LINEN FROM WEED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 23 July 1929, Page 6

LINEN FROM WEED

INTEREST 1 IN UUiLANI) EASY, SUITABLE CROPPING iMuch interest is being taken in linen. frj.de circles m Ireland in a statement that a new process of manufacturing artificial flax has bei-n discovered. 'The process of producing the fibre," explains the inventor, "is exceedingly simple. It is a weed which grows anywhere, and is nut affected by climatic conditions. We have large areas, under cultivation at present. We, are negotiating in reference to Spain and Portuguese East Africa, where, owing to the climatic conditions, we can obtain two crops a year; but we propose to extend our operations to Ireland, although there only one crop will be possible. "Any farmer can grow it; it can be grown from seed and cut. There is no technical difficulty whatever. We will cut it for him if he. likes, and treat it. There is no rotting process. Jt is chemically treated and ready for the mill within an hour and a half of cutting. The roots remain and the crop grows year after year, thus reducing the farmery' work to a minimum. "We call it 'artificial' for want of a better word. ft is not- really artificial; it is nature's own product." These discoveries, Dr. Hedley-Thorn-ton continued, were the result of 19 years' research work on the part of his assistant chemists and himself. The marketing price of the new product to the spinning mills would be between £4O and £45 a ton, aa against £95 to £IOO for ordinary flax. The linen produced from theju new fibre is considered as good as the ordinary linen, and it is declared that experts could not tell the difference between the two. Another advantage is that the new fibre can be worked upon existing machinery. In view of the depression in the linen trade in Ireland, due to the shortage and consequent high price of flax, the new process has aroused much interest. Before the war the great bulk of the (lax used in the Irish linen trade —nearly three-quarters of the tofcil—came from Russia, but this source of supply has (greatly reduced in recent years. Elax now costs about twice the pre-war price.