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TO ROBERT MACINTYRE, ESQ OF RENFREW, • THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED, AS A MARK OF GRATITUDE AND ESTEEM. BY HIS HUISIBLE SERVANT, THE AUTHOR r wtm I PREFACE. " To the North of Lake Huron, and between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, the superficial covering of the country is almost invariably a yellow sand. This, also, overlies the clays of this region, which are exposed only in river cuttings. This sand is most largely developed along the principal rivers of the district, and it also covers St. Joseph's Island, and part of the Grand Manitoulin. It is largely developed on the Dog and Kaministiquia Rivers, and spreads over a considerable tract below the Great Falls of the Michipicoten, as well as over a smaller area on the Batchehwahnung River. The Goulais River, in its lower stretch, flows in a very tortuous course between mountain ranges, through a wide and fertile valley, which has yellow sand as a subsoil over a great part of its area. Th'.s yellow sand also extends far and wide over the higher table-lands of the Thessalon and Mississagui Rivers. On either side of the Spanish River, below the great bend, it forms an extensive plain, bearing a heavy growth of pines, and it is also found in large patches north of that part of the coast lying between the mouth of the Mississagui and Spanish Rivers. The sand is widely spread almost all along the valleys of the White-fish and Sturgeon Rivers. •' Much of the^egion thus covered, lies within the District of Algoma, and this great arenaceous deposit may hence be conveniently designated as the Algoma sand." — Extract from Geology of Canada, 1863, pp. 907-8. In a soil like that just descrilbed, hemp and flax will flourish well. The wide distribution of hemp is remarkable, but easily explained when we consider that it is an annual which requires only a few months of summer tem- perature to bring it to full perfection. It thrives in the 'north of Russia, and in Italy. If we compare the summer temperatures of these countries, we shall not find so great a difference as we might be led to expect by considering only their latitudes, or their mean annual temperatures. Thus Petersburgh and Moscow, in N. latitude 59° ^Q"^ and 56" 45^, have mean summer temperatures of 62" 06^ and 67° 10^ of Fahr., while Milan and Rome, in N. latitude 45° 28^ and 41° 53\ have summer temperatures of 73° 04"" and 75° 20^. From observations taken by Professor Kingston at the Magnetic Observatory, the mean summer temperature for Toronto, in N. latitude 43° SO"-, or the mean of June, July and August, is 65° nearly. vi PREFACE. The latitude of Quebec is 46° 49^ N. and its corresponding mean derived from old printed records is 67°. The latitude of the north shore of Lake Huron corresponds very nearly with thill of Quebec, and its summer temperature is much the same as that of Penetan- guishene, whose summer temperature drawn from very scanty observations is said to be 68° nearly. As regards its waters, soil, and climate, therefore, there is no better district in Canada for the growth and manipulation of hemp, than that described in the ex- tract from the geological survey. Several able writers having within the last few years drawn attention to the importance of the culture of Sax and hemp, we may make use of the facts which they have collected, and apply them to Canada. TVe cannot safely rest our claims to be counted -among the foremost nations of the world in agriculture, upon what we -havo^ already done. The possession of the raw material, or of any other incidental or natural advan- tage, is daily becoming a less and less important element in the race after national wealth, and manufacturing industry. Skill and intelligence, on the other hand, are daily acquiring a greater proportionate power and importance. A. KIRKWOOD. FLAX AKD HEMP. FLAX. (Linun Utitatiasimum.) " Flax and hemp/' says Olivier de Serres, " are of extremest value to tradj both in Bickness and in health, in life, and even in death." The Scriptures make the flame of flaxen fibre the type of the short and ephemeral duration of all human joys and sorrows. " A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench." (Matt xii. 20.) That is, he will forbear to extinguish so brief a light as that of flax already smoking and half burnt out. To innumerable individuals of the great human family does flax supply the various items of clothing, writing material, bedding, fuel, medicine^ external as well as internal ; manure, material to aid the painter's art, and, indirectly, animal food of the highest nutritive qualities} and when properly managed, it affords that inestimable blessing to a population)—- a constant source of remunerative employment. The flax plant belongs to the natural family of Linacese, so named from the botanical name (Linuni) of the genus to which it belongs. The species are found chiefly in temperate parts of the world, with a few in tropical regions ; most are remarkable for the tenacity of the fibre of their inner bark. The native country of the flax plant is unknown } but as it was cultivated by the earliest civilized nations, it is probably a native of oriental regions, from which it has travelled into other countries. Description of Plant. -^It is an annual, with long and slender but fibrous roots, which penetrate to a considerable distance into the soil, where this is loose and friable. The stem is smooth, simple and erect ; branched^ or, as usually cultivated, branching only towards the top ; from one and a half to three feet in height. It consists of a pith and woody part, with the layer of best fibres covered with cuticle on the outside* The leaves are alternate, sessile, linear-lanceolate, and smooth. The flowers, of a blue color, are arranged in a corymbose panicle. The sepals, or green outer leaflets of the flower are five in number, ovate acute, slightly ciliated, nearly equal to the capsule in lengthi The petals, blue in color and five in number, are obscurely crenate, comparatively large, and deciduous. The stamens are equal in number to the petals and alternate with them, having their filaments united together near their bases into a kind of ring. The ovary, or young seed'Vessel, is divided into five cells, and is surmounted by five stigmata. Capsule, or boll, roundish, but rather pointed at the apex, divided into five perfect cells, each of which is again subdivided by an I"^ 8 I- * ILAX AND HEMP. imperfect partition, thus forming ten divisions, each of theni containing a single seed. These seeds are oval in shape, flattened or plump, smooth and shining, of a brownish color externally, but sometimes white ; always white internally : the seed-coat mucilaginous, and the kernel of the seed oily and farinaceous. . > The flax plant was cultivated by the earliest of the civilized nations of antiquity, and is becoming every day of still greater importance. It may be seen from the paintings in the tombs of Egypt, that it was early cultivated in that country, and it has been proven that it was so, from a microscopic examination of mummj-oloth. We read io the book of " Exodus" of the flax and the barley being smitten by the plague of hail in Egypt, and io <* Joshua" of the spies, who bad been sent to report on the state of Jericho, being hid with stalks of flax. Subsequently, it was much oultivated both by the Greeks and Romans. The flax plant is one of the humblest of those which are oultivatud, and yet it is one of the most important, thought not particularly useful as an article of diet. Its slender stem, narrow leaves^ aud beautiful blue flowers, give it an elegant appearaoee. Its smooth and shining seeds have their external coating formed of much condensed mucilage, while the white kernel is gorged with uil, especially valued for its drying properties ; and the refuse or oil-cake afl'ords a nutritious diet for cattle. The fibre of flax separated from the stem may be made use of for cordage, for coarse fabrics, or for ihS finest cambrics and lawns. Hence it is a principal obiect of attention in Russia and Poland, a highly successful culture in Belgium, carried on also in Germany, France, and Italy, the object of frequent legislative enactment in England, and of recent most successful cultivation in Ireland. Hence, also, it was re-established by the late Pasha in Egypt. It has been frequently recommended for culture in India on aooount of its fibre, as it already is in almost every part of that country for its seed. As much attention, also, has been given to the husbandry of flax in the United States and Canada as to any other branch of rural economy. The encouragemeut given by Government to the culture of flax in Ireland has been of considerable advantage. The quality of the flax has been so greatly improved that the Jury of Class IV. of the Exhibition of 1851, stated — "The entire collection shown by the Royal Society for Improving and Pro- moting the Growth of Flax in Ireland is so highly valuable, and so clearly illustrates the great advanees which have been made and the important service which this society has rendered to the country, that they determine to mark their high appreciation of their labours by recommending them to have one of the Council Medals." But, notwithstanding the endeavors of successive governments, the supply of home-grown flax hcs never reached the extent required by the manufac- turers of the United Kingdom. At prefent, it is considered that the con- sumption is equal to 160,090 tons. About 70,000 tons were, for several years, annually imported; or more precisely, in the year 1831, 46,820 tons; in the year 1843, about 72,000 tons were imported, but in 1853 no loss than 94,000 tons, or an increase of about 81 per cent, in the decennial period. If the 160,000 tons bo valued at an average of forty, or, according to others, at fi£ty pounds a ton, the amount is enormous. To this must be added ''£1,500,000, the value of 650,00 quarters of linseed, used as seed and for crushing purposes ; and about £500,000, the cost of 70,000 tons of oil-cake, FLAX AND HEMP. '9 which arc onnually imported, in addition to that made at home, for feedins; purposes. The quantity of flax fibre necessary to supply the demand of the United Kingdom would consume the ' rodnoo of 500,000 acres ; while in Ireland, during the year (1858J), only 136,000 were cultivated, and, probably, not a fourth of that quantity in the rest of the kingdom." (Wilson.) The seed is imported from India, Egypt, Russia, Sicily, Pruunia, and Holland ; and the oil-cake from Franco, Germany, and the United States. Mr. Fane is of opinion that — "Under proper arrangements, the whole might be home-grown. If all were, the money result would be enormous, because every ton of fibre involves the growth of eight tons of flax straw — eight tons of straw being required to produce one of fibre ; and every ton of struw involves the production of six bushels of seed, worth at least 6s. 6d. a bushel. These would give the following money result : — 1,680,000 tons of straw, jproducin2 six bushels of seed to each ton, at 68. 6d. a bushel, would give £2,496,000 160,000 tons of fibre|,at £60 a ton, would give 8,000.000 £10,496,000 Without advocating, or considering it desirable, that all the increasing quantities of flax required by the manufacturers of the United Kingdom should bo grown in that country, we may take advantage of the information collected as applicable to our own. It has, indeed, been objectvid, by Mr. H. S. Thompson, that if forty stone of flax (value 7s. 6d. per stone) is the average produce of a reasonably well-cultivated acre of flax, 70,000 tons of imported flax would require 280,000 acres of land for its cultivation, which is " clean and in good tilth," ». c, " precisely in the state in which it is best fitted for producing corn," and, "on an average, at least four quarters." " The 280,000 acres required to produce the flax imported, would therefore produce, if cropped with wheat, 1,120,000 quarters, 'vorth (at 7s. per bushel) £3,136,000 ; which approaches tolerably near to the estimate given by Mr. Nichols of the value of the imported flax, viz., £3,490,000." But these objections are made to the occupation of good land in a country like England, where the whole quantity is but limited, and do not apply to countries like America, where there is an unlimited extent of fertile land. (Royle.) " If we refer to the etatistics of Biitish and Irish exports, w;e find fhat in 18 13 there were shipped from the United Klnedom, in round numbers, 91,000,000 yards of linen, and that the exports of 1863 reached nearly 180,000,000 yards; the total value of all kinds of linen and yarn exported in the former year being £3,702,062, and in the latter £5,910,355,"— jBe{/cM< Mercury. Though the culture of flax Js considered by some as not particuiarlj eligible for the best cultivated lands of England, it is yet in other counrrieH accounted almost desirable object of attention, being in Belgium called "the Golden crop," and in Ireland •* the Rent-paying crop." In Russia, it is one of the principal objects of culture, and has been much extended by the continual advances of English capital ; while in Egypt, the culture was re-establijhed by the vigorous but despotic policy of Menemet AH. In Canada, it is to be hoped that we may be induced to cultivate it in suitable localities. In such situations it will be found an eligible crop if the population is numerous and labour abundant. Mr. Nichols says : — " The quantity of flax which, ought to be cultivated in any locality, must, in some measure, be governed by the quantity of labour there obtainable. One acre in a hundred, and one in fifty,. 10 HEMP AND FLAX. i have each been named as a suitable proportion. It is calculated that an acre of good fiaz, as it stands in the field, containing, say, about fifty stone of fibre, will afford employment for from twelve to fourteen weeks to a man skilled in the several processes of its preparation." But it is not to men only that finx affords employment, but also to women and to children ; as it is skiil rather than strength that is required for many of the operations. Flax grown in Russia, Prussia, and Fgypt, is, generally speaking, coarser than that grown in Holland, Belgiuiu, and France. But it is the latter, which is chiefly required in incveasicig quantities. Mr. McAdam says :— '< It is certain that all hot countries, or those which, like Rusiis, have a short, warm Eummer, cannot furnish fine flax fibre, but it is precisely coarse fibre that is now so much wanted. The bulk of fine flax used in the linen manu- facture is trifling compared with the coarse. A Belfast or Leeds mill of 5,000 spindles will consume only 200 to 250 tons of flax annually j while one ot' the same size at Dundee or Kirkaldy, will consume 1,000 to 1,200 tons. Belgium, Holland, France, and Ireland can supply the world with fine fibre; but Russia and Egypt cannot keep pace with the demand for coarse." Canadian flax will oring on an average from £40 to £50 a ton in Dundee nnd Belfast, and these prices ought to pay for the growth and export. ] TRODUCTS OF THE FLAX PLANT. The useful products of the flax plant consist of the seed, and of the fibre. Linseed or the seeds of the flax plant, are oval, pointed in shape, compressed vith a sh.'irp margin ; brownish colored, smooth, and shining on the out- side, but white internally, and without odour. The outside has a bland, niucilaginous taste, 'n consequence of the skin of the seed being covered with conde-iscd mucus. The white part, or almond of the seed, has an oily taste, from containing : .« i oil, which is separated by expression. These seeds analysed by Meyer, consist, in one hundred parts, of 1512 mucilage (nitrogenous mucilage with acetic acid and salts, according to some), chiefly in the seed-coat, 11*26 fatty oil in the nucleus. In the husk, emul- siii 14-38, besides wnx 014, acrid soft resin 2-48, starch with salts 1-48. In the nuclew, besides the oil, gum 615, albumen 2-78, gluten 203, also resinous coloring. matter 55, yellow extractive with tannin and salts (nitre and the chloride of potassium and calcium) 1-91, sweet extractive with malic acid and some salts 10-88. The condensed mucus which abounds in the testa of the seed is readily acted on by hot water, and a viscid mucilaginous fluid w formed, in which are two distinct substances ; one completely soluble in water analogous to common gum, called Arabine by chemists ; the other portion is merely «uspended, und is considered to be analogous to tho Bassorine, found chiefly in Gum Bussora, and in Cherry-tree gum. Alcohol produces a whit", flaky, and acetate of lead, a dense precipitate in mucilage of linseed. Linseed oil, which we have seen is contained in the kernel of the seeds, is obtained by expression, and may be either cold-drcwn, or, as usually obtained, after the seeds have been subjected to a beat of 200°. The former, as in the case of cold-drawn castor oil, is paler, with less color and taste than linseed oil prepared with the aid of heat. This is of a deep yellow or brownish color, of a disagreeable L-raell and taste, iipecifio gravity 0-932, soluble in alcohol and ether; differing from many other fatty oils, especially in its property of drying FLAX AND HEMP. 11 into a hard, transparent varnish — a peculiarity which is increased by boiling the oil, either alone, or with some of the preparations of lead. The yield of oil from a bushel of East Indian seeds is 14f lb. to 16 lb. ; of Egyptian, 15 lb.; of Sicilian, 14^ lb. to 15^ lbs.; of Russian, 11 lb. to 13 lb. ; of English or Irish, 10| to 12 lb. Linseed oil, according to Sace, is composed of Margarine and Oleine in nearly equal proportions. But the oleic acid of linseed differs from that of other fatby bodies. The anhydrous acid is composed of carbon 46, hydrogen 38, oxygen 5. The margario acid is as usual composed of carbon 34, hydro- gen 33, oxygen 3. The glycerine obtainable from linseed oil in large quantities, is also similar to that procured from other faCs. Linseed, after having had the oil expressed from them, are in the form of a flat mass, commonly called oil-cake. This being reduced to coarse powder, forms the linseed meal which is so commonly employed for making poultices, though these are also formed of the simply powdered seeds. From the chemical composition, it is also evident how nourishing the Hnseed is likely to be, and, indeed, from experience is well known tc be, for fattening cattle. In the imports of flax, the terms codilla and tow are very often used as synonymous, but codilia forms the first workings in the dressing of flax, and is longer than tow ; it is more or less dirty, a'jd in consequence sometimes cheaper than tow. CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE FLAX PLANT. In addition to the composition of the seed, it is interesting to know that of the plant in general. This we are able do in a very satisfactory manner, from Dr. Hodge's " Lecture on the Composition of the Flax Plant," and his paper read before the British Association, at Belfast, 3rd September, 1852. In this he communicated the history of a crop grown by himself for experimental purposes, and the progress of which he was able carefully to watch, from the sowing of the seed to its conversion into dressed flax for ^he market. From this we obtain the following information : — *' July 28th. — One plant of flax, in seed, was taken — height above ground, 31 inches, root, hh inches long; length from surface of field to fivst branch, 24 inches. About five inches of the lower end of stem had become yellow. The weight of entire plant was 711 grains. It was cut into three portions, whi h were separately incinerated, with the following results : — 1. Root apd lower part of stem weighed, dried, 6-60 grains, gave 0-094 ash=l-424 per cent. 2. Capsules and branches, dry, weighed 9-47, gave -293 afih=3094 per cent. 3. Middle portion, dry, weighed 5 55, gave -143 ash, Ash in dry stem 2-622 per cent. August 10th. — One plant taken — entire length with root, 37 inches; length from surface of soil to branches, 29 inches; stem of a light straw color leaves withered on ten inches of stem ; capsules ten in number — seeds green ; weight of entire plant 71 grains ; branches and capsules, 81-8 grains ; water in plant 45-335 grains ; solid matter in do., 25-665 : inorganic matter in do., 1-006 grains. , 12 FLAX AND HEMP. , , , • , , PER-CENTAGB COMPOSITION. TVater 68-862 Dry Organic matters .' 84'732 9608 ' Aah l-41tf 3.92 Total 100-000 10000 AngQst 25th. — The pulling of the crop was begun. A plant was taken and examined j weight of entire plant, 62-40 grains j weight of capsules, 22-50. FEB-CENTAGE COMPOSITION OF STEM. In fresh plant. Dry. Water 53-64 Orgauic matters 41-97 96-89 Ash 1-39 3-11 Total : lOO'OO 10000 Water in straw of plants as sent to the steeping works, after 14 dnys' ex- posure to the air in stooks, 12-2 per cent. ; water in air-dried c psules, 11-84 per cent. ; weight of the air dried flax, with bolls produced on the experimental field, 7-770 lb. COMPOSITION OP THE CROP. One hundred parts of the ash of the dry straw and capsules had respec- tively the following composition: — Aah of Straw. Of Capsules. l>ota8h 20-32 16 38 Soda 2-u7 6-23 Chloride of aodium 927 1298 Lime 19 88 13-96 Magnesia 406 3-91 Oxide of iron 283 038 Sulphuric acid 713 1451 PhoephOTic acid 1024 23-26 Carbonic acid 10-72 637 Silica 12-80 067 Total 99-31 9966 The proportion of nitrogen contained in the straw and capsules was ascer- tained to be as follows, per cent. : — 1. In the straw dried at 212«» (j-53 2. In the capsules or bolls, dc 1-26 Tbe general results of the examination of a specimen of flax straw taken from the experimental crop, are as follows : — " The presence of a volatile oil having been indicated, a quantity of the stems of the plant carefully d^'^rivcd of the seed capsule^, were distilled with water containing common salt ; and from the distillate which was withovt action on litmus, I obtained an oil of a yellow color. Five pounds of the stems afforded about ten grains of this oil, which had an agreeable, penetratir^ odour, and the distillate of the stems "uggested the peculiar smell which is remarked on entering a room where flax is stored. The solutions obtained on examination were found to contain wax; traces of chlorophylle; a peoulirr gneen resin; a bright brown gum resin, which presented some of the chara^n of the principle which Pagen- steober termed linen^ bat could not be indentified with it ; a modifir^ution of tannic acid which afforded a gray precipitate with porobloride of iron, bufr was not affected by solutions of isinglass- or tartar emetic ; gum, not affected by Irl FLAX AND HEMP. 13 aken iules, ' ex- 1-84 3DtaI pec- jer- solution of borax, or basic silicate of potash ; a brown coloring matter j albu- men ', casein ; starch ; pectin ; cellulose ; and salts/' The result of Dr. Hodge's experiments has been further placed in a very clear light by Mr. Wilson. The object of these was to ascertain the relative proportions of the produce of flax, and also the distribution of inorganic matter in them. The flax employed had been steeped in the ordinary way, and was found to contain 1-73 per cent, of ash. Of this, air-dried straw, 4,000 lb. weight were taken, which produced :^-> Of dressed fibre 600 lb. Of fine tow 132" Of coarse tow 192 " Of fibre in all 824 lb. These products contained : — In the dressed flax 4*48 lb. of ash " fine tow 208 V " coarse tow ; 2'56 " Or, in the whole of the fibre .... 