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Woollen and Mixed Goods in the Great Exhibition. 
Origfnal japtts. 
WOOLLEN AND MIXED GOODS IN THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 
PUBLIC attention is naturally more directed to the ornamental and showy 
portion of the Great Exhibition than to the more modest staple manufac- 
tures. This tendency it is our peculiar duty to endeavour to correct, and
in the present article we propose to convey to our readers a general idea
of the nature of the specimens exhibited in that portion of the Exhibition
which is devoted to the display of woollen goods. With a view to doing this
more effectually than could possibly be done by mere description of the arti-
cles, we have obtained specimens of some of the articles themselves, which
not 
only enable the perfection of the manufacture or peculiarity of the fabric
to be 
at once perceived, but will also afford in future years a means of testing,
by 
comparison, the degree of progress or improvement which may be made from
this date. In looking over so vast a collection of woollen goods as are displayed,
it will be observed how small a proportion of articles there are which have
been produced as mere curiosities; the chief aim of manufacturers appears
to 
have been to vie with each other in the production of the best articles of
strict 
utility at the most marketable price. 
The principal specimens of woollens will be found in the south-west por-
tion of the building. But before proceeding to the examination of the cloths,
it may be well to examine the specimens illustrative of the various processes
through which the wool is passed -in the course of its manufacture; and this
will be best done by visiting the stalls of Messrs. John Brooke and Sons,
of 
Huddersfield, who exhibit 18 specimens from which may be learned the pro-
gressive stages of the manufacture; Messrs. H. Pearse and Co., of Darlington,
exhibiting specimens of wool in its various stages of preparation for the
loom; 
Messrs. Rand and Sons, of Bradford, exhibiting the weft when drawn to 160's,
and 1 lb of the yarn when so spun measures 89,600 yards; and Mr. Walter 
Milligan, of Bingley, exhibiting samples of alpaca wool as imported, sorted,
combed by hand, and arranged for dressing,-also specimens illustrative of
the 
method employed to draw them to a thread of uniform colour. The cloths to
which we would first allude are some specimens of Irish frieze and doeskin
tweeds exhibited by Mr. Rich rd Allen, of Dublin. 
Iral Frieze,                          Irish Doeskin, 
Manufactured by R. Allen, Dublin.     Manufactured by R. Allen, Dublin. 
These specimens give a promise that the woollen trade of Ireland, which at
the close of the last and commencement of the present century had obtained
some celebrity, may emerge from the lethargy into which it had since sunk,
and thus powerfully aid in affording employment to the Irish operatives.
They 
exhibit considerable improvement both in quality and appeaiance of the tex-
ture, and those who want authority for using them may know that Prince 
Albert does so. The contributions of the Welsh manufacturers, which are 
Journal of Design. No. 29, July, 1851.                          R