602 REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



as they otherwise would. The action of this machine is such that the 

 ends of the straw are first op^ rated on, and so on to the middle of its 

 length, whereby a better and larger product of long-stapled scutched 

 fiber is obtained, while the value of the tow obtained is in ore than double 

 that produced in scutching generally. 



An improved machine like the foregoing is calculated to give increased 

 impetus to the culture of flax, which will lead to the cheapness of the 

 raw material, with increased profit not only to the grower but also to 

 the manufacturer, as the cost of breaking and scutching on this im- 

 proved system is claimed to be about one-third less than upon ordinary 

 machines. 



A committee on science and arts of the Franklin Institute, Philadel- 

 phia, after satisfactory experiment, say of this machine : 



This mechanical contrivance is deserving of special mention, being loell adapted for tJiepur- 

 pose designed, ia capable of adjustment to suit dili'erent lengths of fiber, and may be 

 controlled automatically or by hand. The fiax stalks operated upon were grown, not 

 for the fiber, but for the seed alone, and had not been properly "retted," yet the ma- 

 chine under consideration performed the operations of breaking and scutching ■with 

 entire success. Flax stalks two feet and hemp stalks eight feet long were alternately 

 fed to the machine, and the fiber was delivered clear of " boon," straw, and woody 

 material, in from thirty to forty seconds, while but little scotching tow or codillawaa 

 made. The introduction and general use of this machine would, without doubt, tend 

 to restore and extend the cultivation of such fibrous plants as flax, hemp, jute, and 

 others of a similar nature, by enabling producers to deliver these eeYcral fibers in a 

 clean, straight, long Hne, and marketable shape, at low cost. 



A hemp-hackling machine, the invention of Theo. Tebaw, of Frank- 

 fort, Kentucky, was patented in May, 1879, which claims to hackle a 

 large amount of material at one time. The patentee claims the follow- 

 ing advantages for his machine : 



The bunch of material to be hackled by the machine is from one hundred and sixty 

 to two hundred pounds in weight, while about two pounds of the material is usually 

 the amount taken by hand, it requiring, of course, a few more passes of the hackles 

 through this material when operated upon in the machine than it does by hand ; but 

 the movement of the hackles is so rapid that the time occupied in dressing a single 

 bunch by machine is less than required in hand-work. 



A very material advantage resulting from the nseof the machine is avoiding the 

 breaking of the fiber consequent upon the short stroke of the hackles, which can work 

 upon the bunch inch by inch, leaving the fiber in better condition than by hand-dress- 

 ing and producing much less tow. 



The latest invention in vegetable fiber machinery is that of ilr. A. 

 Angell, of lirewark, N. J., for the cleaning of ramie and other vegetable 

 fibers of like nature. It was only brought to public notice late last sea- 

 son, having been patented in November. It has already been placed in 

 the hands of practical business men to be manufactured, and by them 

 wiU be taken to India to compete for the £5,000 prize offered by the 

 government at Calcutta, for a successful ramie and jute cleaning ma- 

 chine. The machine is thirty-four inches wide and forty-two high, *and 

 is very strong and apparently not liable to damage. It can be removed 

 to any i)oint without taking apart, and it is readj for use on the instant, 

 being simply a series of rollers and scrapers and beaters. At the top is 

 a hopper with a dozen holes, through which the fiber is fed to the ma- 

 chine. The machine started, a stalk of ramie or other fiber is set by 

 the thick end into the hole ; it is grasped between two rollers, covered 

 with flexible rubber, and the stalk, in passing into the machine, imme- 

 diately encounters a knife, which splits it in two, sending the two halves 

 to opposite sides of the machine. The halves on their journey encounter 

 " beaters," which break off the pith and wood, and on the other side 

 encounter " scrapers," which remove the bark, and in an instant the 

 filament comes out in long ribbons of fiber. An unbroken ribbon, ex- 



