TEXTILE MANUFACTURES. 



' I A EXTILE manufactures, strictly speaking, are 

 JL those which are woven, and embrace fabrics 

 made either of animal or vegetable fibres ; but 

 the name is now applied to several other products 

 of these materials, in which the fibres are so 

 arranged as to give to the whole an expanded 

 surface in a thin layer, so that they can be used 

 in a similar manner to those actually woven. 

 Thus, we now include the processes of felting, 

 netting, knitting, lace-making, plaiting, and even 

 paper-making, under the general term of Textile 

 Manufactures. 



LINEN. 



Of the various textile manufactures, strictly so 

 called, that of linen is the most ancient. In the 

 oldest records of history, sacred and profane, 

 mention is made of it ; and the notices given of 

 the fineness of its texture, are evidence of the 

 degree of skill then displayed in its manufacture. 

 The word linen is derived from the old name of 

 the plant now called flax, which is preserved in 

 fine-seed, or //-seed. Linen is cloth made of 

 lint (Lat. linteum), which is the fibrous bark of 

 the flax plant (Linum usitatissiinuni). 



The plant is an annual, of very slender growth, 

 and usually only slightly branched at the top of 

 the stem, which grows from one foot and a half 

 to two and a half feet in height, rarely higher. 

 The flowers are of a very delicate light blue colour, 

 and the leaves small, as represented in the follow- 

 ing woodcut, which gives correctly all parts of the 



Fig. I. Common Flax (Linum usitat/ssimum). 



plant, except the long thin and almost leafless 

 stem. It is grown in most parts of the world, 

 but requires a cool temperature for the perfection 

 of its fibre, so that in India and other warm 

 countries, it is grown chiefly for its seed, which is 

 of great value for the oil it yields. The finest in 

 the world is produced in Belgium and Holland ; 

 the largest quantities are yielded by the provinces 

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of Russia, which is said to produce 160,000 tons. 

 Considerable quantities are also received from 

 Egypt. That from Holland and Belgium is suffi- 

 ciently fine to yield thread for making lace. 

 Ireland yields about 40,000 tons of good quality. 



Great care is required in the cultivation of flax, 

 which requires a deep, rich, well-drained soil. 

 It is sown broad-cast, and, especially if required 

 to produce the finest or thinnest quality, it is sown 

 thickly, so as to become etiolated, or drawn up. 

 Sown in April in our climate, this crop is usually 

 ready for gathering about the end of July or 

 beginning of August. 



When the seeds are beginning to change from 

 a green to a pale brown, is the best time for 

 pulling the flax. Where the crop grows of dif- 

 ferent lengths, these lengths should be pulled and 

 kept separately, uniformity in this respect being 

 of great value in the after processes. 



The pulling is carefully done by hand, and 

 the flax is laid in rows to dry, after which it is 

 collected and tied into bundles, and taken to a 

 covered place to have the seed-pods removed by 

 the process called rippling, which consists in 

 pulling the stalks through a series of iron teeth 

 eighteen inches long, placed within a distance of 

 half an inch of each other. These are -fastened 

 in a block of wood, which is placed at the end of 

 a plank or long stool on which the operator sits. 

 The rippling deprives the flax of its seed-capsules, 

 which, when thrashed, yield linseed, valuable as 

 affording oil, and oil-cake, much used for feeding 

 cattle. 



The thin stem of the flax plant consists of three 

 distinct portions the central, or hard pithy por- 

 tion, technically called the shove or boon; over 

 which are laid the fibres, called the bast or harl; 

 and covering these, the cuticle, or outer skin. 

 Neither of these parts is easily separated from the 

 other, as they are in a manner cemented together 

 by a gummy matter, which, fortunately, is more 

 easily destroyed by decomposition than the other 

 portions, except the cuticle, which is easily rotted 

 by damp. This is effected by steeping the bundles 

 in water till the cuticle and gummy matter begin 

 to rot, in which state they are readily separated 

 from the fibre. The operation is called retting, 

 or rotting, and requires to be managed with great 

 care, as, by continuing it too long, decomposition 

 might extend to the fibre, and render it useless ; 

 while by discontinuing it too soon, the separation 

 could not be effected with sufficient ease. After 

 being sufficiently steeped, the flax is spread out 

 on the grass, to rectify any defect in the retting, 

 and ultimately to dry it for the breaking. In 

 some districts, it is the practice to conduct the 

 retting entirely on the grass a process known as 

 dew-retting, in contradistinction to water-retting. 



To avoid the delays and uncertainty dependent 

 upon the old processes of retting or watering, 

 plans have been recently introduced, bringing the 

 operation more under control, like the other pro- 

 cesses of our manufactures. 



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