Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/480

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WOOL 410 WOOLLEY 1200, and the manufacture became ex- tensive in the reign of Edward III. (1331). The policy of England toward the American colonies was directly in- tended to discourage and repress manu- factures of all kinds, those of woolen goods included. The actual result was that the domestic manufactures of coars- er or "home-made" cloths became very widely spread and considerable, and the importations of foreign cloths were pro- portionately small. A society organized in the limits of the present State of New York, in 1765, deprecated the use of foreign cloths and adopted various measures for increasing the home manu- facture, even to rules requiring that the flesh of sheep and lambs should not be eaten nor the animals slaughtered. The supply of wool appears to have been large, and it was mostly worked up and disposed of within the colonies. Many thousands of weavers and cloth workers are said to have come over about the year 1774. The report of Alexander Hamilton on manufactui*es, in 1791, speaks of a mill for cloths and cassi- meres in operation at Hartford, Con- necticut, but conveys a doubt whether American wool v/as suitable for fine cloths. In 1794 there was a woolen fac- tory in Newbury, Mass., and in the same year a carding machine for wool was put in operation in Pittsfield, Mass. Pres- ident Madison's inaugural suit of black broadcloth was made at Pittsfield in 1804. The United States has produced the best invention for making felted goods, carpetings, and the like of any other country. The census of 1810 gives for New York the number of looms (largely in private hands) as 33,068 with 413 carding machines, 427 fulling mills, and 26 cotton factories. The total value of woolen manufactures for the United States in the same year was esti- mated at $25,608,788. From this time the domestic manufacture seems to have fallen off rapidly, and the succeeding census returns must be taken as indi- cating mainly the reproduction of fac- tories. The total production of wool in the United States in 1919 was 307,459,000 pounds, from 35,979,000 fleeces. The State having the largest wool production was Wyoming, with 33,415,000 pounds; Idaho was second, with 22,145,000 pounds; Montana third, with 17,750,000 pounds; Utah fourth, with 15,800,000 pounds; and Texas fifth, with 14,986,000 pounds. Other States producing over 5,000,000 pounds annually were Cali- fornia, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Washington, South Dakota, Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. There were in 1919 444,892,834 pounds of raw wool im- ported in the United States, with a value of $19,486,001. WOOL, JOHN ELLIS, an American military officer; born in Newburgh, N. Y. Feb. 20, 1784. On the breaking out of the War of 1812, he obtained a captain's com- mission, and distinguished himself at the storming of Queenstown Heights, where he was severely wounded, and for which he was promoted to the rank of major, and also at the battles of Plattsburg and Beekmantown, and for his gallantry in the last of these actions he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel. At the end of the war he was retained in the regular army; in 1818 appointed lieutenant-col- onel; and in 1826 brevetted Brigadier- General. In 1832 he was sent to Europe, to examine the military systems of the principal nations, and was evei'ywhere received with marked respect. On his return, he was appointed to inspect the coast defenses, and in 1836 was charged with the removal of the Cherokee In- dians to Arkansas. At the breaking out of the Mexican War, General Wool was assigned the duty of organizing the vol- unteers, after which, with a body of 3,000 troops, he set out for the seat of war, where he distinguished himself by the strict discipline and order which he enforced. He was in a measure instru- mental in gaining the battle of Buena Vista, for which he was favorably men- tioned by General Taylor and brevetted Major-General, besides receiving the thanks of Congress and being presented with a sword. At the close of the war he remained in command of Monterey till order was restored. He was after- ward transferred to the Department of the Pacific. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he hastened to offer his services to the Government, and was sent to New York to organize the volunteers. He took the responsibility of I'e-enforcing Fort Monroe, and thus saved that im- portant post. In August, 1861, he was appointed to the Department of Virginia, and afterward to the command of the Middle Department, with his head- quarters at Baltimore. In May, 1862, he was promoted Major-General, U. S. A. He died in Troy, N. Y., Nov. 10, 1869. WOOL CARDING, an early process in woolen manufacture for disentangling or tearing apart the tussocks of wool, and laying the fibers parallel, preparatory to spinning. It is only the short staple wools that are submitted to this opera- tion, the long staple wools being combed. WOOLLEY. MARY EMMA, an Amer- ican educator, born in Norwalk, Conn.,