to straighten out some 1930's sheep things in NZ...........at that
time our main export would have been sheep meat back to the
Motherland/UK so the wool wouldn't really be thought of as being
useful for much else.
thinking about the gist of wool back them - it was either fine baby
wool and coarser knit wools - think hardwearing work sox.
yes carpet wool was and probably still is a mainstay for creating
wool carpets again for the UK customer. Mostly drysdale, lincoln and
the coarser breeds for that however I understand Romney is also added
probably to lighten the coarseness
Merino of course is now sought after - for mens suiting materials -
feltmakers - baby wear and add the chemicals and create wonderful
superwash - will not felt! But can be spun much thicker than
previously. I find Superwash sliver quite hard to spin preferring to
prepare natural merino from the fleece.
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.
Cathy51 in NZ
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