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which laft are fa'id to have this peculiar Property, that they will knot or bind with any other fort j whereas the reft will only knot with their own kind.
Among the Antients, the Wools of Attics , Megara, Lao- dicea, Abulia, and efpecially thofe of Tarentum, Parma, and Alitno were the molt valued. Columella lets the two laft even above that of L'arentum, Lib. vii. c. 2. And Varro affures us, the People there ufed to clothe their Sheep with Skins, to fecure the Wool from being damaged. De Re Rttfi. L. 11. c. i.
uavernier affirms, that the Wools'm Afta are incomparably finer than thofe of Europe ; and there is no doubt but that Wool was the Golden Fleece fought at Colchos. See Golden Fleece.
Toe Art of Preparing and Working Wool is attributed by the Antients to Minerva ; who accordingly is made the Ge- nius and Protectrefs thereof. See Woollen.
Englijh Wool The Wools of England have always
been in the higheft repute ; and that more abroad than at
heme. Some we have, which manufactured by our own
Coihiers, Chamberlain obferves, does both for foftnefs and finenefs, vie with the choiceft Silks. SpaniJb Wools, v»e know, bear a great Price among us ; but 'tis certain much the greatefl part of that, which, when manufactured, our Coihiers, gfc. call SpmiJh Cloth, grows in England. Add, thar the French can make no good Clorh of their own Wool, without at leaft one third of Englijh Wool mix'd with
it. 'Tis allow'd, the goodnefs ot the Spanifi Wools is
owing to a few Englijh Sheep fent over into Spain as a Pie- fent by Henry II. of England; or, as others will have it, tho' we think miilakenly, by Edward IV. in 1455.
The finenefs and plenty of our Wools is owing, in fome meafure, to the fweet, fhort Grafs in many of our Pallures and Downs ; tho' the advantage of our Sheeps feeding on this Grafs all the Year, without being obliged to be fliut up in Folds during the Winter, or to fecure 'em from Wolves at other times ; contributes not a little thereto.
The Scotch and Irifi Wools are commonly fold abroad for
Englijh ; and upon rhe fame footing. But Foreigners,
ski. I'd in thofe Matters, find they come far fhort of°it in finenefs, tho' at fome Markets the lrifi is even fuid to be prefer'd to the Englijh.
The yearly Produce of Wool in England is calculated by Dr. Davsnant and Mr. King at two Millions Sterling. See Woollen Manufactory.
Antiently, the principal Commerce of the Nation con- fined in Wool unmanufactured ; which Foreigners, efpecially the French, Dutch, and Flemifi bought of us. Infomuch that the Cufloms of Englijh H ool exported in Edward the Third's Reign, amounted, at 50 s. a Pack, to 250000 I. per Annum. An immenfe Sum in thofe days. See Com- merce.
This exceffive Cuflom on the Export of unmanufactured Wool, fet our People to the making it into Cloth them-
felves In which they fucceeded fowell, that towards
the Clofe of the fixteenth Century, under the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, the Exportation of any Wool ar all was abfolutely prohibited, and this upon pain of having the right Hand Aruck off. See Contraband.
From that time, England has been exceedingly jealous of its Wool ; to prompr their Vigilance, the Lords in Parliament are feated on Zfoci-Packs Accordingly, fcarce a Parlia- ment but has renew'd and reinforced the Prohibition ; par- ticularly, about the middle of the feventeenth Century, the exporting of Wool was made a Capital Crime.
But all thefe Precautions ate ineffecfual ; the Englijh themfelves, particularly about the Coallsof Suffix, making ufe of the long Winter-Nights to waft over their Wools to France: being fure of carrying them to a good Marker, they defpife the Penalty, wi;h an Intrepidity, that the reft of Europe ateamaz'd at. SeeOwLERs.
W.Colbert, a Name the French Manufactures and Com- merce are infinitely indebted to, hadentertain'd a Defion of procuring fome of our Englijh Sheep, and propagating them in France ; hoping, that by chufing them, in the Provinces of that Kingdom, fuch Pallures, and fuch a Sky as they had in their own Ifland, they might there be perpetuated - and France be no longer obliged precarioufly to depend on
theclandeftineSupplies of Wool from theEnglifi Owlers. .
But the Count de Comingss, then Embaffador of Francs at the Englijh Court, laid the Impoffibility of having fuch an Export of Sheep, and the almoft equal Impoflibility of keeping and making them multiply there, fo fittingly before him 5 that he abandon'd the Defign.
Wool is rcckon'd by the Sack, containing two Weighs ; the WeighCixToA andahalf ; the 7od two Stone; theStone two Cloves ; and the Clove feven Pounds. Twelve Sacks makeaZa/?, or 45<yS Pounds. See Last, &c.
A Sack of Wool, or 354 Pounds, is fufficient for four Stan- dard Cloths, to render them true Breadth, i. e. fix Quarters andahalf; true Weight, i. e. fixty Pounds ; and true Length, i. e. twenty-four Xards. °
For the diver! 'Preparations of Wool, fee Carding . Comeing, Spinning, Weaving, Scowring Ful- ling, Dying, Cloth, &c.
