Vfol.V. — Xo. 1-1 



NEW KiNGLAlSD FARMER 



849 



NEW METHOD OP BLEACHING AND 

 PREPARING FLAX. 



ItV Tlir REV. J. B. EMMET. 



„ aocoiinl "f the distress which prevails in 

 <■ oflhc manufiicKirin? districts, I have been 

 iccd to present to the public the following 

 t,q of blcachina- and preparing il:i\- and tow by 

 riplo, casv and cheap process, whereby it is 

 ,ccd to a beautiful dpgrcc of whiteness, be- 

 ,es possessed of a silky lustre, and is made suf- 

 ;ntlv fine to be manufactured into the finest, 

 ds ;' hoping that it may become the moans, in 

 hands of opulent manufacturers of giving em- 

 .•ment to seme of the workmen, who arc unable 

 noet with it. 



■ho process is as follows t steep or boil the flax 

 ow in a weak solution of suhcarhonatc of pot- 

 or soda, in order to extract the colouring mat- 

 rosin, &c. I prefer ih? subcajbonate to the 

 e or caustic alkali, because, however diluted 

 latter may be, its powers of corrosion arc so 

 •at that if it extracts the extraneous matter per- 

 tly, it will almost certainly diminish the 

 nislh of the fibre: whilst I find that it may be | 

 rougiily extracted by the former without pro- j 

 ;ing\ny such effect : this I have proved by ex- 

 imcuts made upon rst'ier larje quantities.— ; 

 ash it thoroughly from the .alkali. j 



I'hc bleaching liquor is prepared in the follow, i 

 ■manner: Reduce perfectly fresh charcoal ofj 

 t porous wood, as willow or fir'- to a very fine 1 

 ,vder ; tic up the powder in a bag made of cloth i 

 a c^csG texture ; i.minerse it into cold soft wa- J 

 and work it by pressing it v,-lth the hands, j 

 f.l such .-; quantity shall be diffused through the 

 ter, that on rinsing a little flax through it for 

 ew ir.i.nutes. and tlien withdrawing it, it shall 

 Kghlly blackened. Put into it the flax to b,^ 

 ;achcd, taking care that each parcel shall im- 

 ,)e it to its middle. Whpn all is put into the 

 _;nid, the water on being well agitated ought to 

 clouded bv charcoal. I cannot specify the ex- 

 it proportion as I observed it no farther than ; 



i^ that I always used more than was actually i 



quisite : in bleaching G or 7 pounds I never | 

 ed more t'lan half an ounce. Agitate the liquid ; 

 .d press the flax under it several times in the \ 

 ly, iu order to bring as much charcoal as possi- 

 e 'in contact with it. After about twenty or; 

 .•enty-four hours, remove it from the liquid, hav- , 

 .g it well wrunff. put it into a second, which may 

 Mitain loss charcoal : aaitato as before, and after 

 le same interval of time, examine a small parcel 

 y washing it with soap and hot water : if the 

 olour be good, remove it from the charcoal liquid: 

 r not allow it to remain another day, until it be- 

 omcs white : two or three days are amply suffi- 

 ient if the process be well conducted. It is ad- 

 ■antageous to spread it out thinlv upon the jrra^s, 

 vet as it is, and having the charcoiil iu it, taking 

 •are to turn it frequently for a few days : the 

 iharcoal gradually disappears, and the surface ac- 

 quires a pearly appearance. 



The flax is now to be rinsed in a large quantity 

 jf water : then to be washed thoroughlv with 

 ioap in hot water, till it is quite clean ; the soap 

 must then be washed out by cold water, and the 

 flax dried ; if on the grass, exposed to the sun 

 and air, the better. 

 Before washing out the charcoal with soap, the 



[lustre of the fibre will be improved by steeping it i 

 1 for eight or ten hours in water ju.st soured witli 

 sulphuric acid; if this process be continued too 

 hong the fibre will be weakened. The acid steep- 

 I ing'' is not essential, except the flax bo intended 

 I for particular uses. 



I The charcoal is easily v.'ashed cut, and that per- 

 fectly, with soap. The ultimate fibres are perfect- 

 i ly separated : they are so much finer than silk, 

 I that 1 use them i.i the quadrant, transit, and mi- 

 icrometers: the lustre is precisely that of silk; 

 ' the strength of the fibre is not at all impaired. It 

 takes such colours as I have tried— blue, pink and 

 yellow, perfectly. The finest thi-e.-d may bo spun. 

 Having made public the process, and particular- 

 I iy an account of my reason for fo doing, I hope 

 I that manufacturers and others who can forward 

 : the introduction of the material, will bestow some 

 1 attention upon the subject. 



i P.S. It may probably be worth the attention of 

 jtho Irish ; and particularly since the process may 

 I be performed by individuals at their own houses, 

 ' and may give employment to many paupers in the 

 ; work house. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEK. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, M AY 25, 1837. 