9*12 lb. inorganic matter. So that 5908 lb., which the crop had withdrawn from the soil, remained in the useless portion, while only 912 lb. were carried off in 824 lb. of the dressed fibre and tow. Analysis of th- flax plant and of the soils in which it is grown were first carefully made by Sir. R. Kane, and afterwards by Dr. Hodges and others. They have been repeated by Messrs. Mayer and Brazier, in the Laboratory of the JRoyal College of Chemistry. The localities from which the latter obtained their specimens of flax, by the aid of Mr. A. Marshall of Leeds, were Esthonia, or Estland, Livonia, or Lievlaru, Courland, and Lithuania. The first of these districts, with the second and third mentioned, are situated on the eastern shores of the Baltic ; the fourth is the only inland country. From their analysis, the following comparative tnble was made, from which it will be readily seen, in what points the ashes of these different specimens agree in composition. t% cen oil !'cd ind oil his ms 3re iin im in- of as Potash Soda Lime Magnesia Sesqnioxide of Iron . . Manganese Chloride of Sodium . . " of Potassium Phosphoric Acid . . . . Sulphuric Acid Silicic Acid Lievland. Couilaad. Lithuania. 43-42 37-44 86-61 • • ■ • 8-74 3-06 21'36 25-39 24 09 7-79 7-71 7 45 115 1-13 1-04 • • ■ • Trace. • • • • • • • 1-94 3-75 1 31 • ■ • • ■ • • • 10-94 8-31 14-30 5-66 5-89 3-65 8-38 . 8-46 6-06 100 00 100 00 100-00 Lstland. 25-70 8-.S7 2641 11-74 1-02 i-67 16-47 4-64 4-98 100-00 We also append, in a tabular form, the result of Sir R. Kane's analysis of this plant, taken from his paper, read before the Royal Dublin Society, on the 6th of April, 1847. Ill M FLAX AND HEMP. A B CouBTRAi District. > C D Antwsbp District. 1 E •II F 1 ... . « r 1 £ -\ ■s iz; 1 Potash 9-69 24-16 19-37 4-34 6-66 0-66 Trace. 7-93 14-10 3-86 10-34 30-62 None. 22 04 4-46 2-03 0-68 Trace. 8-88 16-78 4 64 11-63 26-67 16*88 22-16 4-70 1-31 0-86 Trace. 8-18 10-66 3-20 6-49 28-62 0-48 2119 4-06 2-63 • • • • • • • • 13-43 12-19 3-36 1416 21.36 12-66 21-80 3-60 2-74 1-67 li-22 12-82 618 6-67 11-78 11-82 14-86 9-38 ■ • • • 7-32 • • • • 8-19 13-05 25 71 2-90 6-60 Soda 6-61 Lime 23-67 Magnesia Sesquiozide of Iron .... Al;. LQina 4-22 14 10 Manganese 1-12 Sulphuric Acid Phosphoric Acid Silicic Acid 9-80 7-29 0-94 Chloride of Sodium .... 26-15 100-00 100- 00 100.00 100 00 100 00 100-00 100-00 In the ashes, both of the Belgian and of the Russian specimens, we meet with a very large amount of alkali (nearly 40 per cent.) : the quantity, too, of phosphoric acid is very considerable (from 10 to 15 per cent.) These analyses then furnish a further proof that flax must be classed among the most exhausting crops, for, the amount of valuable mineral substances which it removes from the soil considerably exceeds the quantity which is generally extracted from it in the form of wheat or corn. From a statement of Mr. McAdam, it appears that one rood of land yields about 12.7 cwt. of recently pulled flax plant. If we take this number as the basis of calculation, and the average per oentage of ash at 3-53 lb., of alkalies at 39-58 lb., aud of phosphoric acid at 12-51 lb., we find that a flax crop removes from a rood of land not less than 12-21 lb. of alkalies, and 5-94 lb. of phosphoric acid. On the other hand, we have learned from the researches of Mr. Way (Royal Ayriadtural Journal^ vol. vii. p. 593), that a rood of land, which has served for the cultivation of wheat, loses (an average taken from a great number of analyses) about 7-5 lb. of alkali and 6-9 lb. of phos- phoric acid. These figures show that the amount of phosphoric acid in the flax crop closely approaches that of the wheat, whilst the latter extracts only about half the quantity of alkali which we find in the former. Hence, it would appear, that a flax crop is at least as exhausting as a crop of wheat. There is, however, one striking point of dissimilarity between the cultiva- tion of wheat and that of flax, and we are indebted to Sir B,. Kane for having for the first time brought this point under the notice of the farmer in a forcible manner, viz. : — " That while the mineral ingredients which we remove from our fields in wheat, or cerealia in general, become constituents of food, and enter in this manner into a circulation, from which, even under very favorable circumstances,- they return to the soil only after the lapse of some time, the woody fibre of flax, as a necessary preliminary to its being used by man, is sepa/ated to a considerable extent from those very mineral sub- stHQces which are so essential for its successful growth. This mineral matter, when eciinoniized in a proper manner by the farmer, may be returned to his fioltl to kut'p up the equilibrium of its fertility. FLAX AND HEMP. 15 it The vegetation of the flax plant resembles in this respect the growth of the sugar cane, from the culture of which we extract a material consisting entirely of atmoBpherio constituents. The inorganic substances taken up by the plant are only instruments used in its production, which should be as carjfully pre- served as tools in a manufactory, and will then do further duty in promoting the elaboration of future crops." Messrs. Mayer and Brazier then directed their attention to the soils upon which the different specimens of flax had been grown, samples, of which through the kindness of Mr. Marshall, had likewise been forwarded to Dr. Hoffman. These soils all gave a brownish colour to boiling water, owing to a portion of the organic matter being soluble in that menstruum. From their various analyses, Messrs. Mayer and Brazier obtain, by calcula- tion, the following amounts of constituents of 100 parts in the soil : — Eatland. Potash Soda Lime Magnesia ..,...„ Alumina Sesquioxide of Iron Manganese Chloride of Sodium Sulphuric Acid Phosphoric Acid Organic matter Insoluble residue, after deducting ) organic matter ) Lievland. Courland. Lithuania. 0-6011 0-8241 0-5466 0-1320 0-0452 0-3751 0-7816 0-4980 0-2006 0-1304 0-1805 1-1919 1-8731 2'141P. 1-8076 2-3767 3-1900 Trace. Trace. Trace. 0465 0-0247 0-0421 0-15.*l9 0-0880 1206 0-1399 0-0538 0-0806 4-7176 4-0300 4-3442 91-0634 88-4872 88-4724 100-1966 99 -.3016 99-6619 0-8726 0-0480 0-7955 0-3619 2-O102 2-0206 Trace. 0-0790 0-1618 0-1597 4-8680 88-2364 99 •1087 The insoluble residue constituting the greater portion of the soil, was fused with carbonate of potash. Upon calculation, they yielded the follow- ing results per cent. : — Lievland. Courland. Lithuania. Estland. Lime Traces. 11-6270 Traces. Traces. 79-3424 1 8727 6-1146 Traces. Traces. 81-6000 0-8778 2-2462 Traces. None. 85-0938 2-0120 Alumina 5-7549 SesQuioxide of Iron Traces. Phosohoric Acid Traces. Silicic Acid 80 6676 99-9694 92-6224 88-2168 88 3345 In all the four soils they found, comparatively speaking, considerable quantities of a kali, especially potash, and also of phosphoric acid. They closely resemble the Belgian soils analysed by Sir Robert Kane, as may be seen from the tables which they borrow from Sir Robert's paper. 16 FLAX AND IIEMP. Heestert EaoAmu£3es. Hamme Zog. Not named. Holland. Potasaa 0-160 298 t)-867 202 2-102 8-298 Trace. 0017 0-02S 0121 S-123 14-920 76-080 0-128 0-146 0-227 0-163 1-883 1-663 Trace. 0-080 0-017 0-162 2-861 9-280 84-065 0-068 0-110 481 0-140 0126 1-202 A trace. 0-067 0018 0-064 4-209 8-760 86-797 0-161 0-206 0-866 0-142 0-988 1-648 No trace. 0-009 0-026 0-193 8-672 4-400 88-886 0-688 Soda Litnc ••«••••• 0-806 8-043 AlAcrnfiflia. ...a >•■• 0-106 Alumina Sesquiozide of Iron .... Manfanese 6-626 6-047 Trace. Chloride of Sodium .... Sulphuric Acid Phosphoric Acid Organic matter not dri- ) venoffatl00°p.cent ) Clay 023 0-023 0-169 6-841 17-080 Sand 60-i/47 99-708 99-600 99-976 100-081 99-783 That we may have a complete view of what is required in soils for the successful culture of flax, we adduce Sir R. Kane's analyses of three Irish soils and one Belgian, from the Report of the Flax Improvement Society of Ireland. The Irish sjils, as described by Mr. McAdam, were from the counties of Londonderry and Tyrone, and were considered very good for flnx. The Belgian was from Duffel, in the Province of Antwerp, and may be taken as representing a third-rate class of 6ax soil in that country, requiring much manure, but producing good crops. The large proportion of sand, and the little moisture in this last, deserve notice : — Irish No. 1. Irish, No. 2. Irish, No. 3. Belgian.. Silica and Silicious Sand 73-72 6-61 6-66 0-06 1-00 0-32 4-86 7-57 69-41 6-29 6-70 0-25 0-53 0-25 6-67 11-48 64-93 6-64 • 8-97 0-31 1-67 0-45 9-41 ,8-62 92-78 Oxide of Iron 0-66 Alumina 111 Basic Phosphate of Iron 0-21 Carbonate of Lime 0-35 Magnesia, Alkalies, and Sulphuric ) and Muriatic Acids J Organic Matters with Nitrogen Water 012 2-74 2-03 . 99-78 99-78 100-00 100-00 CULTURE OF FLAX. The importance of flax culture being admitted, we may devote a few words to the objections which are usually alleged against it. These chiefly consist of the opinions entertained respecting the exhausting nature of a flax crop. This is certainly true, as Dr. Royle says, where everything is taken from the soil, and nothing returned to it; but the elementary principles of which both cotton and flax fibre, as well as sugar, consist, are now known to be obtained almost entirely from the atmosphere. Therefore, by taking away only the cotton, the flax, or the sugar, and returning all the other parts of the plant to the soil, these products will impoverish the soil as little as it is possible for any culture to do. This, as far as flax is concerned may be effected by some of the improved methods of preparing the fibre, and by feeding cattle on the oil-cake of the seeds, aud thus returning all the other constituents FLAX AND HEMP. 17 xvbich had been taken from the soil. Mr. Nichols observes that every farmer will be enabled, by applying the seed of his flax crop to that purp se, to obtain a supply of the richest manure, which, with the offal separate^ from the fibre in course of preparation, will serve to renovate the soil and secure its undiminished fertility. This we find fully proved by the foregoing and other analyses of the different parts of the plant, and of the soil in which it has been grown, as well as of the products obtained in the improved steeping and preparation of the fibre. The analyses of Mayer and Brazier correspond closely with those made by Sir R. Kane, of specimens of Belgian flax ; and their conclusions also coin- cide with his, that while the mineral ingredients which we remove from our fields in wheat, become constituents of food, the woody fibre of flax is sepa- rated from those very mineral substances which are so essential for its successful growth ; and they forcibly observe that " The inorganic substances taken up by the plant, are only instruments in the production of flax, which should be as carefully preserved as tools in a manufactory, and will then do further 3uty in promoting the elaboration of future crops." Climate. — One of the most important considerations in attempting the culture of flax in new situations or countries is that of climate, though one that is frequently neglected. On this subject, Mr. McAdam has made some very just observations. Though the climate of the British Isles is well adapted to the growth of this plant, those districts which possess the most equable temperature will bo found the most suitable. A regular supply of genial moisture in spring, without an excess of wet in autumn, is most favor- able. The severe droughts which frequently occur in spring in Belgium often destroy the crop. If, after springing to the height of two or three inches, a long continuance of drought should occur, vith a hot sun, the heat parches up the earth, as the delicate leaves of the plant are unable to exclude the scorching rays frpm the surface soil, and the roots have not penetrated sufSciently deep to secure a supply of moisture. Flax is then in the most critical state; the plant droops, turns a whitish yellow, and, if the drought continue long, dies on arid tracts of land. In such a case flax may be bene- ficially watered. When the plant acquires a sufficient height to thoroughly cover the ground, dry weather becomes comparatively harmless; but occasional gentle shc-ord are very needful to produce a regular and vigorous growth. In fact, a slow, steady growth, from the germinating of the seed to the maturity of this plant, is requisite for the quality and yield of fibre. Hence it is found that in countries approaching the northern limits of the temperate zone, the short hot summers induce too rapid growth, and although the quantity of fibre prodi^ced is pretty large, it is never of a fine reed. This is strongly exem- plified by Russia, as, out of an export frequently reaching 40,000 to 50,000 tons per {^nnum, none sells higher than £48; whereas, in Belgium and Holland, the price often reaches £150 and £180 per ton. The best samples of British flax sell for £65 to £70, or even £85 per ton. For the same reason, insular climates or long linee of coast, whose position insures a more equable' temperature and continued supply of moisture from spring till autumn, are found to produce the best flax. Id such the plant springs up to a height of thirty or forty inches, in a straight, slender stem, with few or no branches, and only two or three seed vessels to each stalk. 2 18 FLAX AND HEMP. So, also, Mr. Nichol says : — " Flax will bear a good deal of moisture, and, in fact, thrives best in a moist climate. Hence the peouMar suitableness of Eni^land for its growth; being more generally humid than that of the continent, especially in the western counties. Indeed, long-continued drought is the chief enemy the flax-grower has to dread." (p. 447.) * The hot summers of Russia and Egypt cause a dryness and brittieness of fibre, and prevent its retaining that elasticity, pliancy and oiliness which cha- racterize the flaxes of Belgium, Holland and Ireland. In Egypt, though the plant attains great luxuriance in the rich alluvial soils of the Nile, yet the fibre does not attain fineness and softness, and, not- withstanding the efforts made to improve the culture and preparation, its value has not exceeded £44 per ton. Culture. — In connection with the climate we may notice peculiarities of culture in different countries. Id Flanders, a great variety of crops are raised, the farms beingf for the most part small; the majority varying from eight or ten to twenty and thirty acres. Every Belgian farmer, whether large or small, grows flax sufficient to keep himself and his people employed irhen not at work on the land. The cultivation of flax in Flanders is conducted with the greatest care. 'Ihe ground is well ploughed, rolled, enriched, with liquid manure, harrowed, and when the seed is sown again harrowed in with a light harrow, and the surface rolled. The fields when thus accurately prepared display an extreme degree of neatness and smoothness. The liquid manure is prepared with oucsiderable care. It consists of the urine of cattle in which rape-cake ha^j been dissolved, and in which the cleansings of privies from the neighbouring towns and vil- lages have been mixed ; and is c )Ilected in subterranean vaults of brick work. About 2,800 gallons (beer measure) are allowed to the English acre In Bussia the flax is cultivated with less care, and without any manure in the Ukraine. The time of sowing is from the 25th of May to the 10th of June, and that of reaping, from the end of August to the end of September. The flax is about four months in a state of vegetation. SYSTEMS OF STEEPING. In Schenck'a process the temperature of the steep water is kept at 80*^ to 90°, but may be increased to that which is favorable to the proce^ of fermentation, — for the effects depend upon the destructive power of fermen- tation quite as much as in the old process. A great saving of time is effected — as not more than seventy-two nonrs is required for the fine, and about ninety-six hours for the coarse qualities; and a more uniform fibre is moreover produced. A disadvantage of this process, in comparison with some others, is that during fermentation, the same kind of gaseous exhalations are given off as in the ordinary method. These gases have been stated by chemists to consist chiefly of carbonic acid and hydrogen in nearly equal parts. Dr. Hodges has clearly shown that the fermentation is of a peculiar character, traces only of acetic acid being found, while butyric acid is generated in large quantities. Other objections have been stated— such as that the fibre was weakened FLAX AND HEMP. 19 when overhontetl ; and another, that a most offensive matter adhered to the straw, and that, in the process of scutching, the scutchers could not bear the smell of the irritant dust which flew off. With regard to other objections — euch as that the yield of fibre would be less, that it would be weakened, and that the linen made from it would not bleach properly — a committee of the Royal Irish Flax Improvement Society, after carefully conducted experiments, reported, first, that the uniformity of temperature hac^ the effect of incrcasiup: the yield of fibre. With regard to the weakening of the fibre, the committee ascertained that the flax steeped in the ordinary way spun to 96 lea yarn, and that by Schenck's system to 101 lea yarn. In the second, the cold- steeped gave 60 lea, and the hot-steeped 70. The third objection was submitted to an extensive blear hing firm, whose evidence in favor of the hot water piocess was very decided. We here subjoin Dr. Hodge's observations on his experimental crop, and his analysis of the steep-water. He first observes that the crop, having been air dried, was removed to the steeping works at Gregagh: " It wa8 there placed in stacks, and after some time prepared for steeping. Tlie first operation for this purpose is the rcmoral of the valuable bolls or capsules. This, in thaso establiahnienta, where the cost of labour is carefully considerr J, is usually most expeditiously and perfectly effected, by means of a machine comp^sad of two cast-iron rollers, to which motion is communicated by a bolt from the steam engine. Between these the flax is passed, and the capsules braised so that the seed can be readily shaken out. Having been deprived of its bolls by this machine, it was found that tho 7,770 lbs. of flax were reduced to 52 cwt., or 6,824 lbs. Of the portions of the plant remrfved by the seeding machine, 910 lbs. consisted of clean seed, 1,036 lbs. of husks, leaves and sand. The loss experienced by the flax in steeping was 13 cwt. From the 52 cwt. of seeded straw, the produce of tho experimental crop, there remained 6 cwt, 1 qr. 2 lbs. of marketable fibre, Tlie taste of the steep-water, at first, is rather agreeably acid, but followed by the peculiar plant-like taste of the flax. By the addition to the liquid of carbonate of lime, its acidity is destroyed. Contrary to what has been stated, in some reports on this subject, the liquid, I found, at the conclusion of the process, yields merely a trace of acetic acid, and in numerous experiments no trace of the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen could be detected at any stage of the fermentation. When the flax is allowed to remain in the vats after the usual time, a new series of changes, and a fresh and rapid extrication of gas take place. I have made, during the last three years, numerous experiments witli respect to the composition of the steep-water, from several establish- ments, and also from the common steep-pools, which afforded me some interesting results, and satisfied me that the fermentation which is induced by steeping flax in water resem- bles the so-called butyric acid fermentation ; merely traces of acetic acid, and invariably large quantities of butyric acid having been detected in every case. In fact, the fragrant butyric ether, so extensively employed in the preparation of pine-apple rum, and in flavoring confectionery, might readily be obtained in large quantities from the stinking waters of the flax-pool. To ascertain exactly the effect produced by steeping, and the composition of the steep- water, I obtained from the works at Cregagh a sample of flax straw unsteeped, a portion of steeped straw taken from tho same lot, and a gallon of the steep-water taken from the vat immediately after th« removal of the flax. The composition of the ash obtained by burning the extract of the steep-water, and the samples of the straw, is given in the table. The spring water employed at the works is moderately hard, indicating, on Dr. Clarke's stale, 8 aegrees. It was not considered necessary to deduct the ingredients supplied in it, as these would add but little to its fertilising value. An imperial gallon of the liquid of the vat was found to contain, in grains and tenths : Organic matters 136"7 Inorganic matters 131*4 Total solid matters 268*1 grains. 20 riAX AND nEMP. COMPOSITION OF THE ASII OF THE FLAX STRAW BEFORE AND AFTER STEEPINQ, AND OK THE INORGANIC MATTERS OP THE STEEP WATER. 100 parts of each respectively contained: — Unstecped Btcoped Aah of the • flax. flnx tteep water. Potash 1888 1140 1981 Soda 6-33 4-17 Cldoride ot Potassium 383 Chloride of Sodium 647 8-28 21-24 Lime 18-86 1769 8'23 Maufiiesia 410 6-60 10-18 Oxide of Iron 840 6-76 202 Hulphurlcacid 11-16" 4-07 610 Phosphoric acid 9-63 11-87 377 Carbonic add 10-87 20-06 23-30 Silica 16-23 16-78 112 Sand 0-60 100-43 99-88 99-77 Ash per cent. In the straw . 8 89 2-69 100 grains of the dried extract of the steep-water contained 1-66 nitrogen,=l -89 grains of ammonia ; therefore an Imperial gallon would be capable of supplying five grains, and a vat, containing 8,000 gallons of water, 2 1-10 lb., worth about Is. 2d. to the farmer ; while the siime amount of liquid, placed on his field, would convey to them about the same amouut of phosphoric auld. By the kindness of the proprietors of the steeping works at Cregagh, who have liber ally given me an opportunity of Inspecting the books of their establishment, I am enabled to give the following statement of the changes which 100 tons of flax undergo when treated by Schenck's process. 