VJooL-Wrivers, are thofe who buy Wool of the Sheep- Mailers in the Country, and carry it on Hotfe-Back to the Clothiers, or Market- Towns, to fell it again.
Wool-Staple, is a City or Town where Wool ufed to be fold. See Staple.
Wool-Winders, are Perfons employ'd in winding up Flee- ces of Wool into Bundles, to be pack'd and fold by Weight
Thefe are fworn to do it truly between the Owner and
the Merchant.
WOOLLEN Manufactory, includes the feveral forts of Commodities into which It ool is wrought ; as broad Cloths long o.^i fhort Kerfeys, Says, Serges, 'Flannel, 'Perpetuanas Says, Stuffs, Frtze, Penmftons, Stockings, Caps, Rugs, &c. -y-Each whereof fee under its refpectivc Article, Cloth' Serge, Flannel, ££e.
The Woollen Manufacture, which now makes the princi- pal Atticle both in our foreign and domeliick Trade, be- ing that which furnifhes rhe Cargoes of our Veffels, that em- ploys our People, l£c. may be faid to have had its Rife in thefifteenth Centuty.
Till that time, our Wool was all fold in the Fleece, to
fuch of our Neighbours as came to fetch it Among our
Cuftomers, however, the principal were the Flemings and Srabanters, and particularly the Merchants of Gant and Lotlvaiu, who took off valt Quantities to fupply two Ma- nufactories that had flourifh'd in thofe two Cities from the tenth Century, and had furnifh'd the greatefl part of Eu- rope, and evenEngland itfelf with all forts of Woollen Cloth's, iSc.^ But the Richnefs of the Manufactories of Gant, and the incredible Number of Hands employ'd therein, having fpirired up the Inhabitants to revolr.divers times,againft their Sovereigns, on accounr of certain Taxes which they refufed to pay ; the Seditious wete at length punifh'd and d.fperfed, and part of 'em took refuge in Holland, and the relt in Loitvain,
Thefe laft, together with their Art of Manufacturing
Cloths, carry'd with 'em their Spirit of Sedition And it
was not long e'er feveral of 'cm, to avoid the Punifhment they had deferved for killing fome of the Magiftrates, re- moved into England; where they inftructed our People how to work rheir own Wools.
This Eflablifhmcnt is rcfer'd to the Tear 1420 ; from which time no Endeavours have been fpar'd to keep our Wools to ourfelves. See Wool.
The Prefidenr Tbuanm makes this Epocha an hundred Years later ; and attributes the Eflablifhmcnt of the Woollen Manujaaures in England to Queen Elizabeth, and the Troubles about Religion which the Severity of the Duke of Alva and the SpaniJb Inquifitioo had occafion'd, and kept
up fo long in the Lew Countries But what that noble
Author lays, is rather to be underllood of their Perfeaion
- /" r i' r fo ^ Eteblilhment ; and of the feveral great
Manufaauresthenfetup at Norwich, Colchefler, Sandwich Hampton, &c. For in the Englijh and Flemifi Hitlorians we find mention of the Manufactures of London long before any part of the feventeen Provinces had attempted to throw off the Spamfi Yoak.
As this Manufaauienowflands, Dr. Davenant and Mr. King compute the Produce thereof to be eight Millions per Annum ; three fourths wheteof ate confumed at home and the reft exported. See Revenue, Political Arith- metic, sSc.
So jealous are we now become of our Woollen!, that be- fides the Precautions taken to ufe all our own Wool! our- felves ; we have added that of felling 'em ourfelves, an d of carrying em to the Places where they are requir-d; notadmm.ng Strangers to come and buy any in England. face Navigation, °
• A ji he . nce , ,he r eftabli/llm<:nt ° f th °fe famous Magazines in Holland, the Levant, and the North, where our Woollens
are repented to be vended by Faaors orCommiffioners
The Magazme in Holland has changed place divers times ; and it has been fucceffively at Middlebourg, Delft Rotter- dam, and Don where it now remains ; and where all the
German! come to furnifh themfelves That for the.
Levant is at Smyrna ; and that for the North at Arch- angel.
A Pack, or 240 Pounds Weight of fhort Wool, 'tis com- puted employs fixty-three Perfons a Week, to manufaaure it into Cloth ; viz. three Men to Sort, Dry, Mix, and make it ready for the Stock-Carder ; five to Scribble, or Stock- Card it ; thirty-five Women and Girls to Card and Spin it ; e.ghtMen to Weave u ; four Men andBoys to Spools it, and reed Quills ; e,ght Men and Boys to Scower, Surl mil or Full it, Row, Shear, Tack, and 'Prefi it.
A Pack of large long combing Wool made into StuffV Serges, Sagathies, £%. for the Spanifi Tmde^ill em v l oyfa ' t one Week 202 Perfons ; whofe Wagesamount to 4:/ In( _ Thus, t Combers 3 i. ,cr. Dyer! 5 1. s^Spi lmr s 8/
