®lic iTarmcfs ilToittfjli) llisitor. 



185 



Just in that liitititde vvlieve llie colloii oiiils, llie 

 |)|-0|i»;r cliiiiale for the f,'iowlh ol'hcriipi'uiiiincii- 

 ces. Ml". Mjerle is coiilich'iit in the opiiiiuii ihiit 

 heiiip ill the great weslerii world may he iiiaile 

 an article not less valuable than cotton itself. In 

 the last five years its increase has been iiiiich 

 more rapiil than tlie progress made in the United 

 States in the first grovvlli of cotton. 



Mr. Myerle claims that until its introdticlioii liy 

 him not a spear of hemp was raised in Illinois, 

 Iowa or Wisconsin. The climate and rich soil 

 in all this comitiy, as in Missouri, is especially 

 adapted to the growing of hem|). The cotiinion 

 |iriidiictioii ill iIm! rich lanils of Kentucky is six 

 Imiidred pounds of dressed hemp to the acre : 

 ill the richer soil of Missouri, &e. it is eight hun- 

 dred pounds. The price of water-rotte<l hemp 

 at the place of export averages about one liiui- 

 dred dollars per ton. 



Tlie zeal of Mr. Myerle to introduce extensive- 

 ly the cultivation of a product of the soil whicii 

 cannot liiil to bring wealth to the country, is de- 

 serving great commendation, lie has been com- 

 plimented with the acUnoulcdgenipnt by Ken- 

 tnckians of having done more in a single year 

 for the introduclion of the hemp cullivatioii in 

 the west than the whole of their State had done 

 in the life-lime of a generation. 



Jt is well known that for the finer cordage a 

 species of hemp, called the Manilla or Spanish 

 Sisal hemp, is sometimes used. Mr. M. believes 

 he has discovered, in a plant indigenous to the 

 Southern States, an article whicli may he made 

 a ."ubstitute for this finer hemp. He has sent 

 specimens to the Philadelphia, New York and 

 Uostoii navy yards of this new American article, 

 where they have been pronounced equal to the 

 best i\l;iiiilla and Spanish Sisal. 



HEMP i>D KI.AX ROTTING AND DRESSING MA- 

 CUINES. 



As connected with the giowih of hemp and 

 flax in this country, to become probably an exten- 

 sive substitute for cotton, and an article for ex- 

 port, Z. C. Rohbins, Esq., Mechanical Engineer 

 and Agent for procuring patents at the city of 

 Washington, has called our attention to the hemp 

 and flax Dressing Machines, for which through 

 him letters patent have been h'.lely issued. These 

 machines are the invention of Messrs. G. W.Bil- 

 lings and .lohn Harrison of Missouri. They were 

 exiiibiled at the Fair of the New York American 

 liisijtute ill IS3.5, and received the flattering award 

 of a gold medal. 



I'lii ir Inst patinit is for a method or process 

 of water-rotting hemp or fla.v, which they per- 

 fectly accomplish in from three to four days, with- 

 out injury to the health of the workmen emidoy- 

 ed in handling it, or to the neighborhood where 

 it is carried on. The complaint of the common 

 mode of w.ater-rotting in Kentucky has been that 

 , the time taken up from fall to spring in which 

 the hemp was iln.riersed created at the water- 

 courses a poisonous quality deleterious to health. 

 The hivontion of Messrs. B. and H. rots the hemp 

 in the greatly lessened time: this is jnincipally 

 done by the application of steam to the raw ar- 

 ticle. 



Their second patent is for a machine for break- 

 ing and scutching hemp and flax, which operates 

 as fVillows: — -The hemp or flax is placed n[)OU a 

 revolving endless apron, which conducts it be- 

 tween a pair of pressure rollers, (the pressure 

 being very great): from these it passes between 

 a series of fluted rollers, and then it emerges on 

 to a series of rotating blades or knives, the ends 

 of which are secured in n radial position in cir- 



cular heads. Over the rolatins knives, and par- 

 alhd with the same, are arranged three vibra- 

 ting knives, so arranged and combined, tli:it 

 they strike in succession, one after the other, 

 between each of the rotating knives, thereby giv- 

 ing the hemp or flax a thorough scutching while 

 passing from the fluted rollers, by the double ac- 

 tion of the rotary and reciprocating movement 

 of scutching blades. 



Their third pattMit is for a revolving hackle. — 

 It is coll^^|•|lcted and operates as tbllovis :^The 

 liackle teeth are arranged upon a cylinder in con- 

 tinuous rows, commencing at the centre and di- 

 verging spirally to the right and left around the 

 same to the ends of the cylinder. In front of the 

 revolving hackle, an elastic rest is placed at a 

 suilable distance ; the hem|) or flax to be opera- 

 ted upon by the hackle is placed between the 

 centre of the rest and the toothed cylinder; the 

 peculiar arrangement of the liackle teeth causes 

 them to open and spread the substance acted 

 uiion gradually to the entire length of the rest, 

 thereby insuring a thorough and equal action up- 

 on every part. 



By the aid of these inventions, hemp or flax 

 may be water-rotted, broken, dressed, and baled, 

 in merchantable order, ready for market, in the 

 space of a week from the time of its being taken 

 friiiii the field. 



IMPORTANT INVENTION FORPUEPABING HEMP AND 

 FLAX. 