100 tons of alr-drled flax straw yield : — Tons. 1. By seeding — 33 tons of seed and husks, leaving of seeded flax 67-00 2. By steeping — 1>7 tons of seeded flax yield of steeped straw 39-60 8. By scutching — 89^ tons of steeped straw yield of dressed flax 6'90 " " of tow and plucklngs 1-47 WATT'S PATENT PROCESS. The advantages of Schenck's method of preparation are sufficiently oonsi- derable to ensure its adoption at once in an uncertain climate like that of the British Isles. But it remained to be proved whether the process of ferment- ation was essential to the separation of the fibre; and whether, if it was got rid of, we might not obtain an equally good fibre, avoid the noxious exhala- tions, and even utilize the products of the steep-water, which had previously been a nuisance. Some are of opinion that this has been done by Watt's method of preparing flax. In this process the Sdlution of the cementing matters of the flax straw, and the separation of the fibre are effected, not by the ordinary methods of fermentittion, but by exposing the straw to the action of steam, in a chamber of peculiar construction, and afterwards subjecting it to pressure, applied by means of heavy metal rollers. The first operation consists in placing the seeded flax in a chamber formed of plates of cast iron. The chamber used measures about twelve feet in length, and is about six feet broad, and six feet in depth, and contains about fifteen cwt. of &ax. On the top is a tank for containing water, also of cast iron, about eighteen inches deep, the bottom of which forms the roof of the chamber, and through which FLAX AND HEMP. 21 passes a tube, furnished with a valve. There are two doors ia the ends of the chambers, through which the flax is introduced, and these, when the steam is admitted, are secured by screws. A false bottom, forincd of perfo- rated iron pliitos, such as are used in malt-kilns, is raised about six inches from the bottom of the ohambor ; and, restinor on this, there is an upright throw-pipe. The chamber being filled with flax, and the doors secured, steam is admitted, and when the straw has been thoroughly saturated with moisture and softened, a weight is placed upon the valve on the top, so as to confine the steam, which, as it strikes against the cold bottom of the water- tank forming the roof of the chamber, is condensed, and made to descend in streams of distilled water, which dissolve the soluble matters of the softened straw, washing them into the lower part of the chamber. The liquid, as it accumulates, is conveyed into a reservoir, and employed as food for cattle. The analysis of this liquid is given at page 22. Towards the conclusion of the process, when nearly all the soluble matters have been removed, the liquid is allowed to collect until it rises above the false bottom, and, by placing a weight upon the safety valve, in the roof, the pressure of the confined steam causes it to ascend in the throw-pipes, by which it is discharged in showers ovcjr the straw. The throw-pipes, it may be mentioned, are not essential^ and in some of the chambers they are ntt used. In their stead, a square iron reservoir is placed on the top of the chamber, and communicating with it by a pipe with a stop-cook, into which the liquid* accumulated in the chamber is pumped, and discharged occasion- ally over the straw. In from twelve to eighteen hours the steaming process is completed, and the straw, when withdrawn from tho chamber, is immediately subjected in small parcels to the successive action of two pair of heavy iron rollers, by which it is pressed into flat tape-like bands, and deprived of nearly all tho moisture contained in it. The longitudinal pressure — this pressure also removes a considerable portion of the epidermis, or outer envelope, and facilitates the removal of the woody matter in scutching. Each pair of rollers used exerts a pres-^ure equal to 10 cwt. The after treatment of tho pressed straw does not present any reniarkable diiference from the system pursued in the hot-water steeping establishments. The straw is secured between rods, and suspended in a drying chamber, heated by the waste steam of the engine. The arrangements for this purpose consist of rooms with floors formed of spars. Below this flooring passes a pipe convoying steam, by which the air admitted by openings at the bottom of the chambers is heated, and made to ascend through the flax. The circu- lation of the air is ingeniously effected by a series of revolving heaters kept in action below the steam-pipe. The following extract from the Report of a Conimittee of the Royal Flax Society gives the results of an experiment made at Messrs. Leadbetter's works, Belfast : — In this experimental trial, a quantity of flax straw, of ordinary quality, was taken from the bulk of the stock at the works, weighing 13f cwt. with the seed on. After the removal of the seed, which, on being cleaned thoroughly from the chaff, measured 3J imperial bushels, the straw was reduced in weight to 10 cwt. 1 qr: 2 lb. It was then placed in the vat, where it was subjected to the steaming process for about eleven hours. After steeping, wet rolling, and drying, it weighed 7 cwt. qr, 1 1 lb. ; and on being scutched, the yield was 187 lb. of flax; and of scutching tow, 12 lbs. 6^ oz. fine, 3D lbs. 3 oz. coarse. The yield of fibre, in the state of good flax, was, therefore, at the M ' I'I'AX AND UEMP. rnto of 13 J lb. from the cwt. of straw with seed on ; 18 lb. from the cwt. of strow without seed ; 26^ lb. from the cwt. of eteepod and dried straw. The time occupied in actual labor, In the procosacs from the seedinj;^ of the flnx to the coniinencemcnt of the scutching, was 13^^ hours, to which, If eleven hours he added for the time the flax was in tlie vat, twenty-four hours would be the time required up to this point. The scutching, by four stands, occupied six hours sixteen minutes. But, in this statement, the time required for drying is not included, ns owing to soroo derangement in tlie apparatus, no certain estimate could be made of the actual time required in that process. It would appear, however, that about thirty-six hours would Include the time necessary, in a well-organised establishment, to convert flax-straw into Hbre for the spinner. The cost of all these operations in this experiment, leaving out tho drying, for the reasons noted, appeared to be under £10 per ton of clean fibre for labor, exclusive of general expenses. A portion of the fibre was sent to two spinning mills to be hackled, and to have a value put upon it. Tlie valuation of the samples varied from £60 to £70 per ton, according to the quality of the strides of fibre sent, and the yield on the hackle was considered quite satisfactory. Appended to this report is a note of the time occupied in the different processes during the experiment, and of the number of persons employed in each. It Is to be hoped that so promising a plan may, on more extended experience, bo found fully to warrr.at tho high anticipation formed from what is already known con- cerning it. (Signed on behalf of tlio Committee) Richard Niven, Chairman. Belfast, 3rd Nov., 1852. • Appendix. — Note of the time occupied, and of the number of persons employed in each of the ))roce88e8 witnessed by the Committee, on tho experimental trial of Mr. Watt's system of preparing flax fibre. No. of PersoiiH omi'loyud. Time ocouiiied. Seeding 4 8 1 15 Placing in vat 'A 4 16 Cleaning seed 1 (» H Taking out of vat 2 8 80 Wet-rolling and putting in drying room 116 8 20 Rolling for scutching !1 18 Striking for do 7 4 47 Total 11 49 18 16 Scutching 4 .0 16 ANALYSIS OF THE LIQUID OBTAINED IN WATT'S PATENT FLAX PIlOCi:S.'5. At a uieetini.' of the Chemico-Agricultural Society of Ulster, Dr. Ilodgos gave an analysis of the liquid obtained in Watt's patent flax proce.s.s, and an account of the new prooess of preparing flax, patented by Messrs. Watt and Leadbotter, which he said off"ered the only practical method of economizing the matters which are sepiirated from the flax plant in its preparation for the manufacturer, which had hitherto been proposed. The liquid which remains in the flax-vats employed in the new process possessed none of the disagree- able qualities of the ordinary steep-waters. It was free from smell, and in taste and color somewhat resembled an infusion of senna leaves. It was, in fact, a strong tea, containing, unchanged by fermentation or putrefaction, the sfjiuble matters of the stem of the fiax plant. It was at the present time advantageously used at Messrs. Leadbetter's works in feeding pigs. As it was desirable to ascertain the exact composition of this liquid and its nutri- tive value, he had procured a sample of it from the Bedford Street Works, FLAX AND nEMP. 28 and hud it submitted to chomioal tizamiimtioD. The fulluwing were the results. Oae gallon evaporated to drjocss gave : Of organic mattorn 863M>7 grftln«. Of curtliy aud Bullno inuttcra lGr4U " To^al amount of Rolid matter ftlS'40 " The organic matter afforded, on analysis, 14-79 grains of nitrogon. The earthy and saline matters were found to possess the following com- position : — COMPOSITION OF THE ASH OP THE STEEP WATER OP FLAX. Per flent. Potash 2717 Sodii 318 Chloride of sodium 2168 Lime 6'91 Magnesia 4'00 Oxide of iron 0-83 Bulphuriu acid lfi'64 rhosphoric acid 6'66 Carbonic acid 1 2*4;{ Silica 300 In n gal Ion. 4403 gi UIU8 6-12 II 34-61 II 9-49 II 7-40 II 1-33 II 2511 II 9-01 II 19-96 II 4-68 II 1 lOO-OO 161-49 " Dr. Hodges stated that the flax liquid possessed considerable feeding quali- ties ; and Mr. Leadbetter, in reply to his enquiry, said that it hud not been found to exhibit any purgative effect; t^^e pigs at his works received it mixed with turnips, and the husks of the flax, and were in a thriving futtoning condition. The vat liquid, Dr. Hodges observed, could be drawn off in a more concen- trated form than the sample examined, and it would be easy for the manu- facturer, by employing a hydrometer, to supply it of uniform strength. COMPOSITION OP THE ASH OP P'LAX SHOVES. The shoves, or refuse woody matters which are separated in scutching flax, are at present employed in the steeping works as fuel. Dr. Hodges, in the course of the extended investigation of the flax plant, in which he was engaged, found that the ash which repiiiins on the incineration of these matters had the following composition, and might, therefore, advantageously be economized for use as manure. 100 parts of ash afford : — Potash 7-73 Soda 6-91 Chloride of sodium 1-78 Lime 2('15 Muf^nesift , 5'4(5 Oxide of iron 5-60 Sulphuric acid 6-50 Phosphoric acid 10 43 Carbonic acid 2010 Silica 1600 99-66 1000 lb. of shoves yield, on combustion, 19 J lb. of ash. Mr. C. Fane, referring to the difliculties experienced in the fermentative processes, has given a graphic account of another method by which the 6bre of 24 FLAX AND HEMP. the flax, as no doubt of ether plants, m'ly easily be separated. Subjeetinp; the Viet fibres to heavy pressure is now adopted in most of the improved processes : " At this juncture, an English gentleman, a Mr. Pownall, endeaA'oring to work out Mr. Clnussen's idea of obtaining from flax a fibre that would spin on cotton machinery, made a most ynluable discovery, as to the preparing flax for the common linen purposes, which was this, that if the flax straw, when taken out of the water in which it had been steeped and fermented, were instantly, and before d^-ying, subjected to severe pressure, and a stream of cold water, the pressure would press out, and the water would wash away almost all the gluten remaining in Mie plant not removed by the fermentation. It is impossible to over-estimate the v iie of this discovery. The grand difficulty in the management of the flax plant had alw-iys been the difficulty of hitting the happy mean between oner-fermenting and wjider-fermenting the straw. If the straw were not fermented enough, the gluten was not sufficiently dit-aharged, and then the woody parts of the plant stuck to the fibre so strongly, tliat nothing short of violent blows of tlio scutching instruraont would remove it, and violent blows broke much of the fibre into short lengths, called tow, of little or no value. On the other hand, if the straw were fermented too much, then the gluten was, indeed, sufficiently discharged, and moderate blows sufficed to remove the woody matter ; but in that cast the fibre was weakened, and the blows, moderate as they were, again broke the fibre into tow. In eitlier case tliO yield of valuable fibre was unsatisfactory, and the reed and quality deteriorated ; and it was only in those c^^e3 where the exercise of the greatest care and judgment had enabled the steeper to trim most happily between fermenting too much and ferment- ing too little, that a satisfactory yield of fibre was obuained. Mr. Pownall's discovery at once triumphed over this iutherto almost insuperable difficulty, because it enabled i»im to stop short in the proct^j of fermentation before he arrived at the point of danger, and yet remove the gluten even more eff'ectually than excessive fermentation had previously done ; from which there resulted the following advantages: — " 1st. Tho squeezing and washing so completely cleansed the fermented straw, that the objection to Schenck's hot-water system, arising from the putrid matter re-adhering to the straw, and flying off from tho straw in dust in scutching; at once disappears' ; and hence the mills erected for hot-water steeping resumed work, and no impediment now exists to steeping being carried on aU the year round. " 2nd. Fermentation need never be carried beyond the perfectly safe point, ami hence tl-e fibi-e is not weakened. " 3rd. The weody matter is easily removed by moderate blows of the scutching instrument, because the sticky matter no longer impedes the operation, and lipnce the yield of fibre is much greater. " 4th. The fibre obtained is of a singularly soft and pliable character, and is much preferred by the spinner. " 5th. The subsequent process of bleaching is greatly facilitated, because it is the gluten which remains in the fibre whiqh resists the action of bleachiiig ingredients, and under Mr. Pownall's process the gluten is effectually removed, " The use is spreading more and more every day, and the results are universally ncknowledered as most satisfactory. The process adds from £10 to £30 to the value of tlie ton of flax, according as the raw material is of inferior or superior quality ; and the expense is the merest trifle." These methods of preparing the fibre from flax stems which have been rlrifid and stacked, afford considerable advantages, as the seed becomes more ripe, and the farmer can choose a leisure time for the preparation of his flax \ or, better, ho may confine bis attention to growing the flax, and then scad it for careful preparation to the factory or rettory. STEEPING OUEEN.» With tho above methods of separating flax which has been stacked, we may contrast that of steeping the stems when green, and which, when the * The stooping (f hemp when in a green state was strongly recommended by. the Abbo Cr:iil('3 ; and the uatives of India insist upon its being the best mode for Smiu. FLAX AND HEMP. 25 quantity is small and can be worked up at once, would appear to be the most advantageous. M. Dufreniont, cultivator h Hem (department du Nord), found that when the flax was used green, the steeping only required from six to seven days ; and that six days' grassing gave the flax a finer color than could be obtained by any other means. It was dried and ready for scutching in three weeks j whereas the ordinary time in the district averaged from a year to a year and a half He found also that it yielded 5 per cent, more fibre, which was worth fully 10 per cent, more money in the market. The flax was pulled before it was quite ripe, the seed bolls removed by rippling, and the straw immediately placed in the pits. The seed, however, was reduced about two francs per hectolitre in value. The practice of steeping green is carried on to a large extent in the Waes District, in Belgium. About Courtrai, in Belgium, the flax is steeped In the river Lys, which contains a remarkably pure and suitable water. In Flanders District (Pays de Waas) the flax is watered immediately after rippling in the manner now generally recommended, and the water used is allowed to become partially stagnant in the poold previous to the immersion of the plant. It certainly is a strange fact, that the fermentation proceeds quite success- fully io 9. running stream of fresh water; and it is evident, therefore, the process must go on in the juices and gummy matter, which connect the woody stem to the pure fibre of the plant, as the water itself has not time to become decomposed in passing through the bundles. It is a common practice to run oS the water from the steep-holes into the stream, and afterwards take out the flax. This system is contrary to oil cor- rect acknowledged principles of agricultural economy. In the first place, the " flax water" so lost is excellent liquid, manure, and its effects can be clearly traced on meadow land, where the plant has been spread for "grassing" immediately after removal from the pool. This liquid ought therefore to be preserved and carted in large barrels over the grass fields adjoining, or thrown over by means of hose, on Mr. Mechi's plan. In the next place, by running off the water, all the scum and dirt in the pool are allowed to settle among the flax plants, and the bundles are pressed against the sides and bottom of the hole, where they are sure to become soiled and dirtied, thus injuring the color and quality of the fibre. Lastly, the noxious fluid passing into the stream at a time when the river is at the lowest summer level, not only corrupts the water, and renders it unfit for domestic use, but poisons the fish therein — an offence punishable by law. CHEMICAL PROCESSES. The action of water and the production of fermentation may truly be con- .''idered chemical operations; but the term is usually applied to other processes, in which the action of soap, of acids, or of caustic or of carbonated alkalies, or uf some salts, is employed to effect the separation of the fibres from each other, as well o" from tho cellular tissue and accompanying glutinous secre- tions. The natives of India have long been in the habit of bleaching their muslins by boiling them in a ley of carbonate of soda, and then washing them in a weak solution of citric acid, obtained from the juice of limes or of lemotis. So in other parts they boil the bast of certain plants in a ley of wood ashc, in order to facilitate the separation of the fibres. Some of the t! 26 FLAX AND HEMP. chemical methods which have been invented in Europe are similar to these. In the "Jury Report" of Class lY., by Prof. E. Solly, for the Exhibition of 1851, we have an account of the old Garman process called " Molkenrost," sometimes used in preparing the finer sorts of flax. This was steeped for four or five days in a warm mixture of milk and water, and thus the desired degree of fermentation in the flax stems was produced. This is distinct from the more modern process in which linen was boiled by the Dutch in a weak alka- line ley, and subsequently treated with sour buttermilk, of which no doubt the lactic acid was useful in removing the alkali, as well as in dissolving some of the impurities of the fibre, and thus was nearly identical with tbo [ndian process of bleaching. Subsequently, salt of sorrel (that is, an oxalate of pot- ash, or the same salt which is so abundant in the leaves of ihe gratn cicer arietinum), and sulphuric and muriatic acids were employed, but were found to be too costly. The careful experiments of Hermbstaedt, at the beginning of this century, threw much light on the chemical principles involved in, and on the influence of temperature on the separation of the fibre of flax. These chemical processes have again attracted much attention, since the process patented by M. Claussen has shown how much the nature and appear- ance of fibre may be changed by the action of such agents. But this, like many other inventions, has many points of similarity with what had been done long before, without attracting much attention. Of it we have the fol- lowing account in the above " Jury Report," p. 97 : "This prccesa (patented August, 1850) consists essentially ia boiling the cut and crushed stems of the flax, hemp, or other plant, in a dilute solution of caustic soda, con- taininj^ about one two-thousandth part of alkali. The fibrous matter is then removed, and phinged into a bath of dilute sulphuric acid, consisting of one five-hundreth part of acid, in which it is boiled for about an hour. It is next transferred into a solution, con- taining about ten per cent, of carbonate of soda ; and, lastly, when it has remained in the latter for an hour, it is plunged into a weak solution of sulphuric acid, consisting of one part of acid to two hundred or five hundred parts of water; in this it is left for about hnlf- their task at the rate of four sous, or two pence, the kilo, or about two pounds and a half weight; and in that way the flax is delivered either to private parties, or to flax mills, to be combed. It is the absence of the intermediate tradesman, who acts as a purchaser and preparer of flax, which is on i main diflicuTiy attending its cultivation in this country. Thellax growers of the principal countries of Europe declare that this plant produces seed which is less and less vigorous from year to year, unless the stock of grain is renewed by being brought from distant places of growth. The usual Flemish practice is to change the seed by a fresh importation from Riga every two years; others have thought that every three years would be sufficient to obtain a new supply from Russia; but it is found if a change be but made, it; is by no meiMis a matter of necessity that the seed sliuuld be of Russian growth. The French farmers, although preferring Riga seed, often make an ititerchango between village and village. In such cases they find their fla.^c crops succeed to their perfect satisfaction. (JDod flaxseed should be smooth, slippery, and should sink in water; it ohould tnt^tii sweet, when chewed, and being broken should appear of a light yellowish-green color, and very oily. A good means of testing various samples of seed is to weigh equal mr.asured quantities against each other. Experi- enced jiorsons examine the seed by taking a handful of it, and letting it run out between their forefinger and thumb, in order to be able to observe it closely sidewise, and to be better able to judge of its plumpness and weight. Others inoisttii their forefinger, and dip it into the sampleof seed, which stick'' to it; they tiri) thus able to examine each grain separately, and so form an opinion of its purity and goodness. Good seed should be very even in its quality, and free from mixture with the smaller seeds of weeds. Most growers prefer 28 FLAX AND HEMP. to SOW new seed, but, unlike heinp seed, linseed preserves its vitalily for several years. A writer thus describes the process of flax-weeding, from personal obser- vation : • " Suppose that you had lost a single valuable pearl on the smooth-shaven grass plot before your door. To find it, a good plan would be to get half-a-dozen sharp-eyed women and children to go down on their knees side by side, as close together as they could conveniently work, and to make them creep steadily forward In a rank, like so many soldiers, searching as they advanced for the lost pearl, between every single blade of grass. This is. exactly the way in which flax is weeded, docks, charlock and thistles being the objects of search, instead of pearls and rubies. While passing through- Belgium in spring, I used to fancy that if a peasant, after retiring to rest, remembered that he had passed over one sprouting weed in his new-sown flax, he would be unable to sleep upon his mattress, and would get up in the middle of the night, to search for it by moonlight. To unprofessional eyes, the plant looks too delicate to bear the pressure of this inquisitive crowd ; but its natural eUsticity raises it again ; and to help it, it is the custom for the weeders to advance againtt the wind, in order that the welcome breeze may aid the prostrate flax to hold up its head in the world once more." During the blossoming period, in France and Belgium, the linier, or " flax man," will arrive, inspect the crop carefully, and make his bargain with the farmer to take it off his hands. The flax man undertakes all the subsequent manipulation of the flax, and the French farmer's anxieties cease exuctly at the moment when, in consequence of his inexperience, the English flax- grower's only begin. The signs of the fitness of the flax for pulling, are best learned by actual inspection and practice. Mr. Henderson states : — " I have found the test recommended by Mr. Boss (a Dutchman), to ascertain the degree of ripeness that gives the best produce, with the finest fibre, perfect. It is this: Try the flax every day, when approaching ripeness, by cutting the ripest capsule, on an average stock, across (horizontally) ; and when the seeds have clianged from the white, milky substance, which they first show, to a greenish color, pretty firm, then is the time to pull. The old prejudice in favor of much ripening is most injurious, even as regards quantity; and the usual test of the stalk stripping at the root and turning yellow, should not be depended upon. Where there is one man that pulls too green, five hundred over- ripen. 