Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1891. Phormium Tenax.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 29 January 1891, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1891. Phormium Tenax.

" Samples of serge, sheeting, canvas, sacking, and other varieties of cloth from urnnixed Phonniuin',.- fibre have been manufactured in Arbroath andj . sent out to the colony. . '._.,' The; fibre used in these experimental! manufactures was prepared by Mrj C. Thome by use of alkaline solu-j tions, and it is stated that such fibre would find a ready market in large quantities at from £60 to £90 per ton. Whether this wonld be as profitable an application of the fibre, t^s the production of hemp, is, however,, not yet established." Such is « the concluding paragraph of Sir James Hector's preface' to the first : edition of " Phormhun Tenax," published in 1872. In the preface to the second edition published in 1889, Sit James Hector states that as far back as 1865 >fi- Skey and himself reported that "in the use of soap. .' ". J

We have all the advantages otyairied by the. use of. the" Alkalies*,withouttheir disadvantages, but the high price of this article would prevent its adoption for this purpose if used alone." How much the value of soap has falleii since iB(J7 we are riot prepared to say, bttt rioiiiig that tallow, one of its_ Chief ingredients, fetches not half the price jt theri did, and that soap* is liow niade in larse quantities in this colony, when in the year mentioned, it was chiefly imported, proves it must have dropped very considerable 1 : Rightly' enough" ,ii ia a ddap manufacturer that now conies forward with samples of materials made from fiax, and train the uitiniate' fibres of the plant: Again' does this pamphlet quote from a report of a Mr Cross, who writes : — " There is another application which I am investigating, wittl the kind atMiflfcaucs .of nly frieild Mr J. Barlow, of Bolton, who has undertaken the experiments — that is, a process of reduction of the treated fibre to something like, the staple of raw cotton, a treatment which has been successfully applied to the spinning of yarn f'rdm different wastes: Tlie, redueiidri la o eCted ill if speck! machine, from which the resulting wool is taken through the carding process and spun into a weft of yarn." So far nothing further has been published about the result of this experiment. If the attempt was made to extract this ultimate fibre from the fibre bundle whilst dry, it is probable that it was unsuccessful ; but the material shown by Mr Haycock proves that his process enables the staple like cotton to come clean away, soft and sound. We have no desire to withdraw the credit that should be awarded to Mr Haycock for the efforts he has made to put, so pi'actically, before the public what scan* be done with a pro-duct-which is now looked, upon, at most mills, as a nuisance. ! We must not, however, omit to mention that in the pamphlet previously mentioned, on page 89, will be found a recommendation to use soap, and how to use it. We are afraid that our millers have missed the. suggestion, as it does not seem very practical as to clearing the green blade from its covering. Mr Haycock only treats the tow, after it has passed through all its mechanical processes. We will now draw attention to the structure of the flax leaf so as to enable our readers to thoroughly understand what has been achieved. The leaf after going through the stripper appears divided into a large number of coarse threads, and it is these threads , after bleaching and scutching, that are exported. Inside of these long threads are a multitude of very minute , silky threads, white, and measuring, so it is said from 4- an inch to 2 inches in length. If a clean fibre is picked out, and- is "teased" with a. needle, any. one will easily distinguished them. These silk threads are retained in their places within the long threads by a covering, which is removed by boiling for some time in hot water mixed with common soda soap. We do not say that this is what Mr Haycock does, but it is what Mr Skey says can be done. Professor Hutton states " that the average length of the ultimate fibre of Phormium is nearly twice that of Sisal or Manila., while the average diameter is not much more than half 'that of Manila, which again is much less than Sisal." We are told, oh the best authority, thai.Phormiuni penax has a different fibre from the, Irish flax andEussian hemp. The Irish flax is classified as a bast-fibre, which intimates that its fibres run much longer and regulaEdri /orfiir' Qncihe qthfir 'Ijand, mixen fibres (under which denoimnation our flax come#) the ultimate fibres are irregular in form and generally much shorter. For this reason, Mr Cross, has stated, Phorftnium will never be entitled to rank with flax and hemp, but he is certain there is a higher use than those to whi6hdt>ife)at present appliedi • We are very much interested in the flax dressing, industry. We care not who makes mbney at it, or how he does it, so long as it is honestly done. . B.mV. w|\do care to see more real interest lak'en. The Government should testify its appreciation of "Mr Haycock's efforts, even supposing he has done only that which he was recommended to do by Sir James Hector's book, as he appears, at present, to have" been the only man who has practically applied 4ie ; - information there gathered together. Give Mr Haycock preliminary protection 1 ;• let experts' test the gehuihess of his assertions as to cost, and if found bona fide, give him security, •and ""capital will be quickly -.found. Hundreds will iihus find employment for their benefit, and to the advantage of the flax dresser, and the rest cff the community. '■'''.