In case you missed what gwens wrote at 22:40 -0600 on 060411
However, the story takes place in the late 1930's, in New Zealand. I would guess that at that time, the main market for the wool would have been England, and the fabric England was noted for was worsted wool. That would require a fiber that could be combed easily, so I'd suppose long-staple wool would be considered premium-grade stuff, and anything else would be inferior. Quite a change from today, no? <G>
But Merino combs beautifully and makes wonderful, fine worsted yarn. The comparison in the book might have been Merino versus a carpet wool which has been a NZ speciality for a long time as I understand it.
Ron Ron Parker - FiberNet list mom [EMAIL PROTECTED] For information http://hem.bredband.net/ronpar/fninfo.html To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