1 use the Dutch method of pulling, say, catching the flax close to the bolls ; this allows the shortest of the flax to escape. With the next handful, the puller draws the short flax, and so keeps the long and the short each by itself, to be steeped in separate ponds. It is most essential to keep the flax even at the root end, and this cannot be done without time and care; but it can be done, and should always be done." Without steeping, flax would be useless for textile purposes. By dew- retting the quality of the sample is seriously injured. The old-fashioned plan of aceeping answers better on the whole than any other mode that has been discovered. But flax-steeping, it must be confessed, has many disadvantages attending it. In the first place, it is an oflensive process. The smell which the ditches and ponds occasionally emit, is all but unbearable ; so also is the odour of the flax when taken out of the water. The water wherein flax has been steeped, if let out at once into a stream, is fatal to the fish. Secondly, many farms, which are most suitable for flax-growing, are deficient in the quantity of water necessary for steeping. Here again we see the use of the liniers or flax-men. It will thus be seen that several distinct conditions require to be combined, in order to adapt any one locality for the successful cultivation and prepara- tion of flax, if it be necessary for the farmer himself to undertake the mani- pulation of the flax he grows ; and they ought not to be overlooked by those FLAX AND HEMP. 29 viho are desirous of introducing a new and profitable branch of agriculture into their own neighbourhood. Attenapts that are made without due consid- eration of each one of these conditions, will only lead to disappointment. SCUTCHING. This is done by the hand-scutch, or in the scutch-mill, after the flax has been passed through the break. The scutching-board is an upright plank, fifty-one inches high, fourteen broad, and with a uniform thickness of three-quarters of an inch throughout, firmly fixed in a solid block of wood. At the height of thirty-seven and a half inches from the foot, is a horizontal slit, an inch and a half broad. With his left hand the scutcher introduces into thr slit a handful of broken flax, so that it hangs down on the side of the scutching-board. With his right hand he scrapes and chops at the flax with a tool called a scutch. A leather strap, an inch in breadth, stretches between twv low posts, at the height of nineteen inches from the ground, just before the workman's legs, at the lower part of the scutching-board, in order that he may not bark his shins while scutching the flax. The strap also, by its elasticity, causes the blow to rebound, and so aids the laborer in continuing his work. By these means, and by turning it about, the woody refuse is got rid of, and little else but the pure fibre remains. The scutch itself is a tool whose form varies considerably in different coun- tries. The most approved French scutch consists of three part& — the handle, wade of light willow-wood; the table, made of the heart of walnut-tree; and the tail, made of the branch of walnut-tree. The latter portion is the great peculiarity of the implement, serving to give impetus to the blow, and also to steady the course of the scutch in its descent through the air, as the feather steadies the course of an arrow. The extreme length of the scutch, from the end of the handle to the tip of the tail, is twenty-four inches and a quarter. The greatest thickness of the tail at the upper part is a trifle more than an eighth of an inch. The table is considerably thinner. The upper part of the table is as thick as a halfpenny piece; the cutting edge or lower part as thick as a penny piece. French scutchers, at two pence the kilo (short for kilogramme, and equal to 2,206 English pounds avoirdupois), can earn from eight pence to twenty pence a day, according to their skill, and the quality of the flax they have to do with. DELIVERING THE SCUTCHED FLAX. There are various forms in which flax is delivered to the spinner. They agree in one point, namely, in keeping the fibre in tightly bound handfuls, each of a fixed and definite weight, twisted in a convenient square form, according to the custom of the locality, and in uniting those handfuls into bales, containing a stipulated number, and, therefore, weighing a stipulated amount. In the Pas de Calais scutched flax is always delivered in the shape of two kih handfuls (about five pounds and a half united), clapped together ; and the purchaser may obtain these by the half-score, score, hundred or thousand. One mode of making up a bale of flax is to begin by taking two handfuls of fibre, ready twisted into shape, and clapping them together, head and tail in an opposite direction, and going on in the same way, placing the handfuls alternately, to make them lie as close together as possible, till the determined 80 FLAX AND HEMP. ■ & ' number of handfula is packed ; the whole is then bound with three cords passing round the middle, and not far from the two ends. In packing flax, the producer should be careful to avoid putting samples of a different quality into the same bale; as, besides the possibility of its being looked upon as a species of fraud, it is always better to sell each quality sepa- rately for what it is worth, than to endeavor to obtain a mean or medium price for the whole, which will always turn out lower than the mean of the lowest and the highest prices. The British practice is to deliver flax in stones weight To obviate the objection which many land-owners have made to the flax crop, on account of its returning nothing to the land, and also to increase the quantity of fat cattle sent to market, Mr. Warnes conceived the idea of apply- ing linseed to the maintenance and finishing off of the live stock usually kept on a farm. His object had reference more to the fattening than to the rearing of cattle, and to proving that double or even triple the usual number may be profitably returned, through the medium of linseed compound, box feeding and summer grazing. The system of feeding cattle in boxes had been long partially practised in various parts of the kingdom, and the growth of flax from time immemorial. The fattening of cattle with linseed was in full operation by the Hindoos fifteen hundred years ago ; and in modern times in England, particularly in Norfolk, repeated attempts were made by the most ^expert graziers to establish the use of linseed. Summer feeding also, in stalls or houses, has been long practised on the continent. To Sir Edward Stracey's experiments in boiling grain, Mr. Warnes added the linseed infusion, and thus produced his " incomparable cattle compound." (See his book.) The Soci6te Liuitire of Brussels, in its printed recommendations, states: — "Above all thin;^, the rotation of crops ranat be scrupulously observed. If seven or eight years be allosved to elapse before again sowing flax in the same field, it is certain that there will be a good crop; but the less the interval between the two crops, the less is the second to be calculated on, either for quality or weight," SCUTCHING MILLS. In the scutching mills of the present day, instead of the arm of the man, a horizontal shaft is used, with wooden blades attached, revolving and acting on the flax vertically. The process of threshing by the mallet, in the hand operation, is performed now in the mills by passing the flax between a set of rollers, which bruise it so completely as to render much more easy the after- separation of the straw. The Trustees of the Linen Manufacture, prior to A.D. 1828, directed great attention to improvements in the scutching process ; and of late years Her Majesty's Government have shown a similar laudable anxiety to encourage the erection of superior mills. In many parts of England and Ireland the want of flax-cleaning machinery, convenient to the farmsteads, is very much felt. The scutching is always rather an expensive operation, even in the North of Ireland ; and in remote districts, whr heavy carriage is required to a distant mill, the agriculturist is often mr 3mbarrassed. All large proprietors, or, where there are not such, the lot '-rmiog associations, ought certainly to see that every district capable of grov, :ig flax is provided with a good scutching mill. The Land Improvement Acts give power to the Commissioners of Public Works to lend money, on favorable terms, to needy proprietors, for the erec- FLAX AND HEMP. 31 of Her ► tion of scutch mills in IrelaDd. The estimated expense of the building, for containing about twelve stands for scutcbinp;, as sanctioned bj the Office of Public Works, under Act 15 & 16 Vic. cap. 34, is £88 18«., or in two stories, £95 6s. To this must be added the cost of the machinery, say a small water-wheel and gearing, with the shaft and blades attached, stocks and adjoining woodwork, and a set of rollers. The amoun'i, will vary very much, according to circumstances, and ia proportion to the number of stands erected. A small mill with four stands would cost for this machinery about £60, while one with twelve stands would amount to £150, so that the relative costs would be approximately. Small mill, complete ; £104 • Large do. do 238 The figures are in sterling. An improvement lately introduced and found of much service, is the adop- tion of stocks so arranged as to spring in the operation of scutching, and thus prevent the flax from being injured by too severe action from the blades. By these spring-stocks, combined with flat, projecting spring-rings, or wheeltt, in the shaft, the action on the flax can be so nicely adjusted, as to apply extra work to the fibre requiring such, and to save from useless waste any that is easily cleaned. Except in retteries like Schenck's or Watt's, the adoption of steaoj power ' for scutching is not suitable, for various reasons. The first outlay is too great, and the expense of working the engine too heavy. The scutching of flax, including attendance of girls or boys, and carriage to and from the mill, costs about \d. iper lb. Now, the fibre is afterwards often sold for Qd, per lb. ; so that the cleaning amounts to one-sixth, or 16t per cent, of the marketable value ! Of course, some flax will sell at a much higher rate than Qd. per lb.; but, taking even the extra price of '^d. per lb., the cost of scutching will be 12} per cent. Some very ingenious inventions have been patented in England, to facilitate and improve the cleaning operation. Among them may be mentioned that of Robert Plummer, Esq., of Newcastle-on-Tyne ; McBride's machine, for the working of which no skilled workmen are needed ; Wilson's machine, which is a medium between the hand-scutching and the ordinary flax mill ; and the patent machine of the Messrs. Rowan, Belfast, Ireland, which may be suita- ble for districts where ordinary scutching mills are not to be found. FLAX MARKETS, SPINNING, Ac. The operation of scutching renders the flax fit for market, and the farmer now acts with it as with any other crop. The principal markets for the Cana- dian farmer are, for fine qualities, Belfast, and for coarser, Dundee. There is also a home market for coarse qualities. Flax fibre is injured by the owner keeping it too damp, in order to make it weigh well in the scale. Like all dodges, this is short-sighted policy, as the buyer generally detects, and ofiera a proportionately lower price. It is not, however, injurious to have a little damp. The first process in the spinning mill is the rough sorting, so as to suit the different kinds of yarn to be made. The fine fibre is then passed to the cut- ting machine, which cuts off the ends, and leaves the prime centre part for the best yarn. The next process is " hackling," the object of which is to 82 FLAX AND HEMP. clean the fibre further, by combing it, as it were. A largo quantity of refuse called "tow" is taken off here. After being hackled, the flax goes to the sorting and dressing room, where it is arranged for the next process, called •' drawing ; " thence to the roving-frame, where it is wound on large spools or bobbins, and made ready for the spinning. Flax can be spun dry, like cotton ; but being a much stronger and firmer fibre, much less can be taken out of it in that way than when hot water is used. Probably fibre which, when spun dry, would produce only 20 leas yarn, would, when wetted, spin up to 70 leas or more, and thus prove much more remunerative. The "spinning-jenny" is so well-known that no description is required, 80 we will follow the small spools of yarn into the reeling room. Here they are unwound and measured on the reels : 60,000 yards make a bundle, which is sub-divided into hanks and cuts. Each hank contains 12 cuts or leas, and each cut 300 yards; consequently 16^ hanks are equal to a bundle. These bundles are tied up in buiiohes of three, six, nine or twelve, accordinfj to the fineness and quality. After being carefully dried by steam in lofts, the yarn is ready for sale. The finest spun for commercial purposes is about 340 leas of 300 yards each to 1 lb. weight. The coarsest spun out of pure flaX is about 20 leas to the pound. The "tow" thrown off in the hackling process is not allowed to go to waste : .it is collected in bags, shaken out by a special machine, and then undergoes a most elaborate "carding" or combing process, ending in being reduced to a large ribbon, ready for "drawing" and spinning, as already described. This operation is very ingenious, and is a triumph of mechanical skill. The yarn from tow is used for making coarse articles ; it has a peculiar softness, which renders it very suitable for towelling, being pleasant to the skin, and an excellent absorber of moisture. Some spinners sell all the yarn they produce in the home market; others have a large export demand. Some make the yarns into linens, bleach them, and become regular linen merchants; others have power-loom factories, and sell the linens in the brown state, after being manufactured on the spot. People talk of mills by the number of spindles they contain. Less than 4,000 will not pay, and some have as many as 20,000. One enormous single mill (York-street Flax Spinning Company, Belfast) has nearly 30,000 spin- dles ; value, with buildings, say j£90,000. THREAD. Closely allied to yarn is thread. The fibre for heavy, strong thread-yarn, used by shoemakers, is spun with a .very long reach, and without going through water. The only damp imparted to it is from a roller it passes over, which is kept moist with cold water. This thread-yarn does not receive any other twisting by machinery; the shoemakers do this for themselves by bond. From the ordinary hot water spinning frarae^ the yarn for tailor's thread proceeds to the twisting frame. Besides the strong thread-yarn for shoemakers, a very substantial article is made for fi!;hing-nets, called " gilling thread." Large quantities of this are used for the Newfoundland fisheries. Almost all threads get at least one boil PLAX AND HEMP. 83 •t in soda-ley, to purify thera. The shoemaker's and the gilliijg-net threads are put up in nice Utile balls, of two ounces each, or one ounce, as may be ordered by the purchaser. Owing to the deamcfsof flax, a good deal of Italian hemp has been used in making coarse yarns for thread. One of the largest firms in this branch of trade, is that of the Messrs. Barbour & Sons, of Lisburn, Ireland. The flax and hemp fibres have so much tenacity, combined with pliability, that wherever great strength is required they have no successful competitors. In fine-bleached sewing thread, however, cotton has very much interfered with flax of late, as the manufacture of cotton thread has been immensely improved ; and the white colour so easily obtained in that fibre is with much difficulty approached in linen thread. WEAVING. Eighty years ago, Dr. Cartwright applied the principle of power to cotton weaving; and since then, by a successiun of improvements, the power-loom has attained great perfection. Some years ago it was thought almost impossible to manage flax yarn in a power-loom ; but gradually, by perseverance and skill, the diflBculties have been removed in a very great degree ; and excellent goods, 10°° to 10°° in fineness, are now turned out, equal, if not superior, to the production of the hand-loom. The only point that appears yet in favor of the hand-loom is the < selvage or edge in heavy goods; yet even here the improvements of mechan- ism go on steadily, and are sure to triumph in the end. There are two ways of preparing yarn for weaving by power. The first plan is to send it to the factory direct, without any special preparation ; the other is to cleanse it by boiling, as is done for the hand-looms. The second treatment is necessary in first-class heavy bleaching goods, as the green, unprepared yarn reduces very much in the bleaching process. The warp yarns in the warping machines are passed through a paste made from Carrigeen moss,* or some such substance, and afterwards nicely brushed : this prevents the weft catching on the warp, and permits it to slip along more easily. The warp is again restored to a roller, and then is ready for the power-loom. Meantime the weft yarn received from the mill has been removed by machi- nery from the spinning bobbins, and is forwarded in this state to the girl in charge of the loom. She places the yarn in the shuttle, and starts the loom. Perhaps the weft yarn breaks after crossing two or three times ; and if the girl is not watching, you think the loom will go on trying to weave. No such thing; though not endowed with animal life, it shows in its clever mechanism the intelligence of man. * This moss is, strictly speaking, a kind of sea-weed or algae ; its botonical name is chondrus orhpus. It is collectetl in considerable quantities on the coasts of Ireland. It is first bleached and dried by exposure to the atmosphere, and in this state is sold. When boiled, it forms a highly gelatinous substance, like isinglass or Iceland moss. If linen power-looms continue to increase in numbers, as they are doing at present, several thousand .pounds worth of this algae will be required each year for the yarn dressing described. We sometimes hear of the poor Irish peasants devouring sea-weed, to miti- fate the pangs of hunger ; but it is not perhaps generally known that this Carrigeen, oiled witii a little milk, makes a most nourishing jelly, and when nicely prepared, forms a blanctnange fit for any table. a 84 FLAX AND HEMP. A weaver, nonied Bullick, invented a peculiar kind of catoh-wheel, with a lever ending in a fork, which is arranged so that the weft yarn must gently touch it in passing. If it fail to do ho, the catch-wheel stops the loom I It is interesting to watch the various motions in the machinery of a power- loom ; — the roller gently pulling on the cloth as it is made ; the sleigh driving tight home the weft which the little shuttle slips in between the divided yarns of the wurp; the headles raising the alternate sets of yarn to receive the next shot of wefc; the striker, which represents the weaver's arm, at regular inter- vals propelling the ehuttle by a blow across to the other side of the loom — a regular game of battledoor and shuttlecock All these actions going on with each loom, and hundreds of looms in the same building, causing a din resem- bling the crash of battle. In this peaceful strife, however, no blood is shed, but food and raiment are earned by willing hands for themselves and the little hungry mouths at home. The cost of a power-loom for cotton h £10; that for linen is about £14. To this sum has to bo added the driving or motive power, and the cost of the buildings, each nearly equal amounts, making the total cost of a good sized factory about £42 sterling a loom. The weaving of damasks is still carried on in the Jacquard loom.* The series of cards, perforated with numerous apertures, are the means of giving the pattern to the cloth. Some expensively mounted looms will cost as high as £200. The arranging of patterns and the placing of the cards requires considerable skill, and is almost a special business of itself Linen cloth is regulated as to fineness by different scales. The ordinary scale is 40 inches, and according to the number of threads used in that space the fineness is determined. However, by one of thosfl curious perversities so common in trade names, the linen is called, not by the actual number of threads in the 40 inches, but by the number of bars or reeds through which the warp passes. Now, the warp thr^ds do not go through these reeds singly, but two through each opening; consequently a web called a 10°° is in reiility a 20°°; that is, there are 2,000 yarns.in 40 ineUes wide of the cloth, before it receives the weft. In the weaving, the width of 40 inches is reduced to 38, and in the bleach- ing process this is generally again reduced to 36. Let us, for example, take a piece of so-called yard-wide brown cloth, styled a 15°°, and it will count 15 threads of warp under what is called a 38-incb <:las.s. Let us count how many threads are in one inch; we will find them amount, as near as possible, to 70; the web measures 38 inches wide, so 79 X 38 = 3,002. The total threads in the width is just 3,000, but the reed used has only half as many openings, and the cloth being called after the reed is styled a 15°°. The correct way to reckon fineness would be by the number of threads in the warp of the cloth; but by custom it is the fineness of the reed that is adopted, this being half the Dumber of threads, as already explained ; the glass, instead of being 1-lOOth part of 40 inches, is made l-200th part of 40 inches. For example, take a web with 2,000 threads in the 40 inches; the * The moQument erected by the Chamber of Commerce, of Lyons, in the cemetery of Oullins, near that city, over the grave of Jacquard, the inventor of the loom for weav- ing figured silk, consists of a >rhite marble tomb, raised several steps above the level of tlie ground, and sculptured with a bas-relief representing the City of Lyons crowning Jacquard's bust. VLAX AND HEMP. 86 rood has only 1,000 openings, and the web 13 styled a 10°°. A ningnifyint» gluBS with an aperture below naust, in order to be a 40-inoh glass, be had to count 10, e. e., l-200th part of 40 inches, which is 0.20, or 20-100th8, or l-5th of an inch. A 38-inch glass is 0.19, or 19-lOOths of an inch; a 37-inch glass is 0.185, or ISJ-lOOths of an inch; a 3C-inoh glass is 0.18, or 18-lOOths of an inch. With this information, any one can easily test for himself the accuracy of the counting glasses offered for sale. The technical names given by manufacturers to the warp reeds are, 40 yarns, or 20 splits, equal to 1 beare; 5 beares make one set, or 100 (splits).