D—No. 14.

58

REEORT OE THE EEAX COMMISSIONERS.

No. 34. Small hank ; length 6 feet; colour white, with red stains ; bright but harsh and stiff-; breaks short. No. 35. Half-hank ; unscutched ; length 5 feet; colour reddish ; harsh, breaks short. Microscopic —Fibres adherent in granular bundles, which break short across. No. 36. Half-hank ; length 6 feet; colour reddish yellow; bright but harsh ; breaks short. Microscopic—Fibres adherent in bundles, which snap across ; much adherent tissue. No. 37. Small sample ; short lengths ; colour greenish yellow ; soft but coarse, and unequal in the length. No. 38. Fifty pounds weight; length 5 feet; colour reddish yellow ; bright and equal, but great difference between the fibre of tips and butts ; breaks short in slender fibres, but no down. Microscopic —Fibres adherent in small granular bundles, but snap across. No. 39. Small hank ; length 6 feet; colour reddish yellow; bright, harsh, breaks short without down. Microscopic—Fibres adherent in small bundles, which are coated with granular tissue. No. 40. One hank ; length 6 feet; colour reddish yellow at butt; greenish yellow at tips; very bright and soft; breaks short. Microscopic—Fibres adherent; breaks into short lengths, with bands of connective tissue. No. 41. Unscutched—One hank ; length 6 feet; colour red ; very harsh, brittle, but strong on a straight pull. No. 42. One hank ; length 4 feet; colour pale yellow; bright and soft; divides freely in breaking. Microscopic —Fibres free, but breaks into short lengths. (Toung flax steeped ?) No. 43. Small sample. —Unscutched ; length 5 feet; colour reddish ; moderately harsh, but has been rubbed; divides freely but breaks short. 18th July, 1870. James Hector.

Tabular Statement of the Results of Experiments to determine the relative Strength—Quantity operated on being 40 grains of each fibre, in 2-foot lengths. I. No. Samples. Max. Mm. Average. 1. Russian hemp ... ... ... ... ... ... 254 160 207 2. Manilla ... .... ... ... ... ... 265 144 215 11. 3. Maori-dressed ... ... ... ... ... ... 235 200 217 4 ■) to > Ditto, not tested. 11. ) lll.— Cli emical. 12. Steaming ... ... ... ... ... ... 140 134 137. 13. Steaming and fermenting ... ... ... ... 120 106 111 14. Soft scraping and washing ... ... ... ... 160 152 156 15. Machine-dressed and chemical ... ... ... ... ... ... 102 16. Machine and steeping ... ... .., ... ... 221 162 191 17. Chemical ... ... ... ... ... ... 171 IV .^-Machine-dressed. 21. Scutched (Northern District) ... ... ... ... 160 ISO 155 22. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 160 141 151 23. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 187 118 148 24. Unscutched ditto ... ... ... ... 164 125 145 25. Scutched ditto ... ... ... ... 140 133 136 26. Unscutched ditto ... ... ... ... 139 110 125 27. Scutched ditto ... ... ... .-,. 139 104 117 28. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 125 110 117 29. Unscutched ditto ... ... ... ... 114 105 109 31. Scutched (Central District) ... ... ... ... 200 174 191 32. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 184 150 167 33. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 181 155 167 34. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 188 148 165 35. Unscutched ditto ... ... ... ... 172 160 165 36. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 175 155 162 37. Scutched ditto ... ... ... ... 185 130 157 38. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 176 138 154 39. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 153 123 138 40. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 132 120 136 41. Unscutched (Southern District) ... ... ... ... 185 172 178 42. Scutched ditto ... ... ... ... 182 126 154 43. Ditto ditto ... ... ... ... 174 128 151