Mr. Fleischman, connected formerly with the 

 Patent office at Washington, who has recently 

 travelled in Europe, has exhibited anil placed in 

 the hands of the editor of the Visitor speciuieiis 

 of the product of flax prepared by a chemical 

 process. The inventor is a Frenchman : fin' the 

 right of using it in .bis dominions the King of 

 Hanover paiil the inventor 30,000 guineas, nearly 

 equal to .5100,000. The article as exhibited to us, 

 both ill its complexion and textme, was very su- 

 perior to the same article prepared in the usual 

 method of water-rotting. Mr. F. represents the 

 chemical method as very simple, easy and cheap; 

 and the saving in wastage is full thirty fier cent. 

 May not this process be of the same nature as 

 that which enables the manufacturers of Dundee 

 in Scollanil to bring into use in the linen manu- 

 facture the .American hemp? 



Free Labor to take tlie place of Slave Labor. 



"An ex|ieriment of free lalun- is to be tried in 

 .Milledgeville, Georgia. A liictory is to be started 

 in that place, in which only while persons are to 

 be employed." — .Yationat Intelligencer. 



Ill all the States and Territories of the South, 

 free white labor is fast taking the place of slave 

 labor. These States and Territories have only to 

 be let alone to bring about of themselves every 

 suggestion of humanity. 



The editor of the Monthly Visitor, in the last 

 nine years, takes to himself the credit of having 

 contributed his share in the work of substituting 

 free fur slave labor in the middle southern Stales. 

 Within that time northern farmers, attracted to 

 the subject by this paper, have [inrchased, settle<l 

 upon anil improved much of the territory in both 

 Vu'ginia and Matyland snrroiimling Washington 

 city. Several hundred fiimilies liave fixed them- 

 selves in the county of Fairfax, Va., and it will 

 not be assuming too much lu s.iy that in that time 

 the agricultural product of the county has been 

 doubled. Lands that had been considered worn 

 out and all but worthless, have been reclaimed. 

 White men there do not now as heretofore con- 

 sider it degrading to labor : the force of that hab- 



it which had relied on slave labor alone is fiist 

 wearing away. 



With the introductior. of northern llu'iners, 

 who labor with their own hands, has come in an 

 improved and constantly improving cnllivation. 

 The gallant Commodore Jones of the Navy, we 

 believe, was among the first in the county of 

 Fairfax to present the successful experiment of 

 reclaiming worn out lands on the Virginia side of 

 the Potomac: althonifh necessarily absent miieii 

 of the time in the public servici?, he has made in 

 that country, by direction, farming a profitable 

 business. Of their "own free will and accord" 

 will the people of Delaware, Maryland and Vir- 

 ginia soon put an end to slavery by the inlioduc- 

 tion of cheaper white labor. The change will as- 

 suredly come about, if these people are let alone. 



European emigration now going on to all parts 

 of the United States, is also one of tho^e events 

 which, under Providence, is destined to correct 

 and rectify all the evils of slavery "ven in the fiir 

 South. The substitution of fme Iilsli and Ger- 

 man laborers for blacks, in the southern cities, is 

 fiist going on: of the many thousand draymen 

 in the city of New Orlean.'s, formerly slaves, hard- 

 ly a colored per-on is now included in the num- 

 ber. 



Every northern philanthropist should be pleas- 

 (^d at the exhibition of such facts as that quoted 

 at the head of this arliclc. Fartiu'ies growing up 

 in the South will call not only for emigration from 

 the North which shall assimilate and unite the 

 two sections of country, but will contribute to the 

 demand and ability to purchase many of the mul- 

 tifarious products of New England ; and the in 

 tercliange will give the better employment to the 

 classes of northern men engaged in ships and 

 commerce. Providence has wisely orilered, in 

 relation to this great country, that whatever con- 

 duces to the growth of one section of the coun- 

 try conduces to the prosperity of the Union in all 

 its pans. 



A Mathematical Prodigy. 



If every thing should briMk iqupii the human 

 mintl as now entirely new, all tilings in nature 

 would apjiear to us as miracles. The composi- 

 tion of the earth itself— the growth and grada- 

 tions of the unimal and vegetable crealiou — the 

 moving of the earth n()on its axis — the conn -ction 

 of this globe with the other planets of tli(! solar 

 system all regulated with the gn.ater luminary by 

 the force of its attraction — "what other jilanets 

 circle other suiLs"; — all these, not less than that 

 emanation from Deity wliich enables man to com- 

 prehend and admire the great mirror which is 

 held up to Nature, may and must lie taken ami 

 considered as standing miracles, stronger than 

 " |noofs of h(jly writ," as evidence of the exist- 

 ence of an over-ruling Power hijilier and greater 

 than the power of the greatest of all beings cre- 

 ated. 



Vet we are in tlio habit of considering the "age 

 of miracles as past," so iiniforni have been the 

 results of the same things in the natural world 

 — the return of seasons, the changes of spring 

 and summer to antiiinn and winter — the gradual 

 develo|>ement of the human mind from youth to 

 age under the discii'iline of education — the sure 

 instinct of animals and birds leading to the pro- 

 creation and preservation of their species. In 

 .dl these operations, matters out of the usii.al 

 course, first become an object of wonder; and 

 if the mind cannot account for the aberration on 

 natural principles, it comes to be regarded as mi- 

 raculous. Under the superstitions of fifty years 

 ^o'n, \\i' had imbibed the fear of the power of 