* BLEACHING. Bleaching is defined by Dr. Ure to be " the chemical art by which tho various articles used for clothing are deprived of their natural colour, and aro made white." Many years ago, Mr. Lee proposed several alterations in the existing system, and there was one improvement he brought forward that is at present in use, namely, the extensive use of soap in bleaching. The oil in the soap restores to the fibre much of the tenacity and softness that the con- tinued boiling and chemical operations it undergoes have a tendency mure or less to reduce. Mr. W. Higgins, M.R. I. A., sixty years ago, recommended sulphuret of lime as a substitute for potash. Lately, hyposulphite of soda has been sug- gested as a safeguard after using chlorine. The following is a brief outline of the existing system in an Irish bleach- green. The boiling is conducted in large iron vessels, with lids secured down tightly, so as to retain all the steam, and thus prevent loss of heat, air, and reduction in the amount of liquid, which must occur with open vessels. The liquid used in the boiling process is alkaline ley, generally prepared now from soda ash; in old times, barilla and potash were mixed. After boiling, the linens are washed and exposed to the action of the atmos- phere on the grass for two or three days, according to the season and weather. These processes are frequently repeated, and go on till the goods are half white. The straw of the flax, which cannot be perfectly extracted in the scutching and* cleaning, now shows greatly, and demands a new application. This consists of giving a bath of water, having in solution chloride of soda, or potash, or lime. The former is the safest, and now generally adopted. The action of sulphuric acid, reduced to two or three of Twaddel's alkali- meter, is also beneficial, though it is a question whether this should be used after the chloride, as in old times, or before it. The breaking and whitening of the straw or sprit is greatly facilitated by what is called "rubbing;" this is, in fact, an imitation of hand- washing by machinery, and, with plenty of soap, is an excellent part of the bleaching process, contributing to increase rather than diminish the strength of the fibre. When the linen is quite white, it is Btarched, and afterwards dried on steam-heated '•oilers; it is then ready for what is called tho "finishing" pro- cess, given to it by machinery called " beetles." The whole time required ^or the bleaching is from four to seven weeks, according to the season and the weight of the fabric. » * See Charley on Flax. 86 FLAX AND nEMP. Tho introduction of soda ash, and tho centralising of business in largo concerns, has wonderfully cheapened the cost of bleaching. Not very many years ago, a piece of light yard-wide linen would cost the merchant 8(^. per yard to bleach, which is now done for 1}(/., and in one-third the time. It cannot be said that tho apparently high price of linen, as compared with cottoii, i.s attributable to the bleaching expense. In order to show tho differ- ence between the bleaching of cottons and that of linens, the following table of operations is extracted from a memorandum book by a working man : COTTONS. Miiiiiti'M. Days. 1. Lime boil for twelve hours wash 4(> i 2. Sour in muriatic acid for ten hours " 4i) I 3. IJdii in lye for ei{|;ht hours, 2 (legs " 20 1 4. IJoil in lye for eight hours, 1^ degs " 80 1 6. Dip for twelve hours in alkaline, 40 to 1 strength. " 30 1 6, Sour for twelve hours in vitriol, 2 degs " '6o 1 6 If the above process does not make them white, give another light dip, ond sour, LINENS. For bleaching one parcel of light linens, say 150 double pieces: Minutes, Diiys. 1. Steep for twenty -four hours wash 1 5 2 2. Boil for seven hours in lye and rosin, 2^ degs. ..." 15 1 3. Boil for nine hours iu lye, 2^ degs " 80 1 4. G pass for three days " 3 6. Boil for ten hours in lye, 3 degs " 80 1 6. (Jrftss for three days " 3 7. Boil for eight hours in lye, 8 degs " 30 1 8. IJrass for three days " 3 9. Rough sour for ten hours in vitriol, 2 degs " 40 1 10. Scald for four hours in weak lye " 30 1 1 1 . G rass for two days " 2 12. Dip for ten hours in alkaline, 40 to 1 strength ..." 80 1 13. Sour for twelve hours in vitriol, 1^ degreea " 45 1 14. Scald for four hours in lye and soap " 20 1 1 5. Rub with brown soap " 35 1 16. Grass for two days " 2 17. Dip for ten hours in alkaline, 80 to 1 strength. ..." 20 1 18. Sour for twelve hours in vitriol, 1 deg. " *45 1 IP. Scald for three hours in soap and lye " 80 1 20. Dip for ten hours in alkaline, 45 to 1 strength ..." 20 1 21. Sour for twelve hours in vitriol. 1 deg " 45 1 22. Rub with soap " 20 1 Time taken ... -il The goods should now be white and ready for beetling. Ireland possesses the best climate in the world for linen bleaching ; and it is this local advantage — this gift of nature — that has gradually given to her, and secures to her still, so high a position in this branch of commercial industry. A large quantity of low-priced linen is exported brown, as received from the looms; another class is slightly tinged yellow by steeping in dilute muriate of tin and catechu, and then finished or glazed by the beetling pro- cess already described. The former are technically called " rough browns," and are used for blouses. The latter, styled " hollands," are much used for window blinds. Drab color is produced by using fustic, after what is called FLAX AND HEMP. 87 the iron liquor, i. c, acetato of iron. For black this acotuto is used diluted, to stand 5** of Twaddol's hydrometer, then dry the cloth, wnwh and plunj^e in a logwood bath. For slato eolor, divi divi, or shellac, after tho iron liquor. DYEING AND PRINTING. Tho dyeing or printing of linens is, to use the words of Dr. Ure. "A Chomioal Art." A very important part of tho process is the correct applica- tion of tho mordants, or, as ho explnins, *• tht> substances whieh are used, previously applied to pioco goods, in order that thoy may afterwards take a required tinge or dye." Of course, if the mordants bo applied over the whole cloth, and it afterwards is plunged into tho dye, an even color will result ; while, if the mordant is only applied to portions of the cloth, an uneven color or pattern will come out. Tho latter operation is called "printing;" tho former simply "dyeing." Tho printing of cotton cloth or calico has been so well described by J)r. Uro and other eminent chemists, that it is needless to enter into any general account of this chemical art. There is ono advantage the linen fabric has over cotton thut it is worth while to mention, for tho information of the gentler sex, some of whom have met with such frightful accidents from their muslin dresses taking fire. The flax fabric is safe, comparatively, being very slow to ignite. Yet, it is singular to find that nearly all the linens printed in Ireland are for the foreign trade, scarcely a piece for homo consumption. On the Euro- pean continent, in the United States, in 3Iexico and the West Indies, these goods are greatly in favor. DIFFERENT METHODS OF PREPARING FLAX FOR MARKET. In Belgium, as already stated, there are two methods of preparing flax for market. Tho one is practised in the West Flanders and in the French Flanders, and is called the Courtrai system, or white steeping and bleaching. This system might be well adapted to this country, as it can be carried on on a large scale much better than the Blue system But it requires more capital on tho part of the manufacturer, as the flax is not ready for mark-^t before it is two years old; it can only be practised, however, where there is the convenience of good running water. The Blue system is practised in different parts of Belgium, there being no difficulty under this method of finding steeping-places. The flax is manufac- tured and brought to market the same year that it is grown. The following statement shows the average value, in sterling, of flax in Belgium, in its green state, and also when manufactured for markets VALUK OP AN AGUE OP FLAX IN THK BLUB DISTRICTS, IN ITS GREEN STATE, WHEN READY TO PULL. £. s. fl. £. s. d. Ono English acre, fair quality 12 Seed 2 U EXPENSES OF GROWING AN ACRE OP FLAX IN THE BLUE DISTRICTS. & a. <1. Rent nnd taxes of one acre 1 15 Ploughing and sowing 1 Seed 1 5 Manure 110 Weeding 10 6 Leaving profit to the grower £8 38 FLAX AND HEMP. VALUE OP AN ACRE OP FLAX IN THE WKST FLANDERS AND ENVIRONS OF TOURNA Y IN ITS GREEN STATE, WHEN READY FOR PULLING. £ 8. d. & s. d. One acre of good quality 16 Seed of one acre of good quality 115 17 15 EXPENSES OP GROWING AN ACRE OP PLAX IN THE 'WEST FLANDERS AND ENVIRONS OP TOURNAY. £ s. d. £ s. d. RcntandTaxes 115 I'loiigliing; and Sowing 110 Manure .' 2 Seed 1 15 Weeding 15 1 15 Leaving profit to the grower £10 ON THE BLUE SYSTEM. • VALUE OF AN ACRE OF FLAX WHEN MANUFACTURED READY FOR MARKET, I.e., WHEN SCUTCHED. £ s. d. £ s. d. 7 cwt. of flax, at 80s. per cwt 28 2 cwt. of tow, at 10s. per cwt 10 29 EXPENSES OF MANUFACTURING AN ACRE OF FLAX JmMiY FOR MARKET. £. 8. d. £ s. d. i'rice of one acre 12 Pulling 14 Rippling 15 Steeping and Carting 1(5 Spreading 15 Turning 5 Scutching 7 cwt. at 1 2s ,. 4 4 19 9 Profit to the manufacturer £9 11 ON THE COURTRAI SYSTEM— SUMMER BLEACHING. VALUE OF AN ACRE OF FLAX WHEN MANUFACTURED READY FOR MARKET (SCUTCHED). £ 8. d. £ s. d. T cwt. of flax at £o per cwt 42 2 cwt. of tine tow, at 15s. per cwt 1 10 43 10 EXjftEXSES OP MANUFACTURING AN ACRE OP FLAX READY FOR MARKET. £ 8. d. £ s. d. Cost price of one acre 16 Pulling 15 Stacking 5 Tving-up and Stacking 012 Taking off the seed 8 Steeping, capping, FLAX. H E M P . f The true hemp plant is the Cannabis saliva of botanists. Its fibre is so generally employed for cordage that the value of all other fibres is estimated not so much from their iutrinsie properties, as from their greater or less resemblance to hemp, and especially to Russian hemp. The growth of fibre is promoted by shade and moisture, which are procured by thick sowing, but where the plant is cultivated for its resinous and intoxicating secretions, it requires exposure to light and air. By the celebrated Jussien the hemp and the hop plants were placed in the same natural family with the nettles. In more modern works they are separated into distinct families. These two plants are closely connected in properties, as in structure. The hop (Humulus lupulus), besides a bitter, secretes a resinous principle, llop bines abound in fibre, and have often been proposed to be turned to useful account for cordage or paper, but as yet to little extent. The hemp plant likewise secretes a resinous principle in its leaves, on which account these, as well as the churrus collected from off the young tops of the stem and flowers, is highly esteemed in all Eastern countries, on account of its exhilirating and intoxicating properties. Hence, among the Arabs the hemp has a variety of names, as " the increaser of pleasure," " the cementer of friendship," &c. By its name of Hasheesh it is often mentioned in the works of travellers in Egypt, Arabia, and Syria; while the name oi Bhang is not less celebrated in the far East. The following description of the plant is extracted from the " Manual of Materia Medica " by Dr. Royle, pp. 622-629, 2nd ed. : "The hemp is dicEcioua (occaaionally mon(Ecious) annual, from 3 to 10 feet high, accordinfj to soil and climate. Root white, fusiform, furnislied with fibres. The stem erect ; when crowded, simple ; but when growing apart, branched even from the bottom, angular, and, like the whole plant, covered with fine but rough pubescence. This stem is hollow within, or only filled with a soft pith. This pith is surrounded by a tender, brittle substance, consisting chiefly of cellular texture, with some woody fibres, which is called the reed, boon, &ai shove of the hemp. Over this we have the thin bark, com- posed of fibres, extending in a parallel direction all along the stalk. These fibres consist of delicate fibrils, united together by cellular tissue, and all covered by the thin mem- brauce or cuticle. The leaves are opposite or alternately, on long petioles, scabrous, digitate, composed of from 5 to 7 narrow, lanceolate, sharply senated leaflets, of which the lower are the smallest, all tapering at the apex into a long entire point. Stipules subulate. Males on a separate plant. Flowers in drooping, axillary, or racemose panicles, with subulate bracts. Perianth 6 — parted, segments not quite equal, downy. Stamens 5 ; filaments short; anthers bare, pendulous, 2 celled; cells united by their backs, opening by a FLAX AND HEMP. 47 loncitudinal slit. Females in a crowded spilte-lilie rftcome, with leafy bracts. The perianth consists of a single small spathe-liko sepal, which is persistent, acuminate, vcntricose at the base, embraces the ovary, and is covered with short, brownish glands. Ovary subglobular, 1-celled, with one pendulous ovule. Style short. Stigmas 2, elon- fated, glandular. Nut ovate, greyish colored, smooth, covered by the calycine scj)al, ivalved but not dehiscing, and inclosing a single oily seed. Seed pendnfous. Testa thin, membranous, marked at the apex with colored hilum. Embryo without albumen, doubled upon itself. Radicle elongated, turned towards the hilum, and the apex of the nut separated from the incumbent plano-convex cotyledons by a small quantity of albumen." Some very valuable information on the production of the hemp plant in India will be found in a Ileport on the subject by Dr. lloyle, in the year 1839, which was published in the Trans, of the Agri.Hortic. Soc, Vol. viii. p. 15. "Hemp is cultivated in almost every part of Europe for homo consumption, but only in large quantities for export in Russia and Poland, though the finest quality of hemp comes from Italy. In America large quantities are produced in Kentucky, and Missouri. The soil must not be over rich nor too sterile, of moderate depth and friable. In Russia the time of sowing varies from the middle of May to the end of .luue. The season of reaping is from the end of August to the end of September, and it is therefore between three and four months in a state of vegetation ; the male jilants being pulled some weeks before the female. The Russian summer, though short, is regular while it lasts, and th« temperature sufiiciently high to bring it to perfection. Large quantities are grown in the Southern climate of Italy, both in Bologna and Romagna, and along the banks of the Po, as in the neighbourhood of Naples. The Italians have a saying, that 'hemp may be grown everywhere, but it cannot be produced fit for use either in heaven or earth without manure.' The climate of Italy, it is well known, is remarkable for its clearness, regularity, dryness, and warmth. Tlio Italian hemp is tine, soft, light-colored, and strong, as well as long in tlie staple ; and it sells for 60«. per cwt. in the English market, when the best Rns&ian sells at 47s. for the same quantity." Ileiilp being one of the few cultivated plants which has the male and female flowers in different plants, affords some anomalies in its culture, especially that of having two harvests in the same crop. Suil. — The soil in which hemp thrives, is a deep, rich, moist soil, five or six inches deep j besides the alluvial, where sand and clay are intimately mixed, and having the above characteristics; also the friable loams, which contain much vegetable matter. All should contain a fair portion of sand, as this keeps the soil open and light for the roots to spread in. 8tiff, cold clays are unsuitable for even if the plant should grow well, it is not easy to pull it ; for when strong clay becomes saturated with rain, the soil runs together, and on drying sets as hard as a pavement. If the soil be over-rich, the plant grows too luxuriantly, and produces a coarse but strong fibre. But hemp is some- times sown in such soils to meliorate them for the cereals, which would other- wise run too much to straw. But as many soils are too poor, they require to be raised to a suitable state by the addition of manure ; and with this, it is 3aid that hemp mjiy be grown in the same soil for many years. When a fine quality of fibre is required, of course, only the most suitable soil should be selected, or that in which the growth of the plant is neither excessive nor stunted. In Italy, hemp is sown in their best lands, which are rich and strong loams, and made fine and friable. Culture and Manure. — At Soonamooky, hemp grows luxuriantly in sand, manured with stable dung. But the richness of the soil, and the quantity of . manure required, must vary, not only according to the nature of the soil and its requirements, but also to the warmth of the soil, and the nature of the 48 FLAX AND HEMP. i. . 3' I climate. Warm, moist ones require loss than cold, whether dry or moist climates. In England, Mr. Rowlandson says, the generality of soil will require a dressing of ten tons of well rotted farm-yard dung per acre, ploughed and harrowed in early in April. The land should, of course, be in the first instance well ploughed and properly drained ; also well harrowed and rolled, to get the top-soil into good tilth ; and weeds, as horse-mint, or twitch, des- troyed. The manure must be carefully and evenly spread, and the plough follow close to the spreader. Seed. — Of seed, that from Holland is the most esteemed, ripens soon, yields abundant crops, and of a fine quality; but well-grown English seed is also of good quality. Indian seed, from external appearance, appenrs fine, but may not be so well suited in the first crop for fibre; but the Himalayan seed, both from its appearance and the nature of its produce, is probably inferior to none, and perhaps only requires interchanging. The seed should be of a bright grey color, and plump; and must not have undergone heating in any way, and therefore the taste, when bitten, should bo sweet, and not bitter or acrid. The quantity of seed may vary from twc to two and a half, others say to three bushels an acre; the last if a fine fibre is required, for weaving into cloth. But the larger quantity cannot be sown on very rich soils. 'The thicker it is on suitable land, the finer it will grow. The fresh-ploughed land should be sown very evenly, care being taken to scare away birds. The best time for sowing, in England, is from the first to the 15th May, as frosts are apt to injure the young plants; but late-sown plants are apt to grow thin and weak. A/ter-culture. — Hemp seed is sown both broadcast and in drills. When grown on account chiefly of the seed, it is sown thin. Sinclair says, by sow- ing hemp in drills, a coarser and stronger bark or fibre, fit for cordage, will be produced, and a less quantity of seed is required than by sowing it broadcast. This latter mode is to be preferred, when hemp is wanted for textile purposes. The stems rise slender and fine, according to their proximity ; but they require to be weeded. In general the hemp will itself smother all weeds, except in the spaces between drills. During its Poason of rapid growth, the plant necessarily requires moisture, and therefore, in some countries, irrigation is practised. I idling. — As already observed, hemp has usually two harvests ; but when grown on account of the fibre only, it may be pulled when in flower, and no distinction made between the male and female plants. But as it is usually desirable to get both the seed and the fibre of both plants, the male plants, or white hemp, are pulled as soon as they have shed their pollen, usually about thirteen weeks after they have been sown. They may then be easily recognized by their leaves becoming yellow, and the stem of a whitish color, and the flowers faded. Each plant is pulled up singly by the root, care being taken not to break or cramp the stem in the hand. The ripeness of the female plant is known not only by many of the same signs as those of the male, but also by the seeds beginning to turn of a grey color, being firm inside, and some of the capsules to open. When the seed has become perfectly ripe, the bark is apt to become woody and coarse, and to separate with difficulty. But the seed which is required for sowing ought to be taken from plants allowed enough of room to spread, and then to fully ripen their seed. Drying. — When the plants are pulled, it is recommended to hold the root- end uppermost, and with a wooden sword dress off the flowers and leaves, as FLAX AND HEMP. 49 they assist in manuring the land. They are then bound in small bundles Tvith bands at each end, of such a size that you can gra^p with both hands, or sometimes into bundles of twelve handt'uls each, and arranged along the borders of the field. If not done before, knock and shake off the soil from the roots, and scrape off the undergrowth of leaves. It is then set up like wheat in shocks, for a week or so. The stalks which form each handful should be as nearly as possible of an equal length, and the roots in particular should be placed as even as possible. If the crop is kept till spring, it is tied in larger bundles and stacked and thatched. Gathering Seed. — When the female hemp is gathered, it is allowed to stand eight or ten days in the air, to allow the seed to dry and ripen, the tops being covered with undergrowth, to keep off the birds, after which, cut off the heads, or gently beat out or thresh them to get out the seed, on a cloth. The seed which remains after this operation is got out by combing the heads on the teeth of a ripple ; but the seed is inferior to that which first falls out, and is unfit for sowing. The female plant is generally stacked during the winter, and not steeped till the spring. Drying. — When the hemp has been pulled, it ought, according to some authorities, to be dried in the sun for one or two days, but Du Hamel observes that it is a matter of doubt whether the plant should be dried before it is steeped J so Mills, in his 'Hu.sbandry,' like the natives of India with their Sunn, thinks that this drying appears needless trouble. So Marcandier directs, that when the hemp is perfectly ripe it must bo put into the water as soon as it is pulled out of the ground ; and Sinclair says, that hemp should be watered as soon as possible. In this state it is said to require only four days, but, when it has been dried, eight days of steeping. The time must, moreover, depend a good deal on the temperature of the water. Bleeping. — The steeping of hemp, called wnter-r citing, is a very important part of its preparation, and is to be distinguished from another method which is called dew-retting. The steeping places are often only ditches, three or four feet deep, varying in breadth and length, dug for the purpose on the margins of rivers. The bundles of hemp are laid at the bottom of the water, and covered with straw, and sometimes with sods, and loaded with pieces of wood and stones to keep them down. The object, as in the cabe of flax, is by a slight degree of fermentation to enable the epidermis, or outer sskin, to separate readily from the bark, and