226 



THE GENESEE FARMER 



July 23, 183L 



erable quantity of canvass made in'the United 

 States, of flax grown at Fairfield, Connecti- 

 cut, where they are "in the habit of water- 

 rotting it ;" and its quality is not only con- 

 sidered sufficiently good for the service, but 

 equal to that of the best imported canvass. 

 We have also purchased canvass made from 

 foreign and dew-rotted, American flax mix- 

 ed, and it has passed inspection, though not 

 equal to that made from the Fairfield flax. 

 The manufacturers of canvass object to 

 dew rotted flax on various grounds. They 

 prefer Dutch at 15 or Irish at 14 cents per 

 lb. to this kind of flax at 9 cents per pound : 

 because, while one hundred pounds of Dutch 

 will yield 72 lbs., and 100 lbs. of Irish will 

 yield 65 lbs. the like quantity of American 

 dew rotted, will yield only 40 pounds of 

 clean flax. No reason can be discerned 

 why the American flax should yield so 

 much less than the Dutch, unless it is to be 

 found in the defective process of rotting, 

 dressing, and preparing it for market. — 

 The American planl, in its natural state, 

 contains, it is believed, as great a portion of 

 fibre or lint as either of the others. A res- 

 pectable manufacturer has stated, that he 

 has long used the Fairfield flax, and that he 

 considers it "more flexible, less woody, and 

 stronger than that grown at the South, and 

 preferable to Russia flax." 



Others, and apparently well founded ob 

 jections, are urged by the manufacturers of 

 canvass against common American flax. — 

 They say "that in bleaching, the Irish flax 

 has an advantage over every other descrip- 

 tion ; that the coloring matter is extracted 

 from it with less trouble and expense than 

 the Dutch ; that the American flax requires 

 at least two-thirds more expense and twice 

 the trouble of any other flax. The reason 

 assigned for this by the American manufac- 

 turers is. that the American flax is not pul- 

 led until the seed are ripe ; whereas, in Ire- 

 land, it is pulled green ; but, in opposition 

 to this conclusion, it is said that, " in the 

 Netherlands, where flat is supposed to be the 

 best prepared, generally speaking, of any in 

 Europe, and in France, flax is always allow- 

 ed to arrive at maturity, and is never pul- 

 led, particularly in Holland and Zealand, 

 until the seed are perfectly formed, and the 

 capsule brown and hard, so as t" be easily 

 disengaged from the stock ;" and if, as it is 

 alleged, Irsih fla t is found to be more easi- 

 ly bleached than the Dutch, this advantage 

 appears to be more than counterbalanced by 

 the fact, that 100 lbs of the latter will yield 

 7 lbs. more of clean flax than an equal quan- 

 tity of the former. 



The practice of pulling the plant in a 

 green state, is defended on the grounds that, 

 the younger the plant, the finer the tissue ; 

 yet, it is stated as an unquestionable fact, 

 that the flax intended for the finest purposes, 

 is not pulled in the Netherlands, until the 

 seed are ripe. An intelligent French gen- 

 tleman, in a letter to Mr. Besnard, (an ex- 

 tract of which will be found among the pa- 

 pers accompanying this report} assigns rea- 

 sons, which appear conclusive in favor of 

 the practice which prevails in Holland, both; 

 as to the period when flax is pulled, and 

 heir peculiar method of steeping it. 



The "high price of American flax, its; 

 unequal quality, and the uncertainty of sup-! 

 ply," are urged as among the reasons which 

 have induced some of the manufacturers of 

 canvass, after repeated trials, to re-com- 

 mence the importation of Irish flax; while 



others observe, that they have imported 

 none since the Fall of 1821, being able to 

 obtain a sufficient supply of American fla . 

 It appears to be the universal opinion of 

 experienced men, that the process of dew- 

 rotting flax diminishes its value and its 

 weight, injures its color, and impairs its 

 quality and strength. Thee periments sta- 

 ted in the paper C. annexed, tend to con- 

 firm this o inion. 



With regard to " cables and cordage, 

 made of hemp, the growth of the United ti." 

 many of the observations previously made, 

 with respect to flax, are, in a great degree, 

 applicable to hemp. In its natural state A- 

 merican is believed to be equal to the best 

 Russia; but the almost universal custom of 

 dew-rotting it, is so deleterious in its effects 

 upon the fibre, as to present insuperable ob- 

 jections to its use in the Navy. This pro- 

 cess not only weakens the fibre, but prevents 

 the tar from incorporating with the yarns, 

 thus rendering it seriously objectionable, 

 particularly for cables. The manufacturers 

 of cordage further object to it, because " its 

 staple is rough, and occupies more time in 

 the manufacture;" and "generally comes 

 to market in a slovenly manner, with vari- 

 ous qualities mixed together, and badly 

 cleaned.' They say that cordage made of 

 Russia hemp is preferred by the consumer, 

 at an advance of 50 to 100 per cent ; that 

 dew-rotted cordage, "by exposure to the at- 

 mosphere, becomes rotten, and after being 

 used a short time, cannot be depended on.' 

