CHAP. 73. (43.)—THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF WOOL, AND THEIR COLOURS. [1]
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.[2] The
Apulian wool is shorter in the hair, and only owes its high
character to the cloaks[3] 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.[4] There is no white wool superior to that of
the countries bordering on the Padus,[5] nor up to the present
day has any wool exceeded the price of one hundred sesterces
per pound.[6] The sheep are not shorn in all countries; in some
places it is still the custom to pull off the wool.[7] There are
various colours of wool; so much so, indeed, that we want
terms to express them all. Several kinds, which are called
native,[8] are found in Spain; Pollentia, in the vicinity of the
Alps,[9] produces black fleeces of the best quality; Asia, as well
as Bætica,[10] the red fleeces, which are called Erythræan; those
of Canusium are of a tawny colour;[11] and those of Tarentum
have their peculiar dark tint.[12] All kinds of wool, when not
freed from the grease,[13] possess certain medicinal properties.
The wool of Istria is much more like hair than wool, and is
not suitable for the fabrication of stuffs that have a long nap;[14]
so too is that which Salacia,[15] in Lusitania, finds the most useful
for making its chequered cloths. There is a similar wool, too,
found about Piscenæ,[16] in the province of Narbonensis, as also
in Egypt; a garment, when it has been worn for some time,
is often embroidered with this wool, and will last for a considerable time.
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
his time.[17] The Gauls embroider them in a different manner
from that which is practised by the Parthians.[18] Wool is
compressed also for making a felt,[19] which, if soaked in vinegar,[20]
is capable of resisting iron even; and, what is still more, after
having gone through the last process,[21] wool will even resist
fire; the refuse, too, when taken out of the vat of the scourer,
is used for making mattresses,[22] an invention, I fancy, of the
Gauls. At all events, it is by Gallic names that we distinguish the different sort of mattresses[23] 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[24]
for the purpose of sleeping upon, just as they do at present
when in camp. The gausapa[25] has been brought into use in
my father's memory, and I myself recollect the amphimalla[26]
and the long shaggy apron[27] being introduced; but at the present day, the laticlave tunic[28] is beginning to be manufactured,
in imitation of the gausapa.[29] Black wool will take no colour.
I shall describe the mode of dyeing the other kinds of wool
when speaking of the sea-purple,[30] or of the nature of various
plants.[31]
1. The greatest part of this Chapter appears to be taken, with little variation, from Columella, B. vii. c. 2—4.—B.
2. Here Pliny differs from Columella, who remarks, B. vii. c. 2, "Our
people considered the Milesian, Calabrian, and Apulian wool as of excellent quality, and the Tarentine the best of all."
3. "Pænula" was a check cloak, used chiefly by the Romans when
travelling, instead of the toga, as a protection against the cold and rain.
It was used by women as well as men. It was long, and without sleeves,
and with only an opening for the head. Women were forbidden by Alexander Severus to wear it in the city. It was made particularly of the
woolly substance known as gausapa.
4. The wool of Laodicea is celebrated by Strabo, B. xii.—B.
5. Columella, B. vii. c. 2, particularly notices the excellence of the wool
of Altinum, situate near the mouth of the Padus or Po. The following
epigram of Martial, B. xiv. c. 155, may be presumed to convey the opinion
of the respective merits of the different kinds of wool; it is entitled "Lanæ
albæ:" "Velleribus primis Apulia; Parma secundis Nobilis; Altinum
tertia laudat ovis." "Apulia is famed for its fleeces of the first quality,
Parma for the second, while Altinum is praised for those of the third."—B.
6. About twelve shillings sterling.—B.
7. Varro remarks, B. ii. c. 2, that the term "vellus." obviously from
"vello," "to pluck," proves that the wool was anciently plucked from the
sheep, before shearing had been invented.—B.
8. "Quas nativas appellant." The term "nativa," as applied to the
wool, has been supposed to refer to those fleeces that possess a natural
colour, and do not require to be dyed.—B.
9. Martial, B. xiv. Ep. 157, calls the fleeces of Pollentia "lugentes,"
"mournful," from their black colour; they are also mentioned by Colu-
mella, ubi supra, and by Silius Italicus, B. viii. 1. 599.—B.
10. Martial, B. v. c. 37, describing the charms of a lady, says, "surpassing with her locks the fleece of the Bætic sheep," no doubt referring
to the colour. In another Epigram, B. xii. E. 200, he speaks of the
"aurea vellera," the "golden fleece" of Bætis.—B.
11. Martial has two Epigrams on the wool of Canusium, B. xiv. E. 127,
and E. 129. In the former it is designated as "fusca," tawny; in the
latter, "rufa," red.—B.
12. "Suæ pulliginis."—B.
13. The term here used, "succidus," is explained by Varro, B. ii. c. 11:
"While the newly-clipped wool has the sweat in it, it is called ' succida.'"
See B. xxix. c. 9.
14. "Pexis vestibus." According to Hardouin, the "pexa vestis," was
worn by the rich, and had a long and prominent nap, in contradistinction
to the smooth or worn cloths. He refers to a passage in Horace, B. i. Ep. i.
1. 95, and to one in Martial, B. ii. E. 58, which appear to sanction this
explanation. See Lem. vol. iii. p. 524.—B.
15. See B. iv. c. 35.
16. See B. iii. c. 5. Now Pezenas.
17. Kai\ r(h/gea kala\
Porfu/r) e)mbale/ein, store/sai d' e)fu/perqe ta/phtas.
Od. B. iv. 1. 427. "And to throw on fair coverlets of purple, and to lay
carpets upon them."
18. These were probably much like what we call "Turkey" carpets.
19. The name given to this article, "lana coacta," "compressed wool,"
correctly designates its texture. The manufacturers of it were called "lanarii coactores," and "lanarii coactiliarii."
20. "I have macerated unbleached flax in vinegar saturated with salt,
and after compression have obtained a felt, with a power of resistance quite
comparable with that of the famous armour of Conrad of Montferrat;
seeing that neither the point of a sword, nor even balls discharged from
fire-arms, were able to penetrate it." Memoir on the substance called Plina,
by Papadopoulo-Vretos, on the Mein. presented to the Royal Academy of In-
scriptions and Belles Lettres, 1845 , as quoted by Littré.
21. Pliny probably conceived that by the removal of all the grease from
the wool, or the "purgamentum," it became less combustible.—B.
22. "Tomentum;" an Epigram of Martial, B. xiv. E. 160, explains the
meaning of this word.—B.
23. See B. xix. c. 2.
24. Probably in the form of what we call "palliasses."
25. The "gausapa," or "gausapum," was a kind of thick cloth, very
woolly on one side, and used especially for covering tables, beds, and
making cloaks to keep out the wet and cold. The wealthier Romans had
it made of the finest wool, and mostly of a purple colour. It seems also to
have been sometimes made of linen, but still with a rough surface.
26. From a)mfi/malla,"napped on both sides." They probably resembled
our baizes or druggets, or perhaps the modern blanket.
27. Pliny again makes mention of the "ventrale," or apron, in B. xxvii.
c. 28.
28. He seems to allude here to the substance of which the laticlave tunic
was made, and not any alteration in its cut or shape. Some further
information on the laticlave or broad-striped tunic will be found in B.
ix, c. 63.
29. About the time of Augustus, the Romans began to exchange the
"toga," which had previously been their ordinary garment, for the more convenient "lacerna" and "pænula," which were less encumbered with
folds, and better adapted for the usual occupations of life.—B.
30. See B. ix. c. 62.
31. See B. xxi. c. 12.