The wool that grows on a sheep is like the hair that grows on your head. It grows the same way and is the protective covering of the sheep against cold weather.

Once a year, usually in the spring when warm weather is ahead and the sheep no longer needs its “protection,” the sheep are given a haircut and all the wool is sheared off. It is usually full of burrs, thorns, and natural oil which is called “lanolin.” It comes off almost whole, like a hide, and is then rolled up and tied with wool twine.

After that the wool is cleaned, at which time it is called “scoured wool.” Then, the wool is combed to straighten out the curls. Next, it is spun into yarn. The wool yarn is then made into cloth by weaving or knitting.

Nobody knows when man first tamed the sheep. But primitive man kept the same sheep for both wool and meat. Then, through centuries of breeding, different types have been developed, some especially valuable for their wool, others for their meat. One type, called the “Merino,” which originated in Spain or Africa, is practically a mop of wool with a nose and four legs protruding!

In Australia and the United States, there are varieties of the Merino type which produce great quantities of wonderful wool. In fact, sheep raising and wool production are among the earliest American enterprises. When Columbus returned to America in 1493, he brought sheep with him to what is now Santo Domingo and Cuba. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, there were huge sheep flocks in New England. When the West was first settled, the great ranges had flocks of thousands of animals.

Today, the United States is the second largest wool growing country in the world (after Australia) and produces about 135 million kilograms of wool a year. Wool accounts for one-third of the total value of Australia’s exports. Australia’s yearly woolclip is about 770 million kilograms, 30% of the world’s total.