183S] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



501 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 IMPROVEMKNT IN THE MANUFACTUKE OF 

 FLAX. 



The Aujrust number of the Journal of the 

 American Institute— a work we most cordially rc- 

 commena to the patronarre of our readers— con- 

 tains a letter (rom J. F. Schermerhorn to the com- 

 missioner of patents at Washington, describing a 

 new mode of manufacturing Hax, or rather so pre- 

 paring it for manufaclure that it can be spun on 

 the common spinning jenny as easy as cotton, and 

 converted into cloth with the greatest facility. 

 Mr, S. Olcott of New Hope, Pa., is the inventor 

 of the process, and should further tests and trials 

 but realise a small part of the benefits indicated, 

 it will prove a discovery of immense value to the 

 north and west. The flax, as we understand the 

 letter, is by a short and simple process, and with 

 the aid of machinery, converted into what Mr. 

 Olcott calls his short staple flax; is deprived of its 

 gluten and coloring matter, and bleached, and is 

 then ready for spinning. 



Specimens ot' the thread made from the pre- 

 pared flax, as well as samples of the flax itself, 

 were left at the oflice of the Institute, and attract- 

 ed much notice from their beauty and strength. 

 The only objections started, were that by being 

 made into short staple, the thread lost the smooth 

 silk-like appearance belonging to the unbroken 

 nbre, and appeared more as if made of bleached 

 tow, or rather of floss silk. When we reflect, 

 however, on the smooth thread made from cotton, 

 a material still shorter in fibre, and far interior in 

 strength, there can be no reasonable doubt that in 

 the process of manufacturing linen cloth from pre- 

 pared flax, methods of obviating this and other 

 difliculties will be easily found. In the language 

 of the Journal, this improvement, "must produce 

 a wonderful advance of productive industry in our 

 portion of the union. In the west it will open 

 mines of wealth. If flax can be produced and 

 prepared for the spinning jenny as cheap as cot- 

 ton, and converted into cloth as readily, then the 

 northern and middle states can avail themselves of 

 a great staple that will vie with the south; and 

 this may be done at once, for we already know 

 how to spin. It is not like silk, which is sure to 

 succeed eventually, but progressively. The mul- 

 berries must have time to grow; and the know- 

 ledge requisite for managing the silk-worms, 

 taking care of the cocoons, reeling, &c. will re- 

 quire time to be generally adopted and uoder- 

 Btood." 



iMr. Schermerhorn makes some interesting esti- 

 mates of the profits that must ensue from the pro- 

 duction and manufacture of flax. We have room 

 for only the following: 



<']. Estimate for' buildings and machinery to 

 manufacture 1000 tons of short staple flax, ^30,000 

 The actual expense of preparing 1,000 



tons of fine flax; including the raw 



material, at $250 a ton, - - 250,000 



$2S0,000 

 Now if we estimate this short staple flax worth 

 fifty cents per pound, which will not be deemed 

 an extravagant price when it is remembered that 

 every pound of such fine flax will make between 

 four and five yards of fine linen, say four yards, and 

 this can be made into fine linen at about four cents 



per yard: then 1.000 tons being 2,000,000 pounds 

 willbe worth at 50 cts. per lb. - .^1,000,000 

 Now deduct from this as above for 

 buildings, machinery, raw material, 

 and expense of manufacturing the 

 fine flax, at 250 dollars a ton, - 280,000 



Which leaves a profit after paying for buiidiniis, 

 and washing, &c., &c., - - §720,000 

 2. Estimate for manufacturing the fine short sta- 

 ple flax into fine linen. * * To manuliicture 

 2,000,000 pounds, which will make 8,000,000 

 yards of linen, you must have in operation about 

 850 looms, at an expense of one thousand dollars 



each, - $850,000 



Spinning 2,000,000 lbs. at 8 cts. per lb. 160,000 

 VVeaving and putting up 8,000,000 yards, 



at 2 cents per yard, . . . 160,000 

 2,000,000 lbs. of fine staple flax at 50 



cents per lb. - . . . 1,000,000 



$2,170,000 

 If we estimate this fine linen at fifty cents per 

 yard, then the value of 8,000,000 yards 

 will be - - - - - .^4,000,000 

 From which deduct as before, for build- 

 ings, machinery, stock and labor 2,170,000, 



and a net profit is left of $1,830,000 



Mr. Olcott, at his flax establishment at New 

 Hope, works up at present, about three thousand 

 tons of flax in the stem per year. This produces 

 about 430 tons of fine short staple flax, ready for 

 manufacture; from which it seems that it takes 

 about 7 tons of stem to produce one ton of short 

 staple flax. From Mr. S.'s letter we gather, that 

 the lands in Penn. and N. Jersey, in the vicinity 

 of New Hope, as an average crop, yield one ton 

 of stem to the acre, for which Mr. Olcott pays at 

 his factory twelve dollars a ton; and it is fair to 

 conclude that the average yield of flax seed will 

 be worth at least as much more from an acre, 

 which will give the farmer 24 dollars per acre, as 

 the avails of his flax crop, and this must be consi- 

 dered a good business. It is in the rich and beau- 

 tiful prairies of the west, however, that we think 

 the manufacture of flax will be carried to the 

 greatest extent, and most profit. Should the flax 

 noticed in our sketch of Mr. Parker's travels, as 

 growing wild in the valleys beyond the Rocky 

 Mountains, and being perennial like our grasses, 

 be introduced into the western stales, and succeed 

 as we trust it may, it can then be mown like 

 grass, and gathered year after year witliout a se- 

 cond sowing; and even the common flax cannot 

 fail to yield a rich harvest to the industry of th« 

 fertile west. 



From tlie Huntington Gazette. 

 RATS IN GRAIN. 



How to prevent the ravages of rats in grain af- 

 ter it is housed, has been an inquiry of long stand- 

 ing. We can never exterminate them to such 

 a degree as not to apprehend their incursions, for a 

 horde of these troublesome visiters will often make 

 their appearance when we least expect them. In- 

 stinct points the way where that provision bestsuit- 

 ed to their nature is found most plentiful. We have 