this from the boon or reed. This is readily ascertained by taking out one of the steeped stems, and holding it by the root end, and drawing the thumb-nail up the stem to the top. If the fibre slip up the stem, it is a proof that it has been sufficiently retted. Du Hamel, having steeped hemp in different sorts of water, observes that the fibres steeped in putrid standing water were softer than those whioh had been steeped in running water. But in water which does not run, the fibres contract a disagreeable color; they are, however, notwithstanding this, easily bleached; it is desirable, however, to make a i^mall streiam of water pass through the steeping place. Du Hamel, referring to the common opinioD, that hemp intended for fine cloths should be retted more than that for coarse cloths, and that for making of ropes should be steeped least of all, observes, that though there may bo some truth in this^ it is in vain to hope greatly to improve, by this process, fibres which are naturally coarse. A fine fibre cannot be obtained 4 50 FLAX AND HEMP. ■( I without the concurronco of Boil, of Reasons, and of climate, the modo of sow- ing' nnd of culture, and the degree of ripeness. Dri/ituj after Watering. — When the hemp ia suffioie;. y retted, it 18 taken oirofully out of the water, and then carried to a field of aftermath or any other grass (hence called "grassing") that is clean and free from cuttle, hero it is spread out very evenly, and will probably reouire to lie there for three weeks or more, in order to bleach, and the fibre to become free ; during which time it must be carefully turned over with light long poles every three or four days. Mr. Rowlandson says it is suflSciently blenched when pink spots appear on the stem. It is sometimes dried along a wall, or on rocky ground. Wlien dry, the hemp is tied up in bundles again, and carried to the burn or rick. reeling and Breaking — When the hemp is suflSciently dried, the next process is either to peel it, by taking one stalk after the other, breaking the roed and slipping off the bark. The process is simple but tedious, and will give occupation to those who are without any. Bui it comes off in ribbons which do not heckle so well as hemp that has been broken, and they are apt to retain some of the thick parts next the root, hence the saying that this iiKide is better for the seller than the buyer. The term of breaking or braking hemp, applies rather to the boon or reed thuM to the fibre, for this only bends under the hand of the dresser, and does not break. The operation is performed either by beating the hemp, which is a laborious and tedious work, or by the break, which may be moved either by hand or by a spring or treddle attached to the upper jaw of the break, or by fluted rollers, worked by horse, wind or water, and now sometimes by 8team power. When hemp has undergone the process of breaking, it is ready like flax, for the process of scutching, in which scutching mills are now used, as in the case of flax. By rubbing, beetling, and striking the hemp with reiterated blows, the longitudinal fibres are separated from one another, and in proportion to the greater or less degree of that separation, the hemp becomes more or less fine, elastic, and soft to the touch. Dexo-retting — Mr. Rowlandson says (1 c, p. 180) — will produce the most valuable white hemp. The stems, after being pulled, are allowed to stand in the stooks for two or three days ; they are then spread out on land where the grass is plentiful, and may require to be there for six weeks, and to be frequently turned. The process will be completed when the pink spots appear, as before noticed, which must be carefully looked for, when it will be ready to gather and tie up in bundles, to form stooks, in order to dry ; the fibre will not sustain any damage before the pink spots appear. Snow-rettivg is practised in Russia and Sweden. After the first fall, they spread the hemp (which has been dried in the sun or otherwise) on the snow, and leave it there to be covered with other falls of snow, until Spring, when it is usually found to be sufficiently retted (Wisset, p. 194). In Livonia they steep their hemp in a manner which is a medium between still and running water, in a series of basins, one above the other. * In addition to the ordinary methods of preparation of hemp there arc others which may be briefly DOticed. The Abb4 Bmlles recommended the use of soap in the proportion of one part to forty-eight of water, at a temperature of kbout 200° F., and the water to 1)6 about forty times the weight (>f the hemp. Da Hamel tried boiling the FLAX AND HEMP. 61 are the one the hemp sloms in water, but ho did not find that the poelinp; was fncilitnted. Marcandier roeoinraended a second watering, and also the use of a wiirnj ulk'tlino ley, (I o., pp. 243 and 245). We have seen the use of hot water successfully applied to flax in recent times, and soap ha:) been used in several prooe.sseH, and in a very ingenious manner in one in which a little acid is afterwards added, so that diiuomposition takes place, in consequence of the acid uniting with the alkaline base, when the oil which in set free as.sists in softening the fibre. There is a peculiar method of drying, to which the Livonians are said to ascribe the good or bad quality of their hemp. The steins are first set up to drain, and then spread out for a day to dry ; after which they are made up in heaps, and covered over with straw, or other similar material of any kind, to make them sweat. When they have sweated enovgh, they are laid again in small heaps, so that the air may dry them in the shade by blowing through them; after which they are eflFectually dried by fire, kiln, or oven, and immediately put under the breakers whilst yet hot. Dr..Royle observes, it is probable that this method, when skilfully practised, must produce some of the sfi.Tie effects in hemp as in some other vegetable substances. Mr. Frushard remark?, with regard to the natives of India; "The reason why their tobacco falls so much to dust, is owing to its not being sweated enough. When properly sweated, as they manage it in America, it becomes tough like a bladder; and toughness and suppleness are the qualities wanted in hemp." (Wisset, p. 223). Besides these, there is also the dry method of separating hemp in some ph'oes, as related by Mr. Durno, who was the British Consul at Mcmel, and r -states that in the Southern parts of Poland, steeping is not practised at the supposition that the harle is thereby weakened, and the color darKened. Instead of steeping, they there dry the stalks in the sun. But the dressing is more laborious, and consequently more expensive. Mr. Dickson (of England) has succeeded admirably in separating hemp fibre by passing dried stems from Italy under the rollers of his machine. Crop and Pro/it. — Mr. Rowlandson says the best land for obtaining fibre of the strongest description is a fat loam, not too heavy with clay, and a portion of sand intermixed. On such land, succeeding a crop of beans, hemp will grow six or seven feet high, and bean stalks in such make good manure for hemp. He adds : " I have known 9 quarters of beans per acre after hemp, weighing 21 stone per sack. Hemp after beans will produce 80 stone more per acre, of the strongest and heaviest fibre, than by any other mode of cul- ture ; the weight of fibre in ordinary culture and circumstances will produce CO to 70 stone per acre." A good crop of hemp after beans will produce 28 to 30 bushels of seed per acre ; in the ordinary way, 20 to 22 bushels per acre. The co-operation of purely manufacturing establishments will facilitate and give advantages to the production of hemp, as to that of flax. The following table shows the imports of hemp from Russia and the British territories in India, from 1847 to 1851. In the year 1831, 506,803 cwt. were imported from Russia, and only 9,472 cwt. from the East Indies. Quantities of Hemp imported into the United Kingdom from 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. Russia 844,844 640,20T 641,648 614,535 672,342 Brit. Territories in E. Indies. 185,788 268,239 360,862 399,846 690,923 €2 FLAX AND HEMP. P If ill M \ Hemp at Petersburgh ia assorted into clean hemp, or firsts; ontshot hemp, or seconds; half-cleaned hemp, or thirds; and hemp codilla. Riga hemp is distinguished as rein (or clean), outshot, and pass hemp. Particular care is taken to ship hemp or flar in fine, dry weather. If either get wet, they are ppt to heat, i.nd to be totally spoiled. For this reason every vessel taking in hemp or flax is famished with mats to prevent their getting damp. A bundle of clean hemp weighs from 55 to 65 poods; ditto outshot, 48 to 55 ditto; ditto half-clean, 40 to 45 ditto (1 pood = 80 lbs. avoirdupois). To every bundle of assorted hemp is attached a ticket, with the names of the selector, binder and owner, and the date and year. Every bundle has also affixed to it a piece of lead, stamped on one side with the name of the selector, and on the other with the sort of hemp and the time when it was selected. The external marks of good hemp are, its being of an equal green color, and free from spills; but its good quality is proved by the strength of the fibre, which should be fine, thin and long. The first sort should be quite clean and free from spills; the outshot is less so; and the half-clean contains a still greater portion of spills, apd is moreover of mixed qualities and colorr. As a perfect knowledge of the qualities of hemp and flax can only be acquired by experience and attention, agents usually employ men constantly occupied in this business ; by which means they are sure of getting goods of the best quality, and have the best chance of giving satisfaction to their principals. The part separated or picked out in cleaning hemp, is called hemp codilla. — (^Borruow on the Co'.nmerce of Peten^urgh.) With regard to prices, those of herap will of course vary at different times, like those of all other products. It is usually highest in the summer months, and lowe^jt in September. In December, 1833, Petersburgh clean hemp was 25s. to 26s ; Riga rein at 29«. per cwt In the year 1840, Italian hemp was at 50s. the owt. ; Polish rein, 48s. ; Petersburgh clean, 47s ; Petersburgh half-clean, 428. At the end of 1854, Petersburgh clean, £60 10s. to £63; outshot, £59 to £61; half-clean, £57 10s.; Riga rein, £61 to £64. PART II. FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE CULTURE AND MANIPULATION OF HEMP IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. " The soil for hemp," says Olivier de Serres, should be fat, fertile, easy to work, and in a temperate climate." It is found that it will do very well after turnips on friable loims and good sands, provided they be well manured Spalding Moor, in Lincolnshire, is a barren sand, and yet, with proper care and culture, it has produced as fine hemp as any in England. In the Isle of Axholme, in the same county, the culture and management of it has been the principal employment of the inhabitants; and according to Leland it was so in the time of Henry VIII. On sandy loams the quantity is not so great as in a black rich mould, but the quality is much finer, and therefore better adapted to the fabric of hempen cloth. Hemp, in short, delights in ■valleys and the banks of rivers. Fresh broken lands in the midst of woods and forests are favorable to its growth ; so also are gardens and other spots that have long been cultivated by the spade. The same is the case on a crop of broken up lucerne, on land in good heart, after a crop of oats has been taken; on broken up pasture land, and fresh drained marshes, and newly emptied pools. Count Gallesio regards as the best composition of hemp land that which is composed of one-third of silex, one-third of lime and magnesia, and another third of clay. "This mixture," he says, •' forms a light soil, which does not harden ind form a crust. The seed, sown thickly on such land as this, rijes perfectly; the plants, finding themselves crowded, are una- ble to increase in bulk and breadth, and therefore shoot up lank and slender. Well rotted manure, acting immediately, favors and accelerates the develop- ment of the plant in an upward direction." Hemp is esteemed a clearing crop, for it destroys all weeds that spring beneath it by overshadowing them and depriving them of their nourishment. As a general rule, it should not be too often repeated on the same ground. It may, however, be grown with success on the same land many years, by manuring annually; it is said it has been sown on the sam. for seventy years together. There is no doubt that by the unsparing use of fertilizers, almost any result can be obtained in gardening and agriculture. Hemp, if it stands fur seed, is on all hands acknowledged to be an exhausting crop; but if it be cut or pulled without the seed, it is supposed by many to improve the land, and to be an excellent preparation fo^ wheat "British Husbandry" testifies to the same effect. "Opinions differ in regard to its effects upon the soil, some considering it as a great exhauster, and others only in case of its being allowed to stand for seed, but all agree in admitting it to be an effectual cleanser of the land, for it grows with such 54 FLAX AND HEMP. I 111 lii promptitude and strength that it destroys all the weeds which spring np utader it. It therefore can never be sown along with grass-seeds ; but, for the same reason, it is found to be an admirable preparation for a crop of wheat, as the land must \fe previously brought into a state of garden culture, and, if heavily dunged, when treated in this manner, alternate crops of wheat and hemp have been successfully grown upon the years." same ground during a series of THE PLACE OP HEMP IN THE ROTATION OF CROPS. The Baroti de Morogues, in his essay on the means of improving agricul- ture ii> France, observes that as hemp is sown late in spring, the land may be made to bear two crops in the year, by causing the hemp to be preceded by ^.recn fuod of some kind or other. Thus, in the Department of Maine-et- Loire, hemp is sown in May, immediately after a crop of raves, or large, yellow field radishes, which answer many of the purposes of turnips ; and in the Department of the Pas-de-Calais, it is made to follow a crop of esc"ur(/eon, or four-rowed winter barley, mowed green. Combining hemp and flax with the Norfolk four-course system, on rich and deep soils, a convenient rotation would run as follows : — Ist Turnips, fed off on the land by sheep; 2nd. Barley, sown with grass or clover seeds; 3rd. Hay or pasture, for two years ; 4th. Flax, which never does better thau on the upturned sod ; 5th. Turnips again, or beetroot, heavily manured, resting the land, and helping to make manure in turn ; Gth. Hemp ; 7th. Wheat. Between the flax and the root crop which follows it, it would be easy to .steal a crop of green food (vetches and rye) to be cut or eaten cfn the land in early spring. TIME OF SOWING AND CHOICE OF SEED. The time of sowing hemp varies greatly according to the climate, and in the same climate according to the locality. It extends as widely as from the month of March to the month of June. The grsfhd rule is to avoid all danger of severe spring frosts, as the plant is liable to be aifected by them. Still early sown hemp is always the best. Great care must be taken to sow none but last year's seed ; old seed will not come up at all, or at boat very uncertainly. With hemp, as with flax, -the question of thin or thick sowing must depend upon the ob^ect of the grower and the quality of the land. In fact, on middling land, hemp should be sown thinner than on heavy land. When it is wanted to procure a very long and fine sample of fibre, thick sowing is necessary ; because the stems then draw each other up, and even blanch each other to a certain degree, thereby causing the bark to be more delicate. Hemp which grows so wide apart as to throw out side branches, produces a large quantity of seed, and a very strong fibre, but which is only fit for ropes or the coarsest cloth. It has been found by experiments in England and America, that salt sown at the same time with the hemp-sccd, acted as a beneficial stimulant.. In the neighborhood of Bologna and Ferrara, in Ii.lay, where the culture of hemp is probably carried to greater perfection than anywhere else, where it is not uncommon to see hemp stalks rising from twelve to sixteen feet above the surface of the ground, it is usual to spread at the same time with the seed fecal matters, the dung of fowls, powdered oil-cake, and chips of horn and bone. , In the Department of. the Pas-de-Calais, which approaches very nearly to the climate of England, the rule is to sow hemp from the 10th to the 20th of FLAX AND HEMP. 55 » May, at the same rate as is usual then for wheat and flax, namely, a hectolitre to a mesure of forty-two ares twenty i^enlaires, more rather than less, in case any portion of the seed should fail to vegetate. This answers as near as may be to the proportion of two bushels to the acre. It is a well-known fact that the most substantial manures, if they are not well rotted, produce a less active effect on the growth of hemp than the simplest fertilizers, which have been reduced to a state of extreme division, Ilemp has short and elender roots; it springs up, grows, and comes to maturity within a very brief space of time; it therefore requires to find its nourishment readily prepared and easily absorbed. On this account all sorts of vegetable manures are found to answer so well. The Italian hemp- growers are fond of ploughing in green crops, such as field radishes, and lupines, as manure for theii hemp, and thereby obtain both quantity and quality in their sample. As all sorts of graniverous birds are passionately fond of hemp seed, it is indispensable to protect the new-sown fields, or to have them watched by children. M. Bose relates a curious fact, which some would pronounce incredible. A Piedmontese farmer, M. Barberis, having a hemp-field seriously injured by hail, cut half of it to the level of the ground, and left the other half standing for the sake of comparison. The portion cut yielded a crop, not only more abundant than the other, but more than the same extent of ground would yield in seasons when no hail had fallen. The hemp crop is not all gathered at once, the male plants being generally pulled a few weeks before the female or seed bearers. This usuull^/ occurs towards the middle of Augu.st. Their ripeness is known by their turning yellow at the top and white at the root, and by the general tendency nf thi^ whole plant to wither. Those who are over anxious about the quulitj of thtir fibre are apt to pull the male plants too green. In this state ihey produce a sample which is excellent for the manufacture of cloth ; but if the iunnp is to stand for seed, it is better to let the ni-le plants remain till thi-y iiuve sIuhI their du.st, without the influence of which the seed will pro\ .bortive, and be worthless both for the oil mill, and for birds' food. An .iiio of houip on rich soil will produce something like throe quarters of seed, a i latt i of some iiiipoitaiice. If the crop be destined for spinning only, without any i gard to the seed, the male and female plants are pulled together as " Maiden hemp.' about thirteen or fourteen week.s after seed time ; the plan has this advanta;:e, that the crop comes oft" the ground sufiicientiy early in some climates for turnips to follow it, or better, that the farmer is allowed full leisure to make due preparation for a crop of wheat. ^J'he separation, however, of the male and i'emale plants is not universally, though it is generally obsorvod. It '\i< sometimes neglected partly from the fear of the injury which the pullers would do to the remaining plants by crushing and breaking them when they stand thick, and also because the work has to be done at a busy ticne of year ■when there are plenty of other things to tliiok of. When the hemp is pulled, it is bound in small bundles of such a size as may be grasped in both hands, and tied together with bands, at each end; they are then set leaning head tc head against each other in the field to dry. In the Pas-de-Calais, the female or seed bearing plants when gathered after the males are di.sposed of, have their heads knotted into wisps to keep the seed from falling oft" (which it is 53 FLAX AND HEMP. i very apt to do), and also to make it heat slightly ; for which purpose it is sometimes evea wetted a little, after thrashing, and subjected to the Samo granary treatment as is practised on rape and colza seeds, to cause them to mature their oil. There are many ways of thrashing the seed, or rather of removing it from off the stalk. In some places, large cloths are spread in the field, and the heads are laid on a bench standing on the cloth, and are beaten wiih sticks ; in others, the heads are beaten over a tub with its head staved in. Nowhere is the flail employed, least it should crush the seed. Hemp seed is winnowed like wheat, and put in the granary in small heaps, which should be shifted occasionaly to dry it thoroughly. In large towns, the consumption of hemp seed for cage birds is very con- siderable. Hemp seed oil is excellent for burning in lamps ; it is used in painting and the manufacture of soft soap. The oil cake left after the crushing process is eaten with avidity by many domestic animals, and is often employed as manure. - The thrashing over, the hemp is ready to undergo the important operation of steeping. When hemp is of the tallest kind, the plan of pulling it ought to be rejected, and it should be cut by a scythe, or reaping machine. HEMP STEEPING, Ac. The importance which the culture of hemp has attained in the north of Italy is well known ; and a detailed account of the mode of steeping which the hand-working peasants make use of there, will be interestiiig to lay before the reader. The translation is from the French of M. de Crud, who has described them in his "Economic de 1' Agriculture." " Hemp ponds, or routoirs, are usually dug in the earth, sufficiently deep beneath the surface of the soil to keep them always full of water. These ponds are provided, over their whole extent, with stakes driven into tlie earth to the depth of seven or eight feet, to prevent their being pulled up by the effort which the hemp makes to rise to the sur- face of the water. They are also fixed in regular rows, about six feet apart ; i.nd as they support, not far from their top, wooden cross-bars, about six inches broad, and an inch and a half thick, which stretch from one to the other in the same direction, they form a sort of alleys in the water. These stakes ought not to rise higher than just a trifle below the usual level of the water, to prevent them decaying from the alternate action of dryness and moisture. The pond is ordinarily about five feet deep, except near the edge, where there is made a sort of bank of planks. On this bank the workmen walk, up to their waste in water, for the purpose of washing the hemp before taking it out of the routoir. '■ To steep the hemp, they place in these alleys the bundles, as carefully sorted as pos" eible. The bundles are laid lengthwise in the alleys, and as many are brought in as wil* fill the whole breadth of the alley a couple of bundles deep. They then take pieces of wood, of the same dimensions as the cross bars, and about