You have no doubt a tolerably vivid recollection of the illustrations given in Lecture I., showing the structure of the fibre of wool and fur. We saw that the wool fibre, of which fur might be considered a coarser quality, possesses a peculiar, complex, scaly structure, the joints reminding one of the appearance of plants of the _Equisetum_ family, whilst the scaled structure resembles that of the skin of the serpent. Now you may easily understand that a structure like this, if it is to be completely and uniformly permeated by a dye liquor or any other aqueous solution, must have those scales not only well opened, but well cleansed, because if choked with greasy or other foreign matter impervious to or resisting water, there can be no chance of the mordanting or dye liquids penetrating uniformly; the resulting dye must be of a patchy nature. All wool, in its natural state, contains a certain amount of a peculiar compound almost like a potash soap, a kind of soft soap, but it also contains besides, a kind of fatty substance united with lime, and of a more insoluble nature than the first. This natural greasy matter is termed "yolk" or "suint"; and it ought never to be thrown away, as it sometimes is by the wool-scourers in this country, for it contains a substance resembling a fat named _cholesterin_ or _cholesterol_, which is of great therapeutical value. Water alone will wash out a considerable amount of this greasy matter, forming a kind of lather with it, but not all. As is almost invariably the case, after death, the matters and secretions which in life favour the growth and development of the parts, then commence to do the opposite. It is as if the timepiece not merely comes to a standstill, but commences to run backwards. This natural grease, if it be allowed to stand in contact with the wool for some time after shearing, instead of nourishing and preserving the fibres as it does on the living animal, commences to ferment, and injures them by making them hard and brittle. We see, then, the importance of "scouring" wool for the removal of "yolk," as it is called, dirt, oil, etc. If this important operation were omitted, or incompletely carried out, each fibre would be more or less covered or varnished with greasy matter, resisting the absorption and fixing of mordant and dye. As scouring agents, ammonia, carbonate of ammonia, carbonate of soda completely free from caustic, and potash or soda soaps, especially palm-oil soaps, which need not be made with bleached palm oil, but which must be quite free from free alkali, may be used. In making these palm-oil soaps it is better to err on the side of a little excess of free oil or fat, but if more than 1 per cent. of free fat be present, lathering qualities are then interfered with. Oleic acid soaps are excellent, but are rather expensive for wool; they are generally used for silks. Either as a skin soap or a soap for scouring wools, I should prefer one containing about 1/2 per cent.