25 



USES OF FLAX STRAW. 



Upholstering Tow. Though furniture makers are by no means confined to flax 

 tow for upholstering material, its durability and its cheapness make it the most com- 

 mon substance used. Other articles within the range of competition with this tow 

 are excelsior, sea-grass, and southern moss. Prices on these materials, as given 

 below, indicate in some measure their positions in the upholstering trade: 



Excelsior $20 00 a ton, f.o.b., Buffalo, N.Y. 



Sea-grass 35 00 



Flax tow 35 00 



Southern moss 7 cents a pound in bale lots. 



Flax tow is the material commonly used in upholstering the medium grades of 

 furniture. According to a big tow manufacturer, whenever the wholesale price 

 of medium tow on the Chicago market goes beyond $25 a ton, the demand gradually 

 shifts to some of the cheaper materials. This was exemplified some years ago, 

 according to this same manufacturer when, on the price of flax tow rising to $27 a 

 ton, the consumption, in one year, declined from 18,000 tons to 4,000 tons. 



The raw supply of these several competitive materials is said to be practically 

 inexhaustible. Sea-grass is a product of the ocean, and southern moss is gathered 

 by negroes in the Southern States. 



The preparation of tows for the upholstering trade is a rather simple and inex- 

 pensive matter. In Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montana there are numerous tow- 

 mills in the hands of tow dealers, threshermen, farmers, and insulation board manu- 

 facturers. The equipment of a new mill (exclusive of power) costs about $2,500, 

 and the building, measuring 60 feet by 40 feet, may be cheaply constructed. 



Such a mill, operated by six men, would have a capacity of about 10 tons of 

 flax straw a day, and an output of about 5 tons of tow. In addition to this there 

 would be a considerable salvage in seed and chaff. 



The supply of flax straw for tow mills is secured both by team haul from nearby 

 farms, and in a baled form by railway from points farther away. When the straw 

 for a tow mill must be transported more than 100 miles, the success of the under- 

 taking is somewhat problematical. 



Some idea of freight rates on flax straw and flax tow in Minnesota is supplied 

 by the figures, given herewith. 



TARLE of Eailway Freight Kates on Baled Flax Straw and Tow. Car Load Lots. 



Rate per Cwt. 



Distance. . Cents. 



20 miles 5*1 



50 " 6'5 



75 " 7-7 



100 " 8'5 



200 " 11-8 



300 " 13'4 



400 " 15'0 



A certain railway that enters St. Paul and Duluth, and makes through rate 

 connections with a Canadian railway, offers a special inducement to shippers of flax 

 straw and flax tow. This consists of a reduction in rates so as to give all points on 

 the line that would be chargeable at a rate between 15 and 20 cents a hundred weight, 

 the benefit of the 15-cent rate. 



In some cases, threshermen operate a portable flax baler throughout the winter. 

 They go about from farm to farm buying the loose straw in the stack at about 50 

 cents a ton. Frequently farmers haul in their straw to a baling outfit at some rail- 

 way siding. For straw delivered in this way the ordinary price in the States men- 

 tioned is between $2 and $3 a ton. The baling press in general use costs about $450. 

 There is also a smaller press on the market at $200. 



