FLA 



FLA 



145 



the price of the best of Russia flax 

 dehvered on ship-board at St. Pe- 

 tersburgh, is ten and a half cents 

 per pound. The quality called 

 "twelve headed," costs nine and 

 an half cents on board. 



" The quality of flax raised in 

 this country, varies more than any 

 other product ; and of course the 

 price, which is from six to eighteen 

 cents : The medium is about ten 

 cents per pound. 



" it must be acknowledged, that 

 no great exertions can be expect- 

 ed in the pursuits of any people, 

 till "the prospect of reward sweet- 

 ens the labour." And I anticipate 

 the question that some may be dis- 

 posed to ask, " Where is the farm- 

 er to find a market, if flax is exten- 

 sively cultivated ?" We will ask 

 where could the planter have found 

 a market for his cotton, if machines 

 had not been invented for spinning 

 it ? And how could he have sup- 

 plied it, if the labour of two thou- 

 sand hands had been required to 

 clean it of the .seeds, that is now 

 performed by the Cotton Gin, in- 

 vented by Whitney ? We have 

 shown that the expense of dressing 

 flax has been reduced from one 

 third to one tenth of its value ;* 

 and it is a fact well established, 

 that there are now in this country, 

 machines for spinning flax, that 

 perform as well, and more expedi- 

 tiously, except for the finer threads, 

 than those for spinning cotton ! 

 The Paterson sail-cloth is fabrica- 

 ted entirely from yarns spun and 

 twisted by machinery, assisted by 

 as little manual labour as cotton 



* The usual toll for ginning cotton, in 

 Alabama, we are informed, is one twelftli. 

 19 



machines. In these manufactories 

 are six hundred spindles. In the 

 State of New- York and Pennsyl- 

 vaiua, about three hundred more 

 are employed for sewing thread, 

 shirtings, bed-ticks, shoe-thread, 

 twine, &c. The expense of labour, 

 after the flax is hackled, in attend- 

 ing a machine of twenty-four spin- 

 dles for spiiuiing common shoe- 

 thread, is thirty-three cents per 

 day, spinning on an average twen- 

 ty-four pounds a day for each spin- 

 dle ; equal, it is said to the pro- 

 duction of a cotton spindle for five 

 or six days. 



" Can any thing be wanting but 

 the application of power looms for 

 weaving linen, to place the manu- 

 facture nearly upon an equality 

 with cotton ? And is there any 

 doubt but they can be so applied ? 



"The perfection of cotton spin- 

 ning machinery, and the invention 

 of power looms, with such improve- 

 ments as are exhibited at Waltham, 

 it is well known are about to pro- 

 duce an entire revolution in the 

 India trade ! If they can stop the 

 spindle and the shuttle of the Hin- 

 doo, who is supported upon a 

 handful of rice a day, in a climate 

 where little is required for cloth- 

 ing or shelter, what must be the 

 effect of corresponding machines 

 in the linen manufacture, upon the 

 Russian and the German ? There 

 is probably at this moment, a mil- 

 lions tons of American shipping 

 clothed with Russian canvas ! 

 What, but the raw material of good 

 quality is required to elicit capi- 

 tal, to manufacture in a few years 

 even so as to compete wiili LtirO' 

 pean nations in the linen market ? 



