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1873. Wool. German wool (or Berlin wool, as it is commonly called) is the most beautiful material manufactured for canvas-work. The vast variety of shades, the exquisite tints produced, the softness and evenness of the fabric, are beyond all praise. We speak of Berlin wool as it ought to be; for no article is more frequently of inferior quality. From damp, or bad packing, or many other causes, it is frequently crushed and injured, and in that state is not fit to be used for good work. Berlin wool is supposed to be all dyed, as well as made, abroad; at present a large proportion is entirely produced in our own country, which is little, if at all, inferior to the foreign. Berlin wool is made only in two sizes, 4-thread and 8-thread; unless the latter is specified in directions, the other is always implied. Berlin wools are either dyed in one colour, or in shades of the same colour, or (very rarely) in shades of several colours. Technically, a silk or wool dyed in shades of the same colour, going gradually from light to dark, and from dark to light again, is termed an ombre, or shaded wool or silk, whereas chine is the term employed when there are several colours used. There are, also, what are called short and long shades; that is, in the former the entire shades, from the lightest to the lightest again, will occur within a short space, a yard or so; whereas, in long shades the gradation is much more gradually made.