Flax Dressing.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 7 March 1890, Page 2

Flax Dressing.

To thb EDrroß.^-The following letter appears in the N Z; Farmer. As there is a -good deal attention being paid to flax dressing, I thought I would give my experience of flax, which perhaps you might think worth printing for the benefit of your readers. I went in for experimenting' on flax seme- years ago, and upon analysing the gum, found it contained a fixed drying oil, which if allowed to dry on the fibre, was difficult to get rid of, without either using a costly solvent, such as spiritsof wine, wood naptha, etc., or alkalis, such as caustic soda or potash. The alkalis had to be of such strength as to injure the fibre. I iound that by immersing the flax in water a few liourß after cutting (if not passed through the machine directly after cutting ), and keeping it there until it pass d threugh the machine, water flowing over it whilst being dressed, all mucus and vegetable matter vf&n taken out of it, and a fine white fibre was left. I also found that the butts of the flax leaves turned out finest fibre, after being through the machine. The part now beinj?(in some processes ) thrown away as tow is really, when properly dressed, the finest part of the fibre. The only way I could get a really good fibre was by never allowng the leaf to get in the least dry, and in stripping and scut chin? to keep ! water flowing over it, and- then to put it into running water until all gum had dissappearert. — Ohemist.