NORTH WOOL

SUBJECT AREA: Textiles

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Lister was descended from one of the old Yorkshire families, the Cunliffe Listers of Manningham, and was the fourth son of his father Ellis. After attending a school on Clapham Common, Lister would not go to university; his family hoped he would enter the Church, but instead he started work with the Liverpool merchants Sands, Turner \& Co., who frequently sent him to America. In 1837 his father built for him and his brother a worsted mill at Manningham, where Samuel invented a swivel shuttle and a machine for making fringes on shawls. It was here that he first became aware of the unhealthy occupation of combing wool by hand. Four years later, after seeing the machine that G.E. Donisthorpe was trying to work out, he turned his attention to mechanizing wool-combing. Lister took Donisthorpe into partnership after paying him £12,000 for his patent, and developed the Lister-Cartwright "square nip" comber. Until this time, combing machines were little different from Cartwright's original, but Lister was able to improve on this with continuous operation and by 1843 was combing the first fine botany wool that had ever been combed by machinery. In the following year he received an order for fifty machines to comb all qualities of wool. Further combing patents were taken out with Donisthorpe in 1849, 1850, 1851 and 1852, the last two being in Lister's name only. One of the important features of these patents was the provision of a gripping device or "nip" which held the wool fibres at one end while the rest of the tuft was being combed. Lister was soon running nine combing mills. In the 1850s Lister had become involved in disputes with others who held combing patents, such as his associate Isaac Holden and the Frenchman Josué Heilmann. Lister bought up the Heilmann machine patents and afterwards other types until he obtained a complete monopoly of combing machines before the patents expired. His invention stimulated demand for wool by cheapening the product and gave a vital boost to the Australian wool trade. By 1856 he was at the head of a wool-combing business such as had never been seen before, with mills at Manningham, Bradford, Halifax, Keighley and other places in the West Riding, as well as abroad.

His inventive genius also extended to other fields. In 1848 he patented automatic compressed air brakes for railways, and in 1853 alone he took out twelve patents for various textile machines. He then tried to spin waste silk and made a second commercial career, turning what was called "chassum" and hitherto regarded as refuse into beautiful velvets, silks, plush and other fine materials. Waste silk consisted of cocoon remnants from the reeling process, damaged cocoons and fibres rejected from other processes. There was also wild silk obtained from uncultivated worms. This is what Lister saw in a London warehouse as a mass of knotty, dirty, impure stuff, full of bits of stick and dead mulberry leaves, which he bought for a halfpenny a pound. He spent ten years trying to solve the problems, but after a loss of £250,000 and desertion by his partner his machine caught on in 1865 and brought Lister another fortune. Having failed to comb this waste silk, Lister turned his attention to the idea of "dressing" it and separating the qualities automatically. He patented a machine in 1877 that gave a graduated combing. To weave his new silk, he imported from Spain to Bradford, together with its inventor Jose Reixach, a velvet loom that was still giving trouble. It wove two fabrics face to face, but the problem lay in separating the layers so that the pile remained regular in length. Eventually Lister was inspired by watching a scissors grinder in the street to use small emery wheels to sharpen the cutters that divided the layers of fabric. Lister took out several patents for this loom in his own name in 1868 and 1869, while in 1871 he took out one jointly with Reixach. It is said that he spent £29,000 over an eleven-year period on this loom, but this was more than recouped from the sale of reasonably priced high-quality velvets and plushes once success was achieved. Manningham mills were greatly enlarged to accommodate this new manufacture.

In later years Lister had an annual profit from his mills of £250,000, much of which was presented to Bradford city in gifts such as Lister Park, the original home of the Listers. He was connected with the Bradford Chamber of Commerce for many years and held the position of President of the Fair Trade League for some time. In 1887 he became High Sheriff of Yorkshire, and in 1891 he was made 1st Baron Masham. He was also Deputy Lieutenant in North and West Riding.

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   Historically, Portugal's agricultural efficiency, measured in terms of crop yields and animal productivity, has been well below that of other European countries. Agricultural inefficiency is a consequence of Portugal's topography and climate, which varies considerably from north to south and has influenced farm size and farming methods. There are three major agricultural zones: the north, center, and south. The north (the area between the Douro and Minho Rivers, including the district of Trás-os-Montes) is mountainous with a wet (180-249 cm of rainfall/year), moderately cool climate. It contains about 2 million hectares of cultivated land excessively fragmented into tiny (3-5 hectares) family-owned farms, or minifúndios, a consequence of ancient settlement patterns, a strong attachment to the land, and the tradition of subdividing land equally among family members. The farms in the north produce the potatoes and kale that are used to make caldo verde soup, a staple of the Portuguese diet, and the grapes that are used to make vinho verde (green wine), a light sparkling white wine said to aid the digestion of oily and greasy food. Northern farms are too small to benefit from mechanization and their owners too poor to invest in irrigation, chemical fertilizers, or better seeds; hence, agriculture in the north has remained labor intensive, despite efforts to regroup minifúndios to increase farm size and efficiency.

   The center (roughly between the Douro and the Tagus River) is bisected by the Mondego River, the land to either side of which is some of the most fertile in Portugal and produces irrigated rice, corn, grapes, and forest goods on medium-sized (about 100 hectares) farms under a mixture of owner-cultivation and sharecropping. Portugal's center contains the Estrela Mountains, where sheep raising is common and wool, milk, and cheese are produced, especially mountain cheese ( Queijo da Serra), similar to French brie. In the valley of the Dão River, a full-bodied, fruity wine much like Burgundy is produced. In the southern part of the center, where the climate is dry and soils are poor, stock raising mixes with cereal crop cultivation. In Estremadura, the area north of Lisbon, better soils and even rainfall support intensive agriculture. The small farms of this area produce lemons, strawberries, pears, quinces, peaches, and vegetables. Estremadura also produces red wine at Colares and white wine at Buçelas.

   The south (Alentejo and Algarve) is a vast rolling plain with a hot arid climate. It contains about 2.6 million hectares of arable land and produces the bulk of Portugal's wheat and barley. It also produces one of Portugal's chief exports, cork, which is made from bark cut from cork oaks at nine-year intervals. There are vast groves of olive trees around the towns of Elvas, Serpa, and Estremoz that provide Portugal's olives. The warm climate of the Algarve (the most southern region of Portugal) is favorable for the growing of oranges, pomegranates, figs, and carobs. Almonds are also produced. Farms in the south, except for the Algarve, are large estates (typically 1,000 hectares or more in size) known as latifúndios, worked by a landless, wage-earning rural work force. After the Revolution of 25 April 1974, these large estates were taken over by the state and turned into collective farms. During the 1990s, as the radicalism of the Revolution moderated, collectivized agriculture was seen as counterproductive, and the nationalized estates were gradually returned to their original owners in exchange for cash payments or small parcels of land for the collective farm workers.

   Portugal adopted the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) when it joined the European Union (EU) in 1986. The CAP, which is based on the principles of common pricing, EU preferences, and joint financing, has shifted much of Portugal's agricultural decision making to the EU. Under the CAP, cereals and dairy products have experienced declines in prices because these are in chronic surplus within the EU. Alentejo wheat production has become unprofitable because of poor soils. However, rice, tomatoes, sunflower, and safflower seed and potatoes, as well as Portuguese wines, have competed well under the CAP system.

    See also Minifúndios, Latifúndios, European Union.

1 to confuse, to complicate (asunto).

2 to snag, to entrap, to entangle.

El gato embrolló la lana The cat snagged the wool.

3 to embroil, to ball up, to entangle, to make a muddle of.

Su torpeza embrolló el plan His clumsiness embroiled the plan.

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► verbo transitivo

1 to confuse, muddle

► verbo pronominal embrollarse

1 to get confused, get muddled

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1. VT

1) (=confundir) to muddle, confuse

2) (=involucrar) to involve, embroil frm

embrollarse

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verbo transitivo

a) <hilo/madeja> to tangle (up)

b) ( confundir) < situación> to complicate; < persona> to muddle, confuse

c) ( implicar)

embrollarse v pron hilo/madeja to get tangled; situación to get confused o muddled; persona to get muddled, to get mixed up (colloq)

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= snarl up, entangle, knot into, ensnare, snare.

Ex. If all goes as usual, it will snow approximately one inch and completely snarl up traffic until melted.

Ex. The issues entangled in Van Gogh's work - issues of the market, gender, and class - were also knotted into the work of many avant-garde artists of the late 19th c.

Ex. The issues entangled in Van Gogh's work - issues of the market, gender, and class - were also knotted into the work of many avant-garde artists of the late 19th c.

Ex. The novel has many trappings that will ensnare the average reader but skulking at the bottom of its well of intrigue is a timeless terror more attuned to the mature sensibilities of an adult audience.

Ex. In fact, the Indians had been snaring animals long before the white man came to North America.

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* embrollado en = enmeshed in.

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verbo transitivo

a) <hilo/madeja> to tangle (up)

b) ( confundir) < situación> to complicate; < persona> to muddle, confuse

c) ( implicar)

embrollarse v pron hilo/madeja to get tangled; situación to get confused o muddled; persona to get muddled, to get mixed up (colloq)

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embrollar [A1 ]

1 ‹hilo/madeja› to tangle, tangle up

2 (confundir) ‹situación› to complicate; ‹persona› to muddle, confuse

3 (implicar) embrollar a algn EN algo to embroil sb IN sth, get sb involved IN sth

1 «hilo/madeja» to get tangled

2 «situación» to get confused o muddled, get complicated; «persona» to get confused o muddled, to get mixed up ( colloq)

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a) ‹hilo/madeja› to tangle (up)

b) ( confundir) ‹ situación› to complicate;

c) ( implicar) embrollar a algn en algo to embroil sb in sth, get sb involved in sth

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♦ vt

1. [asunto, situación] to complicate, to confuse;

2. [hilo, ovillo, cuerda] to tangle up

♦ See also the pronominal verb embrollarse

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v/t muddle, mix up

(-dda, -ddr), v.

1) to unravel, disentangle, arrange; g. hár, to comb or dress the hair; greiddi hón hárit frá augum sér, she stroked back the hair from her eyes;

2) to make or get ready (g. segl); g. til vað, to get ready a fishing line; g. til um vápn to get the weapons ready;

3) to speed, further (g. ferð e-s);

refl., greiddist honum vel, it sped well with him, he got on well;

4) to pay (g. fé af hendi); g. fram, to pay out;

5) to discharge, perform; g. skírslu af höndum, to perform the ordeal; g. vörð, to keep watch; g. róðr, to pull at the oars; g. atróðr, g. til atlögu, to attack (in a sea-fight); g. mál, to settle a case.

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dd, [Ulf. garaidjan = διατάττειν, 1 Cor. xvi. i, Tit. i. 5, and προτίθεσθαι, Ephes. i. 9; A. S. gerædan; North. E. (see Atkinson’s Cleveland Glossary) to graith = to furnish or equip; in Icel. greiða and reiða seem to be only a double form of the same word, the former having kept the prefixed g; in sense they are akin, cp. Dan. rede, Swed. reda, and see greiðr]:—to arrange, disentangle; greiða hár, to comb or dress the hair; Hildigunnr greiddi hárit frá augum sér, H. combed or stroked back the hair from her eyes, Nj. 176; þá tók konungr þar laugar, ok let greiða ( comb) hár sitt, Fms. i. 189; en hón hafði hendr at, ok greiddi lokka hans, Karl. 532; sem fyrst er hann var greiddr ( combed), Mar. 161; ógreitt hár, unkempt hair; greiða ull, to comb or card wool, Bret. 30, 32.

2. to make or get ready; greiða segl, to make the sail ready, Sturl. i. 118; g. vað, to make the fishing-line ready, Edda 36; g. net, a fishing term:—also intrans. to get ready, g. til um e-t, to get ready for a thing, i. e. get it ready; g. til um vápn sín, to get the weapons ready, Eg. 220; sagði at hann skyldi til g. at verðir væri öruggir, that he should take it in charge, that …, Fms. ix. 22; g. til frásagnar, to make ready for the story, 655 xxvii. 6.

3. to speed, further; g. ferð e-s, Fms. ii. 16; greiðit Drottins götur, make straight the way of the Lord, 625. 90. Luke iii. 4: reflex., greiddisk honum vel, it speeds well with him, he speeds well, Eg. 180; honum greiddisk vel ferðin, Ísl. ii. 393; greiddisk ferð hans vel, Eg. 140; ef henni greiðisk seint, if she speeds slowly, Fms. iv. 28.

II. [Ulf. garaþjan = ἀριθμειν, Matth. x. 30; Dan. rede, udrede], to pay; hann skal honum greiða í slíku fé sem hann hefir til, Gþl. 305; nú vil ek at þú greiðir öxar-verðit, Fs. 68; fé þetta skyldi greiðask á þremr várum, Fms. ii. 114; hann skyldi heimta landskyldir ok sjá yfir at allt greiddisk vel, x. 227; Mörðr greiðir fram ( paid out) heimanfylgju dóttur sinnar, Nj. 11; g. aptr, to pay back, H. E. i. 460: to discharge, annan dag eptir greiðir Þórólfr skattinn af hendi, Eg. 64; þeir leggja féð fram þóat ek greiða af hendi, they find the money although I pay it, Fms. v. 293.

2. to discharge, perform; greiða vörð, to keep watch, Fms. ix. 23; g. útvörð, hestvörð, viii. 90, Sturl. iii. 241; g. róðr, to pull, Fms. ii. 178; g. atróðr, to attack (in a sea-fight), vii. 264; g. til atlögu, id., 290: merely circumlocutory, g. rás, to run, Rb. 210; g. göngu, to proceed, walk, Stj. 566; g. skírslu af höndum, to perform the ordeal, Fms. vii. 230; g. ok gjalda leiðangr, to perform (of personal duty) and pay the levy, 173.

III. metaph. to interpret, make out; at þeir gangi í lögréttu ok í setur sínar, at greiða lögmál þetta, to expound the law, Grág. i. 7; en þat eru stórsögur, ef þær eru greiddar út í gegnum, if they are told to the end, Al. 36; hann ræddi um við Árna at hann skyldi greiða ( settle) mál hans búandans, Orkn. 336; bað Þorstein eiga í allan hlut at þetta mál greiddisk, Boll. 352; hví gengr eigi fram málit? Guðmundr kvað brátt greiðask munu, Fs. 74; greiða fyrir e-m, to entertain one, or the like.

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m. poke, bag, sack.

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a, m. [Gael. poca; Du Cange poucha; Fr. poche; North. E. poke; as also pung = pungr, púss; Byzantine Gr. πουγγή, πούγγιον]:—a poke, pouch, bag, Fas. iii. 338; guðvefjar poki, Ld. 188, 202; in old writers of a small bag, in mod. of a big one; ullar-poki, a bag of wool, poka-prestr, m. a bag priest, a poor illiterate priest, a popular Icel. phrase, no doubt originating from the tale of the Master Thief and the Priest in the Poke, as told in the Norse Tales.