This whole line of messages has utterly fascinated me for some reason. Maybe because it got me to thinking of going through some of my materials about it rather than doing what I'm supposed to be doing - end of the year paperwork! I just love research as well.
I know I've read over the years that Down breed wool is not the best for felting, some sources even going as far as to say they don't felt at all. I'm sure I've got references I could site on this, but I did eventually run out of steam (and there's a lot of paperwork). It might have something to do with the fact that all of the breeds referred to are in the medium category (or should be), with the additional characteristics of relatively short, firm staple. But the felting "curve", so to speak, is ruined by a shorter stapled firm medium wool such as that from my Black Welsh Mountain sheep - felts quite nicely and pronounced as a "good" felter from no less than Alexander Pilin, the Russian felter. BUT the BWM is not a Down breed. Then I got off on the tangent of the NAME. I first went to my British Sheep Breeds poster, produced by the British Wool Marketing Board , pub. date unknown. They listed Dorset Down, Hampshire Down, Oxford Down and Southdown, among other breeds, including Dalesbred. Then I hit a couple of old vet school books I had in my collection. Breeds of Livestock in America by Henry W. Vaughan, College Book Company, Columbus OH, copyright 1950: They listed Southdown (with a note in pencil of "ideal carcass" scribbled in), Hampshire (lacking Down in the the, but stating that they came from Hampshire County, which is next to Sussex County where the Southdown came from), Oxford Down (stating "commonly called the Oxford"), Dorset (which again lacked the Down in the name), and the SUFFOLK (with the statement "the Suffolk is a DOWN breed...") I went to a small Barron's Guide, "Sheep", by Hans Alfred Muller, 1989. It had Southdown listed. Seemed to mostly be a book of German breeds. Then onto one of my favorites: The Shire Album #157, "British Sheep Breeds" by Elizabeth Henson, Shire Publications Ltd., 1986. On page 2 was a small line-drawing map with Mountains, Hills, Downs, Sea (top to bottom) on the left, and some sheep breeds opposite as follows: Welsh, Swaledale, Scots Blackface way up near Mountains, arrowing into LONGWOOLS and draft ewes near Mountains, the LONGWOOLS blending into 1/2 bred ewes and producing FAT LAMBS near Hills, using the rams from: DOWN breeds (Suffolk, South Down) near Downs. The booklet has the breeds divided into Primitive, Mountain, Hill, Longwool, and DOWN breeds. Now here they state that the down breeds are all fine-wooled white sheep with a short staple wool of between 50 and 80 mm. They trace all the down breeds to John Ellman of Glynde in East Sussex in the late 18th century, producing the Southdown. Other down breeds listed are Oxford Down, Shropshire, Hampshire, Dorset Down, Ryeland and the Southdown (125 lbs and listed as the smallest). Okay, enough of this and I haven't even checked the Okla State site on the web - my favorite source of livestock information. But I did see somewhat of a consistency in Down breeds from the Downs.......... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Suzanne Correira, www.fireantranch.com <http://www.fireantranch.com/> in Elgin, TX Black Welsh & Shetland Sheep: Fibers, Yarns & Goods Roberta & Majacraft Wheels. Strauch Carders. OPAL. To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
