe, and quits rare in this country. It is ourious to note that commercial houses ji hun dred or more years old are quite fre quent in China and Japan, where a great many firm i have for centuries been handed down from father to son, and remained in the family. Tbe old est existing business ii probably Japanese banking house, at Kobe, wbioh has for more than 830 years been in the hands of one and the same family, tbe style of tbe firm not hav ing changed once in this long period. Remarkable taie of Manslaughter, Nuns Mack, a sculptress in Paris, bad a boy for a model, bbe pnt wet plaster on him to make a mold, and he took eold and died. She was oharged .with manslaughter, bnt, be ing acquitted, his lather u suing her fortlOOO damages, p& q J ' fed R I Bed R. K Bed R. 1 I fxis' H'X 1 5' I Poof y lyxis'LJI A M including bay 1 ' Ur- FASHION'S REALM. tfEW AND PAI1TY DRVICK9 FOR tVU31K.V APPAREL,. Ziatest JoTlnrs, Rufls and Collarettes Pretty Tea Oowns of Persian Blllt Felt lints for Valr Cyclers. THE collars, ruffs, collarettes nnd short capes this season are very elaborate. Even tbe simplest of them have some new addition. Tbe white satin stock now has upright wings of accordion plaited lace that rise from the inside of the collar. White satin loops fin ish it on the back and sides. One of the boas that is becoming to a alight neok is made of very full, loose plait ings of black ohiflon. It stands way out beyond the ears, and is finished in front, where it ends in long, full strings, with bunohes of violets. An other variation of these dainty novel ties is the Elizabethan ruff in chiffon, whioh is very high in the baok and very low in tbe front It is finished LATEST COLLARS with a bow in the back. The Marie Antoinotto fiohu is still much worn. It is made of embroidered muslin or chiffon, and crosses very near the throat. Blaok mnusioline de soie, edged with yellow Valcnoicnnes lace, makes a pretty shoulder cape. Deep sailor collars of fine lace and embroid ered are worn over flowerod silks. They are finished with the white satin stook collar. Short, small capes, bare ly reaobing to tbe waist, are mnoh in vogue. Ono of tbe pale shot silk, covered with arabesques of the period, tbe front composed of a full vest of louisine, bis a collar of soft white tnousseline de sole. It is lined with white satin. A obio model is of blaok Brussels net, aooordion plaited, over a lining ot delicate pink. Tbe full ruffle about the neok is studded with upplo blossoms. A fringe of tho same flower hangs about the shoulders, :rEA oowsi or rEiwus bilk. In the second large illustration soft striped Persian silk is stylishly united with sheer linen batiste, over yellow silk, and decorated with fine batiste 41-over embroidery and insertion to match. The handsome gown, although elaborate in effeot, is so simple in de tail that the most inexperienced will find no difficulty in realizing a gown Just like the picture. The lining TEA GO W.i ti fronts are fitted with single bust darts, under-arm and side baok gores com pleting the smooth adjustment at the sides. The full fronts are faced in centre with yellow silk nnd covered with the batiste, closing at tbe left side under the revere or collar. The top is shirred in evenly apaoed rows of gathers with heading. Three rows of insertion trim tbe foot, one on each side mark ing the edge ot the different material. Tha broad sailor collar is inad ol tbe silk and covered with alt-over batista embroidery, a frill of embroidered edg- ' ing being wired to stand up around tho neck. The full puffs are arranged over comfortable sleeve linings that reach below the elbow, where they aro com pleted with cuff bands and a deep frill of embroidery to match neck. Tho full back is shirred in evenly spaced rows under the collar in back, ami hangs in graceful Watteau folds to the foot ot skirt. Gowns by the mode can be developed in less expensive mate rial, or in the costliest brocades, with shimmering net over a sntin front. Stripped and plain batiste, figured and plain lawn, dimity or other ootton wash fabrios will make tip daintily with decoration of laco or embroid ery. The quantity ot material 44 inohes wide required to make the tea gown for a lady having a 88-inoh bast meas ure is 6 1 yards. Tbe hints are by Mar Manton. CANVAS TRAVELING) OOW!. A traveling gown ot string colored canvas, designed for a coming bride, is shown by a fashionable modiste. The skirt is trimmed at tbe hem with AND COLLAltETTS. three rows of braid of the same oolor ; tbe coat has Norfolk plaits at the back, opening in front over a vest of Persian silk, with taffeta frills edged with laco jaboted down either side. i FELT BATS FOR CTCL2S3. The plain felt hat is pre-eminently suited to hor wbo wheels, says tho New York Commercial Advertiser. CYCLING BATS. Tbe two hats sketohed are examples of tho roost popular shapes for cyders. The one is of drab with a rosette of ribbon placed at the base of a group of pheasants' quills, tbe other of brown, lined with blaok felt and i'J;U4iAN BILK. trimmed with blaok ribbon and spec kled feathers. JKWBLr.X THAT IS WOHX. Jewelry was never more txqnisita than now. Turquoises and garnets and bine, white, yellow, pink and greea enamel are used in many silver arti ...i. j . a . .. . a I - - i i. . uie wim uniuij. vueue. oiovt wur , tons and studs ot silver have an cn ameled square or circle ol whits sn amel, with a tiny colored flowsr.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers