The beginnings of that industry which ministers Wool and
to the wants of those beyond the immediate neigh- ^sricuiturai

•' ° products pro-

borhood are rooted in the fact that the soil and the duce trade re-
climate of England are especially adapted to the Nations with
growing of sheep. At least as early as the thir-
teenth century wool was exported to Flanders and
later to Holland and to Italy.' During the reign of
Edward III, Flemish weavers came to England and
established the looms on which the first English
woolen goods were made.^ The growth of the in-
dustry was facilitated by the fact that England was
incomparably more peaceful than the countries of
continental Europe.