 A gentleman of experience says, " before the 

 late war we used some cordage made from 

 Kentucky yarns — many persons did it for 

 the purpose of encouraging American pro- 

 ductions ; some of them had strong prejudi- 

 ces in its favor ; but, after a fair trial, those 

 persons confessed to me that they must 

 give up the use of it ; that it would noi 

 wear well, and they could not depend on it." 

 The same gentleman further observes, " I 

 would not use cordage made of Kentucky 

 yarns or hemp, even If I could procure it at 

 half the price o! cordage made from Rus- 

 sia." 



Manufacturers and consumers of cordage 

 appear universally to concur in these opin- ( 



er of this machine, to disengage effectually 

 the woody part of the plant from the lint, is 

 spoken of confidently by those who have 

 seen it in operation : but, whether the hemp 

 thus prepared, will be as serviceable as th-3 

 water-rotted ; whether it will not be more 

 liable, in bulk, to injury, from the gum and 

 mucilage which are wholly left in it ; or 

 whether other objections may not exist, arc 

 points upon which the Commissioners ate 

 uninformed. They have, owever, engaged 

 a small supply nf yarns from hemp thus pre 

 pared, and intend making expeiiments tc 

 test their strength and durability. 



About twelve months since, a gentleman 

 produced a sample of cordage, made, it is 

 believed, of American dew-rotted hemp 

 with the yams dipped in pyroligneous acid, 

 and tarred about one-eighth as much a* 

 yarns usually are, prior to being laid ; ca'- 

 culating, that the antiseptic properties of 

 this acid would obviate the injuries sustain- 

 ed in the process of dew-rotting, and impart 

 to the cordage a durability equal to that 

 made of water-rotted hemp. With a view 

 to an experiment, the Commissioners have 

 engaged enough of these yarns to mike :i 

 nine-inch cable. Although the gentleman 

 speaks very confidently as to ihe durabilitv 

 of cordage made from these yarns, yet we 

 are unable to discern how the pyroligneous 

 acid can remedy the defects occasioned bv 

 dew-rotting, and impart to the cordage the 

 property of retaining a sufficient portion of 

 tar for its preservation, particularly when 

 used as cables. 



The. proceedings of Congress, during the 

 last session, and the opinions then expressed, 

 that American hemp, in its natural state, is 

 equal to Russia, and that the preference 

 given to the latter has arisen essentially 

 from the manner in which it is rotted, have 

 induced some of our most respectable far 

 mers to engage in the cultivation and prep- 

 aration of hemp, upon the Russian system. 

 The Commissioners have contracted for 

 three tons of American hemp of this descrip- 

 tion, and directed it to be made into cor- 

 dage of various kinds, in order to test. its 

 comparative strength and durability with 



ions. Equally decided is their opinion aslj tIie best Rtftsia, onboard the ship the North 



to the quality of the American plant in its 

 natural state. They all say, that American 

 hemp, pulled in the right season, water-rot- 

 ted, and properly handled, would make as 

 good cordage as the best Russia. Indeed, 

 it has been forcibly contended that it would 

 be preferable, because Russia hemp is in- 

 jured from being heated on ship board — an 

 injury to which American hemp, used in the 

 United States, would not be liable. 



While these opinions appear well founded, 

 there is another consideration, which addres- 

 ses itself immediately and forcibly to the 

 growers of hemp in the United States. The 

 difference between the product of given or- 

 tions of plant, water-rotted, and dew-rotted, 

 is confidendly believed to be greatly in favor 

 of the former mode. 



Experiments have been made by boiling 

 and steaming, to avoid either proceess of 

 rotting; but the result proved unsatisfac- 

 tory. 



Pushing their experiments with a perse- 

 verance which deserves, and must ultimate- 

 ly secure success, our countrymen have late- 

 ly introduced a machine, called " the flax 

 and hemp dresser," with a view to avoid al- 

 together the process of rotting. The pow- 



Carolina. The result of this experiment, if 

 the American hemp shall have been careful- 

 ly gathered, at the right season, and prop- 

 erly prepared, will enable the Commission-- 

 ers to express a satisfactory opinion upon 

 the subject; and they cannot entertain a 

 doubt, that, in such case, it will be in their 

 power to say, that the American water-rot 

 ted hemp is, in all respects, full equal to the 

 best Russia. 



With regard to "the places where, and 

 the extent to which hemp may be eultiva 

 ted," in the United States, it may be unre- 

 servedly said, that the climate, throughout 

 the whole country, is no where unfriendly, 

 and that hemp may be cultivated advantage- 

 ously wherever the soil is adapted to it. — 

 It is grown in great perfection in the Eas- 

 tern, Western, and Southern States, as far 

 South as, and including Virginia. Wc 

 have not heard of any grown South of Vir- 

 ginia; though, as it is known to succeed well 

 in warm latitudes, there is no doubt it can 

 be cultivated in our most Southern Stales. 



The papers herewith, A, B, C, and D, 

 will, it is hoped, afford satisfactory informa- 

 tion upon the " manner of raising hemp, and 

 preparing it for market," and upon the oth- 