a foot longer than the breadth of the alleys. One of tlie ends of the piece of wood is introduced beneath one of tl>e ends of the cross-bars wliich enclose the alley, passing over the bundles of hemp ; then, by pressing the other end down, they force the hemp to sink in the water, till the other end can bo slipped under the cross-bar which is nearest to it. It is evident that the cross-bar obliges the hemp, in spite of its buoyancy, to sink in the water and to remain submerged. Each end of the bundles of hemp must be held down by one of these pieces of wood. Up to this point, all the operations connected with tl»e steeping are performed by men, who walk upon the tops of the stakes, on tlie cross-bars, and on the hemp itself, without going into the water. These men make use of poles, furnished with iron hooks at their end, to lay hold of the bundles and arrange them in the water according to their convenience. " There are a few ponds on a ditferent plan : instead of driving in stakes, and making wooden benches, no more is done than to pave the bottom, or to line it with bricks aud FLAX AND HEMP. 57 the masonry. All round it the sides are kept up by walla, also of masonry, and the hemp is sunk in the water by means of great stones laid on the top of it. This is the plan adopted in Spain. " When the hemp-grower has no pond, of either one sort or the other, he steeps his crop in runs of water, and in the bed of rivers, fastening it with ropes, for fear any sudden flood should carry his property away with it; or sometimes in ponds that have been dug for the purpose, in which the bundles of hemp are made to sink by loading them with earth, which has been taken from the bottom of the pond itself. Hemp which has been steeped in this last mentioned way is always much more dark-coloreu, and its fibre is often sold for one-sixth less than the other sort. In those ponds which are not fitted up with stakes, the workmen who set the hemp to steep are obliged to work in the water. " Four days after steeping has commenced, it is necessary to inspect the hemp, and to try if the fibre comes away easily from the woody part. It is very essential to seize the moment when that change takes place; for twelve hours passed in the rouissoir beyond the necessary time, would considerably injure the quality and the strength of the fibre. About the sixth day the steeping is generally complete ; but that depends greatly upon the weather and the temperature. If a very strong fibre is required, in preference to a very sightly sample, the hemp ought to be taken out of the water as soon as the fibre begins to detach itself, when the hemp-stalk is broken. If, on the con- trary, good-looking rather than strong hemp is required, it is left in the pond for twelve or eighteen hours longer. " The next step to be taken is the washing. A. party of women, dressed in wretched rags, step into the pond, and stand upon the bank which has been purposely built : there they are up to the middle in water. Men (if the pond is staked, but if not, the women themselves) then unfasten the bundles of hemp by breaking the bands with which they are tied, in order to separate the bunches from each other. The woqien then, seizing these smaller bunches with their two hands, and raising them several times as high as their arms can conveniently reach, dash them horizontally with their whole strength upon the water, turning them round a little each time, in order that every part of the bunch may feel the effects of the blow. This operation detaches almost the whole of the fibre from the woody part of the hemp, and at the same time cleanses it from the mould and filth which hang to it. After having repeated ohese knockings of the hemp on the water for three or four times, the workwoman seizes the bunch by the little end, and driving it through the water in the opposite direction, thereby causes the fibre to be detached from the lower extremity of the stem; then, rolling the bunch in the water, she causes the separated fibre to twist itself round the bunch, with the object that when the hemp is set out to drain and dry, the fibre may not come in contact with the soil. All the steeping ponds are surrounded by pasture land, to serve at the proper season as drying grounds for the hemp. After having washed each bunch in the way we have just described, the workwoman throws it on the green turf; a workman seizes it and sets it on its big end. It supports itself by leaning against the other bundles. In that position the hemp drains. About one o'clock in the afternoon the women come out of the rouissoir, dress themselves in dry clothes, eat their dinner, and then proceed to drying the hemp. " The women now, if they have not done so before, push to the upper end of each bunch the band with which it was tied round the middle ; and opening every bunch at the bottom, they spread the stalks that are standing on the grass with their heads aloft and leaning together, almost in the same way as a pile of muskets. The hemp is thus perfectly exposed to the sun and air ; nevertheless, even when no rain happens to fall — a circumstance greatly to bo desired, especially to preserve the beauty of the fibre — it takes two days at the very least to dry it completely. If high wind comes on, the bunches out drying are often blown down, and must be set up again as quickly as pos- sible. Towards evening, the hemp which has attained the necessary degree of dryness is loaded on carts, and carried to the hemp barn. " It will be remembered that the hemp is often four yards long, and more, even after the top is cut off, because the fibre which that part would give is nearly worthless. This great length is necessarily accompanied by a certain degree of thickness, which makes it impossible to clean the stems by means of ordinary scutches, like those used for flax, unless they were made of such a size and weight as would render their use im- practicable in any other hands than those of a giant. Recourse is therefore had to the following method: — An upright wooden block is fixed in the earth, about a foot broad 58 FLAX AND HEMP. and three feet long at its upper surface, which is cut out in such a way as to leave it of the form of a hollow crescent. Moreover, the edges of this rude crescent are smoothed and rounded so as to present to the fibre a completely even and regular surface. A workman then takes the bunches one after the other, and, beginning by presenting them bj' the thicker end, he lays them on the block and pushes thera forward, so as always to have six or seven inches of unbroken stalk beyond the block. Meanwhile, a couple of women, armed with hard, thick sticks, especially clumsy towards the end, something in the style of clubs, beat the end of the bunch as the workman pushes it forward. A single blow is sufficient to crush it, so that if the bunch is twelve feet long, it roqiiiros about ten blows from each woman to crush it, the upper extremity which the workmiin holds in uis hand not being subjected to the operation. If the people are expert in this work, a minute will be more than time enough to crush three such bunches. As soon as the man who holds the bunch has advanced it nearly to the end, he leaves hold of it with one hand to seize another, in order to substitute it for the former one the moment he has finished it, and to continue the operation without interruption. That the work- man who lays the bunches on the block may continue that task, the woman who brings him the bundles of hemp takes care to place them ready to his hand. The fibre often comes out of this operation completely divested of the woody stem throughout the whole of its length, except at the extremity which the workman held in his hand. Two other scutchings or beatings take place with staaller tools. At the last one, the work- man is not content with beating the fibre ; he pulls it while it is pressed with his tools, to soften it and clear it from any knots and bits of chaff that may still remain adhering to it. The fibre is* then folded in two, and packed in bales to be delivered to the merchant." The following judicious observations are from the Abbe Rozier, relative to the sanitory precautions desirable to be observed with steeping ponds : " Whether the water is stagnant or running, and in whatever spot the routoir may be situated, it is essential to plant rows of trees around it. Poplars are preferable to any others. One of the grand agents which nature employa for the purification of the atmosphere, is the vegetation of plants and trees. They feed upon the impure air given out by steeping ponds, appropriate it, and in return give back pure air to the atmos- phere. But even with this resource at hand, it will be seen that the establishment of routoirs in the vicinity of dwelling houses is an extremely unhealthy and imprudent practice, nince the trees cannot entirely absorb the enormous mass of mephitic air which escapes from hemp in a state of putrid fermentation. Spots ouglit to be elected wliioh are exposed to tlie wind and open to violent currents of air. " It is useless to make steeping ponds too broad, at least they are very inconvenient- I should prefer extending them in length, whenever required, particularly if they are to serve for a community of hemp-growers. In that case, every individual finds his own place, without disturbing that of his neighbour, and a smaller q.-.atity of water js required. The bottom ought to be paved, with a slope towards the place where tl»e water is let out. There ought, indeed, to be a double outlet, one at the surface and one at the bottom, either to be used as occasion may render convenient. Tiie sides should slope with so steep an inclination as to allow the workpeople to approach witli ease, and not be obliged to enter the water in order to arrange or alter anytliing in tiie hemp h?ap, as will be necessarily wanted from time to time. The sides, if not built of stoiio or brickwork, should be covered with cement of sufficient thickness. The mud taken every year out of the bottom of the steeping place, makes excellent manure." Mechanical processes have been proposed as a substitute for the water- retting of hemp. But the reason why these machines must ever be iiicom peteiit to perform the oflBce required of thera, is clearly explained by the Count Gallesi, the author of an excellent Italian memoir on the culture and manipulation of hemp and flax : " Maceration," he says, " is an operation indispensable to obtain from the hemp plant a tissue suitable for making cloth. It may be said that it can be dispensed witli in the case of hemp for rope-making. I do not admit the supposition ; but even granting it, tiie same tiling cannot be admitted with regard to hemp destined for cloth. The b'iH< of the hemp is the portion which furnishes the tissue; it is composed of an infinity of longtituditial fibres, lying one over the other, and joined together not only by the force of adhesion proper to vegetable tissue, but still itore strongly by a sort of gummy !•! . i -■■-^^■•'WTrtWT* HEMP AND FLAX. 59 A substance, which unites it to the woody part. No mechanism whatever can clear the rind from this substance, and still less the woody stem, which also contains it." In the Pas de Calais, where hemp grows only to the same moderHte height which it attains iu Great Britain, the stems are not scutched or beaten, like flax, to obtain the fibre, but it is peeled oif by hand. This work is perfornied duririg their evenings, by work people, together with their whole families, who employ themselves in hemp-peeling when their day's work is done. A child of four or five years old is capable of executing the task. The head of the hemp stalk is simply broken with the fingers, and the whole of the fibre comes away with it at once. The string of fibre is thrown on one side, and the denuded hemp stalk is cast on the other to make sulphur matches with, for which purpose it is in great demand, the consumption for pipe-lighting being enprmous in France. The match makers buy their bundles of naked stalks in pairs, one bunch of male, and one of female stems, that is, of shorts and longs. Each individual can earn two sous, or a penny, per evening by hemp peeling. The people are satisfied if it pays them for their candle and their tobacco. PAET III. ROPE-MAKING. It has been long discovered that we may obtain length by twisting fibres together, when they press upon each other, so that any single fibre is unab'e to overcome the resistance caused by the friction upon it of surrounding fibres. It will then break more readily than slip out from the mass. By this means a certain degree of compactness is also obtninetl, so that the infiltration of water is prevented, and the rope preserved from decomposition. Though a certain degree of twist is essential, any excess is injurious; for a rope may be so twisted as to break in the operation, and therefore a rope, brought up to this point without breaking, would be unable to bean any furtlier strain, or to support any weight at all, and consequently be useless. Grent precau- tions jue therefore necessary in twisting the fibres, so that they shall retain as much as po.ssible of their original strength, and be preserved from sustaining any further injury. In making a rope, the first operation is to twist a certain portion of the fibres into a thick thread, which is called HT/arn. These yarns vary in size, from one twelCth to a little above one-ninth of an inch in diameter. They are then warped, or stretched so that they may bear any strain equally. The next process is to twist a number of yarns, say from fifteen to twenty -five, into a strand. The twist of the strand is in an opposite direction to that of the yarn of which it is composed, in order that any tendency in the yarns- to untwist may be counteracted by an opposite tendency in the strand. Three of these strands are formed into a rope, and three ropes into a cahle. The term rope is generally confined to those which are above an inch in circum- ference; those which are less being called (wine, line, and cord ; though some of the latter terms are used with less strictness, as /inking lines and clothes I i ! 60 FLAX AND HEMP. iinea are of very different diameters. Other kinds are distinguished by the name of ratline or of lashing ; somotimes they are distinguished by the weight of a certain quantity — thus, pound line signifies a line weighing 60 yards to the pound; 160 fathoms of white or untarred yarn weigh from two and a half to four pounds. In a popular work by Mr. Tomlinson, the different operations of rone- making are described as follow : — 1. Heckling, or hackling, of which tne object is to separate the short fibres or tow, and to straighten the long ones, in order to enable them to run freely in spinning. 2. Spinning, or twisting the fibres into threads or yarns. 3. Tawing the yarns. 4. l^wiating the yarns into strands. 5. Laying, or twisting three strands together, so as to form what is called a hawser-laid rope. In this process, which is called the first lay, each strand condsts of as many yarns as are found requisite to give the required thickness to the rope. 6. Second lay, or shroud hatoser-latd rope. This consists of four strands laid in the same way and under the same conditions. This rope has a straight loose strand, consisting frequently of only a few yarns running through its centre; the object of this core-piece being to render the rope solid, 7. Third lay, or calle-laid rope. This con- sists of three hawser-laid ropes, each formed of three large strands, twisted or laid together in one gigantic rope or cable. A very important consideration is the benefit or injury which is derived from a large or a small quantity of tar, because this, instead of being a preservative in all situations, as is generally supposed, is very often injurious, as is fully illustrated by the following experiments. The abridged account of these is taken from Sir D. Brewster's " Edinburgh Encyclopaedia." It was long ago shown by Dr. Hooke, from several experiments on the strength of cordage in 1669, that the strength of the component parts of the rope was diminished by twisting. This fact, indeed, has been long practically known to sailors, who are familiar with the superior strength of rope yarns when made up into a salvage, which is nothing more than a skein without twisting. Salvages are invariably used for slinging great guns, rolling tackles, and for every kind of work where great strength and great pliancy are required. In the " Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences," M. Reaumur has given an account of his experiments on the strength of ropes compared with that of their parts. 2. The yarn of a skeia of white thread bore each, at aa average, 9 J lb. Two yarns twisted slack into a cord broke with 16 lb. Hence we have the absolute strength of two yarns 19^ lb. Heal strength 16 Loss of strength by twisting 3^ 3. The average strength of some thread was such that each broke with 8 lb., whereas when three were twisted, they bore only 17^ lb. Hence we have absolute strength 24 lb. Real strength 11^ Loss of strength by twisting 6 J 4. The average strength of some thread was such, that each broke with 7i lb., whereas vrhen four were twisted they broke with 21^ lb. Hence we have absolute strength 30 lb. Real strength , 21^ Loss of strength by twisting .- 8 J ^*t||l ^i (P'J **< * g * y *'^'^ """"t'-'*^.*^*' FLAX AND HEMP. 61 6. The average strength of other four threads was sucli that each broke with 9 lb., whereas when twisted, they broke with 22 lb. Hence we have absolute strength 86 lb. Real etrength 22 Loss of strength by twisting 14 6. A well made and small hempen cord broke in different places with 68, flS, 67, and 72 lb., so that its average strength was j — — = ^6 lb. The cord consisted of tliree strands, and another part of it was nntwisted, and its three strands separated. One of them bore 29^, another 88^, and the third 85. Hence the absolute strength of the three strands, when separated, is 98 lb. Real strength when twisted 65 Loss by twisting 88 7. Another part of the same cord, which broke with 72 lb., was separated into its strands, when they bore 26, 28, and 30 lb. Hence we have absolute strength 84 lb. Real strength 72 Loss by twisting 12 Dr. Robison has given an account of a very interesting experiment by Sir Charles Knowles, upon a piece of of white or nntarred rope 3^ inches in circumference. It was cut into many portions, and from each of those por- tions a fathom was taken off, and carefully opened out. It con.sisted of 72 yarns, each of which was examined separately, and found to bear 90 lb. at an average for the whole Each piece of rope corresponding to these was examined separately, and the mean strength of the same pieces was 4,552 lb. Hence we have absolute strength of yarns 6,480 lb. Real strength 4,552 Loss of strength by twisting 1,928 As the diminution of s .rength in the yarns demonstrated by the preceding example, obviously arises from their position when twisted, in consequence of which they do not all bear the load at the same time ; and not from any permanent weakness produced by the twisting, it became reasonable to believe, that the twist given to rope? should be as moderate as possible. The degree of twist comuonly employed was such that the rope was/joo- thirds the length of the yarns which composed it. M. Du Hamel,* who made many valuable experin ents on this subject, in the royal dock-yards of France, caused some rope to be worked with only three-fourths of the length of the ynrn. This last rope with the inferior degree of twist, bore 5,187 lb., whereas the other bore only 4,321 lb. He next caused these ropes to be made with different twists, and obtained the following results : — We^ht borne by each. Degree of twist. C'ne experiment. Another experiment. i 4,098 4,250 f 4,850 6,753 f 6,206 7,397 * 'Traits de la Fabrique des Manoeuvres pour les Yaisseauz, on 1' Art de la Cordiere perfection6e.' il'. n 3 ! 62 FLAX AND HEMP. So far these experiments were highly satisfactory; but it still remained to be seen, whether or not the ropes which had an inferior degree of twist, had not also an inferior degree of useful solidity, notwithstandiDg their superiority of strength in carrying weights. • In order to determine this point, M. Du Ilamel had a considerable quantity of rigging made with yarns wrought up into only three-fourths oi their length, and got them put into actual use on ship-board, during a whole campaign. The report given by the officers of the ship was higUly satisfactory. They proved that the ropes thus manufactured were one-fourth lighter than the common kind; that they were nearly one-eighth more slender, so as to give less hold to the wind; that, from their being more pliant than the common ones, they run easier through the blocks, and did not run into what are technically called kinks; that the new cordage required fewer hands to work it, in the proportion of two to three; and that it was at least one-fourth stronger. Wherever ropes are not exposed to short bendings, as in the case of standing rigging, where they can bo defended from water by tarring, &c., the least twisted cordage may be advantageously employed, and should, according to M. Duharael's experiments, be made from strands; for it is demonstrable that in fine stranded cordage, when the twist of the strands is exactly equal to the twist in the laying, the strands lie less obliquely to the axis than in other ropes, and therefore bear a greater load. In examining the strength of cordage, 3} inches in circumference and under, M. Dubumel found that the strength increased a little faster than the number of equal threads, thus : — Ropes of 9 threads bore 1,014, instead of 946 Iba. 12 1,564, l,2fi2 ., 18 2,148, 1,893 According to the experiments of Mr. Huddart, no strength is lost in the common way when there are only three yarns in the strand. When there are more than three yarns, the loss is one-sixth, and with a hundred yarns it is about one-half. The following rule is given by Dr Robison for obtaining the strength of ropes : Multiply the circumference of the rope in inches by itself, and the fflh part of the product will be the number of tons which the rope will carry. For example, if the rope is (3 inches in circumference, we have 6 times 6, = .36, the fifth of which is 7} tons. Tarring Ropes. — There is no branch of the rope manufacture more impor- tant than that which relates to the tarring of the cordage. The following experiments were therefore made by M. Du Hamel, on the relative strength of tarred and white or un tarred cordage : Avguatith,\1i\. Uktabred Rope. Tabbed Rope. Difference. Broke with 4,600 pounds ." 8,400 pounds 1,100 4,900 3,300 • 1,600 4,800 8.260 1,650 FLAX AND HEMP. April 2!ith, Ili9. Broke with 4,f»00 pounds 3,300 pounds 1 ,100 6,000 8,400 6,000 8,100 September ird, 1746. Broke with 8,800 pounds 8,000 pounds 4,000 2,700 4,200 2,800 1,600 l.UOO 800 1,300 1,400 The ropes with which the preceding experiments were made, were three Freuob inches in circuuiforence, and were innde of the best Riga hemp. M. Da Hamel next examined the relative strength of a parcel of tarred and 'antarred cordage, which had been manufactured on the 12th July, 1746. It had been laid up in the store-hou.-'e, and the following results were obtained at the dates mentioned : Difference of timo in MoiitbH. Untarred rojie. Tarred rope. Difference. 