THE FLAX INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 304, 19 September 1919, Page 3

THE FLAX INDUSTRY

ITS PAST AND FUTURE, i ' 1 At tho meeting of the Technological ; Section of the Philosophical Society held iin the Museum, on Wednesday, Professor • Easteriield read a paper entitled .'The 1 Past and Future of the Flax Industry." [ Sir. S. H. Jenkinron presided, and there was an exceptionally good attendance of 1 members, including several ladies. Professor Easteriield first of all briefly 1 explained tho processes of converting ' the green flax into fibre. At tho outset 1 he explained that a ilax swamp was not • a swamp at all,' because flax would not ■ grow in a swamp for the reason that ' flax roots would not thrive where there 1 was stagnant water. Ho then traced the ; progress of Hie green leaves after' they ■ readied, the mills. The work of the '•/ strippers and scutchers,- was I explained, ■• aud tho other' operations necessary' for producing a commercial fibre, and the effect of each operation.. The professor then read remarks on the industry by , the well-known hemp miller, Mr. Seifert. In the early stages of the industry there were very few who could make the industry pay. In those days tho mills were kept going when prices wero hign and close/! when the price dropped. Mr. Seifert explained in detail the operations of each machine in the mill. He pointed out that tho stripping of the fibre milted 'in . the strength cf tho fibre being weakened. Improvements, however, had 'been made in the strippers, and where previously six men were required now it could be done better and more expeditiously by three men. With rc'spect to bleaching, Mr. Seifert was of opinion that the sulphur bleaching process might ultimately bo adopted because of tho enormous saving of time. Sulphur bleaching took about M (houra, while paddock bleaching took a week, 'and the fibro was at tho mercy of the weather. In line weather it took about throe weeks to convert the green flax into exportable fibre, and. in wet weather it might take six weeks. The best markets wero England, America, and Australia. Mr. Seifert ostimated that about 00,000 acres in the.Dominion were devoted • to .the cultivation of flax In tho Manawatu the land would produce a ilax crop every four years, equal to 30 tons per acre. • The future of the industry, ho contended, depended upon'cultivation, and lie suggested that experiments should be made to discover which was tho best classoorf r phormium tenax to cultivate, having re-' gnrd to rapidity of growth, quantity of fibre, and disease-resisting qualities. He suggested that dairy farmers should plant flax for shelter, and contended that thereby tho farmer would increase his profits. Professor Easteriield stated that in IMG Mr. Seifert asked him to take an interest in tho industry and see if he could suggest any improvements. An experiment was made by putting lOOlb. of average leaf through tho stripper to 6hbw the weight, and two such lots ■koto put through, and it was shown that slightly more than M per cent, was obtained. After two years the experiment was repeated, and the results were practically the sanm. The moist fibre was divided into three lots, i one lot was dried i directly, and gave 23' per cent, of fibre, but when washed' and then dried the yield was 19.8 per cent.; tho third, which was washed and bleached, yielded 19 per cent. A laboratory experiment yielded 19 pei\ cent., and a similar experiment made by another man yielded lii per cent. They might take it, therefore, that tho yield of fibre from average . leaf was about 19 per cent. Tlw guin, or ilax ruinse, when it came away, was a hotbed of microbes, and fermented quickly. Examined under the microscope one could sen that it was alive with micro-organisms. The ash of tho flax refuse contained about 3U per cent, of potash, indicating that the material had very considerable hiimuriul value, but the difficulty was thabit conmined a considerable' quantity of water. Eighteen samples' showed 82 per cent., of water. If they allowed the stuff to rot and grew "melons on it, the finest crop could be grown.' It was also valued by some bulb growers for manurial purposes. The refuse also contained on an average (i per cent, of sugar, which accounted for the fermentation. The question was what could he done with this refuse. It could be used for cattle feed ■ if tho water could be extracted quickly ! -but this was a difficult matter. The ; professor stated that probably tho most ■ economical, way of using the refuse , would be to return it to the flax land. ; Tho experiment was tried of burning this , stuff in u destructor, and it was found ■ that it put out the lire, tho refuse con- , tained such « large percentage of water. \ By pressing the refuse CO per cent, of the juico could be squeezed out. and , what was left could be burned in an i ordinary grate,- and Professor Easterfield thought that millers might ■ yet ' have to adopt some such system owing ( to the rising cost of fuel. The juice , pressed from the fibre contained the J sugar, and experiments showed that it T yielded a considerable quantity of alco'hoi. The professor showed a bottle d \ rectified spirits produced in this way. j He was of opinion that it would nay to extract the alcohol from this juice, and j ho estimated that the two large mills -] in the Manawatu could produce annu- E ally 30,000 gallons of alcohol, and there ( would be the dry refuse, which could be used as fuel. Although a dye could-be , made from the refuse, ho did not think , there was a chance of a dyn industry f being established- in this connection. j