OTHER WOOLS. Although the typical wool is produced by sheep, and it is from that animal that much the larger part of the wool supply is obtained, there are several other animals which produce so-called wool for industrial purposes. Among these are several species of goats whose hair can be greatly improved by breeding and management, furnishing a long, fine, silky mate rial from which beautiful textile fabrics are made. No cultivation, however, has yet pre vented the growth of the outer hair on goats, as has been done in the ease of sheep, or changed the undergrowth of fine hair into true wool. '1'lle alpaca goat, closely related to or a variety of the llama of South America, yields a fibre known as alpaca (q.v.). The Angora. goat (see Go.vr), which yields mohair (q.v.). marks a distinct step toward true wool. The scales are less numerous than in the alpaca, but are more decided and exhibit a more definite edge. The fibres are very fine and wavy. Instrons, pure transparent white, and often 12 inches long, in some eases 18 or 20 inches. The diameter varies from to of an inch. The annual product of mo hair in the United States is estimated at over 1.000.000 pounds. Closely allied to mohair is the
fine cashmere wool of India, which is the product of the Cashmere goat, common in the Himalayan Mountains about Tibet. The hair is even longer than that of the Angora goat, but is not as curl•. The surface of the fibres is not as brilliant as mohair. and the scales are more numerous but less distinct. Only the finest parts of the fleece are used, the yield from a single goat being rare ly more than 3 or 4 ounces. Cashmere wool is said to be the most costly of all the wools. The fine soft hair of the enamel approximates true wool in its structure, and should be mentioned in this connection. .
Consult: Bowman, Structure of Wool Fibre (Manchester, 1885) ; Dodge, Sheep and Wool: A Review of the Progress of American Sheep Hus bandry, United States Department of Agricul ture, Report No. 611 900 ; Report of Bureau of Animal 1880-90; Rushworth, The Sheep (Buffalo', 1889); Mumford, The Produr lion and Marketing of Meld ga n Agricul tural Experiment Station, Bulletin 178 11900) ; Stewart, Domestic Sheep: Its Culture and Gen (Tut Management (Chicago, 1898). See SHEEP; SI IODDY.