XIV ITOTES BY THE EDITOR 



and at the last session of Congress (1863), a bill was introduced, ap- 

 propriating $25,000 to aid in the discovery of a method whereby flax- 

 cotton could be spun on cotton machinery, an achievement which 

 was successfully effected more than ten years since, both in England 

 and in this country. 



The reasons which render the flax-cotton scheme economically im- 

 practicable may be briefly stated as follows : There are no inherent 

 difficulties mechanical or chemical in " cottonizing " flax, or in 

 subsequently carding and spinning the product on cotton machinery. 

 It is impossible, however, to impart to flax a definite and uniform 

 staple, in consequence of which it is difficult to spin from flax-cotton, 

 on cotton machinery, a thread at all comparable with cotton in fineness, 

 evenness, or strength. The product, therefore, is necessarily a coarse, 

 inferior article, possessing neither the qualities of cotton or linen. 

 But, furthermore, the whole scheme of flax-cotton, especially in this 

 country, rests upon a supposition that there is a great amount of flax 

 fibre which cannot be profitably worked up by any other method. 

 This is an error. In Europe, where the legitimate flax machinery 

 has been carried to a high degree of perfection, every part of the 

 tow, or refuse fibre, is now made available for the production of the 

 coarser linens, and these goods will always command better prices 

 than anything which can be made out of the same raw material by 

 cottonizing it. When the world is prepared to use gold in the place 

 of silver, on the ground of economy, flax-cotton may prove a success. 

 What is now needed in the United States is a stimulant to the more 

 extensive growth of flax, and the discovery of cheap, effectual, 

 and expeditious methods of extracting and dressing the fibre. 

 America does not at the present time raise flax enough to supply the 

 demand of her manufactories of shoe-thread and twine, and Euro- 

 pean manufacturers find difficulty in obtaining flax sufficient to sup- 

 ply the demand for legitimate linen fabrics. Until this end is attained 

 to, it is idle to talk of diverting a material, of which the supply is 

 limited, into new channels of industry. What is now needed is not 

 further encouragement to experiments on flax-cotton, but the dissem- 

 ination of correct information of what has been accomplished, and 

 the results of European and American experience. Until this is done, 

 our inventors and manufacturers work in the dark, and essay over 

 and over again processes which others have previously tested. 



Sewage. The subject of the utilization of the sewage of large 

 cities has, it is well known, been one of great interest with agricul- 

 turists and social economists for some years past. During the session 



