many thanks do we owe to the sheep, both for appeasing the gods, and for giving us the use of its fleece. as oxen cultivate the fields which yield food for man, so to sheep are we indebted for the defence of our bodies.
116
there are two principal kinds of sheep, the covered and the colonic, or common sheep; the former is the more tender animal, but the latter is more nice about its pastures, for the covered sheep will feed even on brambles. the best coverings for sheep are brought from arabia.
the most esteemed wool of all is that of apulia, and that which in italy is called grecian wool, in other countries italian. the fleeces of miletus hold the third rank. the apulian wool is shorter in the hair, and owes its high character to the cloaks that are made of it. that which comes from the vicinity of tarentum and canusium is the most celebrated; and there is a wool from laodicea, in asia, of a similar quality. there is no white wool superior to that of the countries bordering on the padus, nor up to the present day has any wool exceeded the price of one hundred sesterces (or about $4.00) per pound. the sheep are not shorn in all countries; in some places it is still the custom to pull off the wool. there are so many various colors of wool, that we lack terms to express them all. pollentia, in the vicinity of the alps, produces black fleeces of the best quality; asia, the red fleeces; those of canusium are of a tawny color; and those of tarentum have a peculiar dark tint. the wool of istria is much more like hair than wool, and is not suitable for the fabrication of stuffs upon which a long nap is required.
merino, or spanish sheep.
the thick, flocky wool has been esteemed for the manufacture of carpets from the very earliest times; it is quite clear, from what we read in homer, that they were in use in 117 his time.[115] some kinds of wool are compressed for making a felt, which, if soaked in vinegar,[116] is capable of resisting iron even; and, what is still more, after having gone through the last process, wool will even resist fire; the refuse, too, when taken out of the vat of the scourer, is used for making mattresses, an invention, i fancy, of the gauls. at all events, it is by gallic names that we distinguish the various sorts of mattresses at the present day; but i am not well able to say at what period wool began to be employed for this purpose. our ancestors made use of straw for the purpose of sleeping upon, just as they do at present when in camp. the gausapa[117] has been brought into use in my fathers memory, and i myself recollect the amphimalla[118] and the long shaggy apron being introduced; but at the present day, the laticlave tunic is beginning to be manufactured, in imitation of the gausapa.[119] black wool will take no color.