1746. April 14th 1747. May ISth 1747. October 21st , . 1748. June 19lh 1748. October 2nd... 1749. September 25th Pounds. Pounds. • * ■ • 2B45 2312 11 2762 2166 c 2710 2050 9 2575 1762 4 2425 1837 12 2917 1865 Puunils. 338 607 6«0 828 688 IOC 2 From these results M. Du Hamel concludes : — 1. That untarvf^d cordnge in constant service is one-third more durable than the same when tarred. 2. That untarred cordage retains its strength for a much longer time when it is kept in store. 3. That untarred cordage resists the ordinary injuries of the weather owf-- fourth longer than when it is tarred. These results of direct experiments have been confirmed by the observa- tions of seamen ; but they have invariably found that untarred cordage is weaker than tarred cordage, when it is exposed to be alternately wet and dry j that tarred cordage is chiefly useful for cables and ground tackle which must be constantly soaked in water ; and that cordage mperficially tarred^ is always stionger than what is thoroughly tarred, and resists better the alternate conditions of dryness and wetness. Several important experiments on the relative strength of tarred and un- tarred ropes were made by Mr. W. Chapman*, chiefly with the view of determining the effects of his method of preserving ropes with purified or washed tar. Three pieces of rope were made on the 10th of August, 1808, of 12 threads in each strand. The first was an untarred rope, thie second a rope made of washed tarred yarn, and the third a common tarred rope. A part of each of these ropes had their strength med on the breaking machine; and another part was steeped in water for about three months, and then taken to a foundry stove, which is supposed to have been at about 130° of Fahrenheit. They remained in the stove above three months. After that they lay at Mr. * Author of " Treatise on the progressive endeavors to improve the Manufacture and Duration of Cordage," London, 1808. 64 HBMP AND FLAX. ;* I €hapman's ropery till November 8, 1808, when the following expcrinaonts Were made with them : — ( I When made, Aug. lOth, 1803. Nov. 8, 1803. Portion ot orlglnij atronth rotainod. White rope Common tarred rope Wiiahed tarred rope . Cwt. 83.4 Cwt. 1.09 22.2 7.86 29.1 12.86 Cwt. 8.7 83.0 48.8 The tarred ropes were both brittle; but the latter was more so, and they both cracked on bending. Mr. Chapman has also observed that though cordage is injured by tarring in cold climates, it is much mure rapidly so in hot climates. The following experimente were made in 1807 by Mr. Chapman, for the purpose of showing the injuiy arising from the retention of that portion of the essential oil which cannot be dispensed with, and also the injury which arises from the progressive disengagement of the acid of essential oil : Weight with which it l)r(iln of considerable importance. " Farmers generally complain of hemp that it is a hard crop to deal with, on account of the manual labour which it requires, but it is also urged that it is uncertain in its results because of the fluctuations of the market value. Its chief value is for cordage, bagging, and sail-cloth, but the fibre is very similar to that of flax ; the ultimate cells are almost identical under the microscope, and it is applicable to the preparation of linen cloths. The manufacture of bagging and bale-rope in Kentucky having been mostly Buspcnded, since the withdrawal or suspension of the demands of the cotton-fields, the extent of the crop has also been diminished, and the fibre has been largely worked into tow, and shipped in the bale to eastern and European factories. "MACHINEUY. " When they were considering the subject of treating tho flax-straw by any of the chemical operations to which it has been subjected for the purpose oF aiding the separa- tion and preparation of the fibres, whether these consisted of dew-rotting, water-rotting, or other more scientific or more elaborate processes, the commission endeavoured to set forth the great importance of a proper sub-division of labour, so that the farmer, with his manifold and pressing cares, might berelievcd from the responsibility of conducting these delicate operations, for which, indeed, he is not always qualified. Here again we desire to urge upon those engaged in making arrangements for further treatment of the material by the mechanical handling of the straw, and its conversion into the beautiful fibre, the great advantage that will result from a separation of these duties from those appropriate to the farm. Indeed it is so apparent to us that the rotting and breaking of flax are truly manufacturing processes, required skillful labour and experienced manage- ment, that the continuance of their assignment to the farm labourer can only be viewed aa a remnant of those peculiarities of the early stages of civilization which are here and there found to cling to us in an advanced condition of society. In former times the farmer, with the assistance of his family, was obliged to produce the raw material, to prepare it for manufacturing, to spin, and to weave it upon his own premises ; but as we advance from such a primitive condition, the better subdivision of labour is progressively introduced, and we believe, as stated on a previous page, that the farmer's duty should always end with the harvesting of the crop, the separation of the seed, and the delivery of the straw to the manufacturer. In portions of Belgium, to which country we may well look for the highest degree of development in the preparation of flax, since there the finest fabrics are produced, we find that the ownership of the crop is transferred from the agriculturist to the manufacturer as soon as its prospective value can be safely estimated, and this is immediately after it has blossomed in the field ; so that the farmer's duties and interests germinate at a still earlier period than that we have recommended to our countrymen. " Notwithstanding our urgent desire for a proper subdivision of the labours of the pro- duction from those of the preparation of flax, and other textile plants, we know that in many parts of the couiitry, where flax and hemp may be profitably grown by the farmer, the mechanic has not yet made his appearance with the needed machinery for operating upon the product. Indeed, the raw material is not to be found in suflScient quantities to justify the erection of large establishments for its preparation in many regions where it is and should be grown. Therefore we congratulate those isolated farmers who may be induced to cultivate this class of crops upon the fact that our ingenious mechanics have already provided for their wants by inventing and erecting farm machines, of moderate capacity and reasonable expense, which will enable individuals so situated to utilize their products, and put them into a condition that will bear transportation to market, or that will readily prepare them for home consumption, " Tlio most successful application of machinery to this subject that we have seen, is tlie an-angement of fluted rollers, with an oscillating motion backward and forward, but advancing more than it retrogrades. This is the Mallory & Sanford machine, which they call ' a portable flax and hemp dresser.' Owing to the peculiar form and motion (if the rollers, the boon is crushed into shives of less than a quarter of an inch in length, and the hnrl is rubbed off from the straw with very little breaking of the filaments, while ot the same time the shives are nearly all shaken out of the flax, which is broken and scutched at tho same operation, and appears to need very little after scutching to finish it. This machine saves a great deal of fibre; indeed, there is scarcely any found with the shives, which are nearly clean, instead of being, as they are often seen, a tan- gled mass of filaments and shivea about the brakes. " ITie latest modification of this apparatus, wherein the rollers are arranged in a ver- tical series fed from above, was tested in the presence of the commission with very i f i' 1 li li ij 1 \ 1 1 1 1 1 i "^"rl'lVW V;?,'*» T^ T" ■* ^ ■:il I hi! :; iiliiill 111* tiiii 68 APPENDIX. snMsfactory results, and they do not hesitate to declare that the work was performed rapidly and well. The apparatus was new, and therefore some allowance should be made for its working capacity. The lari^e machine is said to require a driving force equal to two horse-powers, and its capacity for work is estimated at one and one-eighth tons of straw per day. The makers of this machine in its later or upright form, with a succession of fluted rollers placed horizontally and set one above the other, when they use two breakers and one finisher combined, all feeding from above, claim that they can produce one thousand pounds of clean fibre per diera, with the assistance of four haniU to the brakes, one hand to scutch, aud two boys to assist. " As originally constructed, we have heard it objected to these machines that their mechanism involved a hard motion, and apprehensions were felt that the machinery might give way. At an establishment in Pennsylvania, it was stated that four scutchers were needed to cleanse the fibre produced by three workmen, running three thousand pounds of straw each day through one machine. We cannot help thinking that this result, so different from our own observations, and from the testimony of many practical workmen who have adopted these machines, must have arisen from a want of experience in the labourers, and from their attempt to put through too much straw ; and that, had they attempted to break less, they would have found the scutching a small matter, with revolving knives. " Messrs. Mallory & Sanford's machines have been recommended for breaking straight straw for tne preparation of long-line, and as being equally well adapted for the break- ing of the most tangled flax, that it comes from the threshing floor. It is also claimed t'lat they will separate the shives from green or unretted straw more perfectly than any other apparatus. Specimens on exhibition, and others broken in our presence, are entirely satisfactory evidence that such breaking can be done where desirable, though at the expense of a partial rupture of the filaments themselves, which, in the preparation of long-line, would be productive of a larger percentage of tow or tangled fibre than results from the handling of properly retted straw. " In the preparation of short fibres this partial rupture of the filaments is a matter of no consequence, but, on the contrary, the breaking without previous retting, and its attendant straining of the fibre, is considered a great desideratum by those who desire to manipulate the fibres in their processes of cleansing and disintegration to which they subject this material in preparing it for spinning upon cotton machinery. It is found much easier to bleach and prepare the fibres of unretted, than those of retted straw, and the result is much more satisfactory. " Before dismissing the consideration of the Mallory and Sanford machines, which liave given the commission such satisfactory results, and which present great encouragement to our farmers who have heretofore been deterred from flax-growing by the labor attendant ui^on the preparation of the fibre, the commissioners desire to mention an additional appliance to those brakes, by which the most tangled mass of straw has its stalks straightened out, and presented to the fluted rollers at a right angle, so as to be most perfectly acted upon m its passage through the machine. By this means the eflUciency of the brakes, when acting upon tangled straw, is greatly increased. " Scutching consists in separating the loose shives and dirt, but also results in tiie removal of a considerable portion of the fibre, as coarse tow ; the first exposure of the broken flax to the scutching knives removes the most of the shives and makes the coarse tow ; the second scutching gives a more valuable tow product ; but the next or heckling process produces the fine tow, which consists of the tangled and broken filaments that are combed out of the streiks of flax as they are subjected to this instrument. Heckling is almost exclusively done by hand. Heckled tow contains very little shives. " Rowan's scutcher is a series of metallic beaters which revolve with great rapidity on the periphery of a drum, in close proximity to a breast or plate of iron, over which the workman holds the streik, so as to expose the ends alternately to the beating pro- cess. The work is done rapidly, and the cleaning is very well performed, but with the production of a large amount of waste tow. This machine is also used as a brake, but appears to waste a great deal of fibre, which falls with the shives. The advantages of this machine arc, small space occupied, and rapid work. " One of the most promising scutching arrangements we have seen is that of a model of Mallory & Sanford, which consists of a vertical drum four feet in length, composed of clamps for holding the streiks of flax. These are made to revolve very rapidly after APPENDIX. ch being charged with the fibre. The centrifugal force beats the flar a junst the edge of an upright scutching board tha : is fixed near the periphery of the ' ~ing drum of clamps. When the ends of fla:. are cleaned the machine is stopped, the clamps are removed, loosened, and the flax 's shifted so that the other ends of the streika shall be exposed to the scutching procjfis. It was found in experiments before the commission that this machine, with one scutching-post, ^ould clean both ends in fifty seconds, and by applying four upright scutchliig board?, and four clamps to each drum, it was esti- mated that the whole charge would be cleaned in half a minute. " In confirmation of our favourable Impressions of the Mallory & Sanford machines, we subjoin some extracts from the report of the special committee on flax machinery of the New York State Agricultural Society. This committee report : " ' That they carefully examined the machine presented by Messrs. Mallory Jk San- ford, New York, and tested it under a great variety of circumstances. " ' Experiment 1st. Ten pounds three ounces of unretted straw, precisely as it came from the field, was passed through the breaking machine. The time occupied was two minutes fifty seconds, and the weight after breaking was six pounds ten ounces. The scutching process occupied six minutes, and the flax weighed after scutching just two pounds. " ' Experiment 2nd. Ten pounds of half retted flax (dew-retted) was passed through the breaking machine ; the time occupied in the process was two minutes fifty seconds, and the flax veighed five pounds. It was scutched in nine minutes and twenty seconds, and weighed two pounds three ounces. " ' Experiment 8rd. Twenty-one pounds one ounce of thoroughly retted (dew-retted) flax straw were passed through the machine in three minutes fifty seconds, and weighed nine pounds. The broken straw was scutched in eight minutes thirty seconds, and weighed four pounds fourteen ounces. With the ordinary facilities of a factory, two men could do with ease what it required four men to do at the trials. "'The average work of the machine during these three trials was 1,168 ounce per second, which at ten hours work per day would be equivalent to 2,688 pounds of flax straw. " ' The total weight of broken straw in these three experiments was twenty pounds ten ounce.?, which was scutched in twenty-three minutes fifty seconds, which is equal to 0.7T2 ounce per second. Running steadily for ten hours, a scutching machine will dress 1,737 pounds of broken flax-straw. " ' It, of course, would be difficult to work the machi^ies regularly as fast, or to do as much work with them as was done at these trials, but we have no doubt that the brake could run through 2,000 pounds of straw daily, and that two scutching machines would dress the flax as fast as it was broken by the first mai^hine. Six-horse power would probably be amply suflicient to run the brake and the two scutchers. "'The unretted flar in these experiments yielded 18.9 per cent. The half-retted yielded 21.9 per cent. The well-retted yielded 23.1 per cent of* dressed flax. " ' The day devoted to these experiments was a very rainy one, and the straw had lain upon the ground for several hours ; it had, therefore, imbibed much moisture, and was in a very oaa condition for dressing. If the experiment had been tried in a clear, dry air, much better results would have been obtained.' " In conclusion they say : " ' Ist. That the machine of Mallory e carding process, without modifying the lapper beaters to adapt them for siiortening the long filaments and fibres and making all the fibres finer, we added to each of the beaters another set of arms, and attached at the ends in lieu of knives wooden lags two and a half inches wide. The fronts of these were covered with strips of leatiier two inches wide, into which were inserted curved and pointed teeth of No. 14 wire, witli tlieir points on the same periphery ns the knives on the other arms, and which, wlien id motion, rotate within about one-eighth of an inch of the periphery of the feed rolls. The speed of the beaters, arranged in this manner, should be about 2,()0ii revolutions per minute. When the beaters are so equipped, they not only distribute the grist evenly on the wire cylinders and lap rollers, out if the laps are doubled and carried through the lapper a second time, they disintegrate the filaments so thoroughly as to largely increase their number, and at the same time materially shorten tliose that wete of too great length for the subeequent operations in the mill, without visibly shortening those that were suflSciently short in the bale. The laps so prepared are next carried to the carding machines, the carding power of which, in a great number of American mills, is in a main cylinder, doffer, and top-flats, all covered with fine, chisel-pointed wire clothing, which, although well adapted for carding cotton, is considered insufl^cient for carding flax fibre. The insufficiency is caused by the fact that flax fibres have less elasticity and greater specific gravity tban cotton, and are withal straight rather than curled like the latter, and hence do not rest easily upon the surface of the teeth, but are inclined to imbed themselves among the t«eth, which makes it desirable to substitute M APPENMX. 76 neecllo-pointetl clothing for chisel-pointed on tht> main cylimlers and doffcrs, and al.HO to subBtltute working, stripping, and fancy cylindtrs for the top flats, which should like- wise be covered (except the fancy) with needle-pointed clothing. This form of the teeth permits the workers and strippers, aided by tiie long and flexible teeth of the fancy, to act freely on the main cylinder, keeping; the stock upon its surface and ready for delivery to the doffer. If the cbisel-pointed cluthing, however, of the main cylinders and doffers is in good condition, and the stock is well prepared, it can be used in con- nexion with the working, stripping, and fancy cylinders, but the two former kinds must have needle-pointod clothing. The latter is alway ^ covered with long, fine, and flexible clotliing. The surface velocity of the fancy cylinder should be about twenty-flvo feet faster than the surface velocity of the main cylitider ; the workers and strippers should run at the usual speeds; and one worker ami one etripper are sufficient for one card. The cards should have screens of perforated sheet ;;inc under the main cylinders, and the licker-in cylinders (if there are any) about threu- eighths of an inch from their sur- faces, otherwise too much of the stock will be thrown off in the form of waste by the centrifugal forces developed in the rotation of these cylinders. The feed rolls should be htavily weighted, and their speed be increased about twenty-five per cent. The stock may be carded once or twice. We think once is sufficient. In either case, the fleece should first be delivered into a railway trough ; and, if intended for a second carding, the product or sliver should be collected from calendar rolls without being lengthened, and made into laps for the finishing cards, and from their railway should be drawn by means of a draught railhead from two and a half to three inches. This head sliould have three under rolls, one and one-quarter inch in diameter, placed about three and a half inches from centre to centre of tlie back and front rolls. The back and front rolls should be fluted or corru'^atod ; the back top roll should also be fluted or corrugated, while the front top roll should be covered either with vulcanized rubber or gutta-percha, (the latter can be had at 153 Broadway, New York, of the Outta-Percha Manufacturing Company), and both rolls should be one and one-half inch in (diameter. The middle under roll should be encircled by a spring gill, with collars at either end, rising an eighth of an inch above the points of the gill needles ; the back top roll shoukl be slightly weighted, and the front top heavily. The entire draught should be between the gill roll and the front roll. The shivers from this head should be collected in cans, and passed through either one or two heads of a drawing frame, with gills on the middle under rolls, and with top rolls fitted like the top rolls of the railliead. doubling the slivers at the draughts, which should not exceed one inch into four. From the drawing frame the stock should be made into condensed and untwisted roving on a Taunton speeder, arranged with gills on the middle roll, and with top rolls similar to the rail and drawing frame heads. The spinning frames may have either rings or flyers for twisting. As good yarn can be had from one as the other, it is indispensable that the frames should have large rings or flyers designed for coarse spinning only, as the kind of stock we are treating of cannot at present be made into finer yarn thari numbers ranging from six to ten, (cotton gauge), and it is wholly impracticable to think of spinning it on frames designed for yarn ranging between twenty and thirty- five skeins to the pound. The frames for this stock must be arranged with a draught not exceeding one inch into six inches, and should be fitted with spring gills on the middle rolls for each spindle, and with uncovered smooth iron back top rolls one and a half inch in diameter without weights. The front rolls should compare with the front rolls in the preceding operations. These spinning gills consist of twenty rows of tapering needles, seven-sLxteenths of an inch long and one thirty-second of an inch in diamctcir at the base, six in a row, one-sixteenth of an inch apart, and inserted obliquely through apertures in a brass hollow cylinder one and seven-sixteenths inch in exterior diameter, and projecting through the surface four-sixteenths of an inch, making the entire diameter of the periphery of the points one and fifteen-sixteenths inch, with brass collars at their ends one and six-sixteenths inch exterior, and fourteen-sixteenths of an inch interioi diameter, and flanches to the same, one and nine-sixteenths inch in diameter, fitted with steady pins and set screws for attaching the entire gill to the middle roll. The gills cost three dollars each ; the needles can be purchased at $2.50 per thousand. These gills, as well as the larger kind for railheads, drawing frames, and speeders, are made by Messrs. Lanphear, Levalley