Eemarks hj the Editor.— The above appears to ■ 

 bo an important discovery, and bids fair to lead to| 

 very beneficial results, some of v.hich, perhaps, } 

 may not have been contemplated by the inventor j 

 of the above described method of bleaching with 

 charcoal. The attraction existing between char- 

 coal, and foul, putrescent colouring and infectious 

 matter, wo believe, may be turned to better and 

 more frequent account than ever has been done. 

 In bleaching cliaicoal must have one advantage 

 over the alT;;uies, acids, gasscs, &c. iu common 

 use, to wit, charcoal can never corrode or injure 

 the texture of the cloth or clher substance submit- 

 jtcd toils operation. It may .-^eem absurd to at- 

 1 tempt to whiten cloth, &c. with lampblack; but 

 I if we had any practical concern with a bleaching 

 j establishment we should try some e;;periments 

 ! witli a view to that result. 



CHINESE METHOD OF MAKING SHEET 

 LEAD. 

 The Sheet Load v,-liich comes from China is 

 manufactured iu a way not generally known iu 

 this country. Tha operation is conducted by two 

 men. One is seated on the floor, with a large flat 

 stone before him, and with a moveable fiat stone- 

 stand at his side. His fellow-workman stands be- 

 side him with a crucible filled with melted lead, 

 and having poured a certain quantity upon the 

 .stone the other lifts the moveable stone, and 

 dashing it on the fluid lead, presses it out into a 

 flat and thin plate, which he instantly removes 

 from the stone. A second quantity of lead is 

 i poured in a similar manner, and a similar plate 

 - formed ; the process being carried on with singu- 

 lar r-pidity. Thorough edges of the plates are 

 ■ then cut off, and they are soldered together for 

 use. 



* Probably white pine or pitch pine would aus- 

 wer the purpose as well as willow or fir. 



THE SEASON. 

 The season in this quarter thus far is one of 

 ffreat promise to the tillers of the soil. The grass 

 is abundant— and the English grain never looked 

 better The fruit trees are casting their blossoms, 

 and all nature is adjusting her garb of green. We 

 have been informed that the season has not been 

 so forward for sixteen years as it is at present. 

 TBellows Falls paper.] 



; BOTTLING CIDER. 



When you draw off cider for bottling you may. 

 I probably, prevcul the buistiug of tlio bottles by 

 setting them on the ground iu the northerly pari 

 . of your cellar, and covering them witii moss. — 

 iTliismoss you will he careful to keep wet with 

 I cold water, drenching it from a water pot every ?. 

 tor 10 days, during tlic warm season. Sec N. E. 

 j Farmer, vol. ii. page 39-t. 

 j FLIEP. 



] We are told that the following recipe is as efli 

 j cacious for the destruction of flies as solutions of 

 I Krsenic, mercury and other poisons ; and has the 

 1 advantage of not endangering the lives and health 

 I of the human species if incautiously swallowed.— 

 ' Dissolve 2 draclims of the extract of quassia in 

 half a pint of boiling water, add a little sugar ov 

 syrup, pour tlie mixture on plates, and set them 

 in places infested by these insects. 

 BED BUGS. 

 A strong decoction of ripe red pepper is said ti- 

 be as efficacious an antidote to bed bugs as can b^ 

 ■iclecied from the muliitudincus recipes for the 

 same purpose. 



APPLE TREES. 

 If the fol'owiiig statement is true, it is very im- 

 portant ; and if not true it would be well that it 

 mi''ht be contradicted by some one who has or 

 may be iiblc to speak from experiment. It is taken 

 from an Eiinipean Magazine ; but we have often 

 seen and heard similar stateisents, originating 

 from other sources. 



It is a rrencral complaint, that the finest appla 

 trees of tins country [Great Britain] have degen- 

 erated, and that many of the best sorts have en- 

 tirclv disappeared from our gardens and orchards 

 It would not be difficult to show that every suc- 

 cessive grafting deteriorates the fruit engrafted ; 

 or to pornt out an effectual method of retaining 

 good apples in this country without the trouble of 

 grafting , as in every perfectly ripe apple there 

 will belbuiid one and sometimes two round seeds ; 

 the others will have one or more flatted sides.— 

 The round ones will produce the improved fruit 

 from which they are taken, and those with the 

 flatted sides will produce the fruit of the crab [or 

 stock] upon which the graft was inserted. It re- 

 quires not a long time to ascertain the difference ; 

 for if .a circle is drawn in rich ground, and the flat 

 sided seeds planted therein and the round seeds in 

 the centre, the variation of quality will be discov- 

 ered in two or three years. The first will throw 

 out the leaves of a crab, and the latter the leaves 

 of an improved tree, distinguished in shape and 

 fibre, and with a woolly appearance ; and in due 

 time the fruit of each will put every ihing beyond 

 doubt. 



DRIED PLANTS. 

 The London Philosophical Magazine for March 

 1S21 states, in substance, that on the tables of the 

 Royal Institution of Great Britain, were exhibited 

 specimens of dried plants, prepared at Massachu- 

 setts, by the sect of people denominated Shaking 

 Quakers. We should be glad to obtain informa- 

 tion on this subject, and publish it as well for the 

 benefit of the public as of those concerned in the- 

 preparations alluded to. 



