1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



13 



Flax Cotton. 



By flax cotton is meant the fibre of flax reduced 

 in length, cleansed, carded, bleached, and nicely 

 prepared to resemble in appearance cotton that 

 has been cleansed and carded, and adapted for 

 mixture with cotton or wool in the various fab- 

 rics of daily wear and use. 



To accomplish this requires improvement in 

 the mode of breaking the straw and separating 

 the tibre from the wood, and of the carding, 

 drawing and spinning frames which are in com- 

 mon use, as well as great nicety in bleaching. 

 All these are to be made by ingenious machine- 

 ists and manufacturers, and require the expendi- 

 ture of time and money and careful experiments. 



The American Flax Cotton Company organized 

 at Boston in 1859, under a special charter from 

 the State of Massachusetts, adopted the patents 

 of Stephen Randall, of Rhode Island, Jonathan 

 Knowles and J. M. Allen. Expprimental mills 

 were established at Wntertown and at Roxbury, 

 and thousands of dollars expended in improving 

 the machinery and perfecting their processes. 

 Many pieces of print goods, flannels, fatinets. 

 crash, etc., have been made from the material 

 prepared by them, and all been fully approved. 

 The only question now made is as to the cost of 

 it. 



The principal persons interested in this com- 

 pany are men of business experience, reputation 

 and intelligence, whose figures and statements 

 may ba relied upon. Samuel NichoUon, E-q., 

 the patentee of the excellent pavement on Clark 

 street, and widely known as a gentleman of reli- 

 abil ty and integrity, stated last winter, at a 

 meeting held in tbe legislative hall at the State 

 house in Boston, that for several months he had 

 daily charge of the works at Wateriown, and 

 from his own careful estimates and weights, the 

 material called flax cotton could be supplied by 

 tbeir processes at from seven to nine cents per 

 pound — the cost dependent upon the quality of 

 the raw fibre and its distance from the mills. It 

 was furttier stated that Messrs. Sampson and 

 Tappan, of Boston, had now in operation a mill 

 with forty looms, and were satisfied with the re- 

 sults therein attained. 



The meeting recently held at Lockport N. Y., 

 appears to be a movement of the capitalists who 

 own the hydraulics and real estate at that place, 

 in conjunction with speculators interested in a 

 steam gun, which is said to explode the straw 

 into atoms, and thus separates its fibre. We 

 have not tieard that any results have as yet been 

 accomplished by that method. 



The way to prepare flix for use in our ordina- 

 ry mimufaeturers at a cost that will render it de- 

 sir.ible, is one of tie most important questions 

 of the age. We can see that millions of 

 money can be saved and added to the agricultu- 

 ral resources of our Northern States when thif 

 qupstion shall be solved satisfactorily. — Chicago 

 Tribune. 



To Keep Fowls Free from Vermin. 



There are are several kinds that infest the hen. 

 By attending to the following remedy, they will 

 be entirely kept clear. First of all, if in con- 

 finement, in the dust corner o the poultry house 

 mix about half a pound of black sulphur among 

 the sand and lime that they dust in. Ihis will 

 both keep them free from parasites, a^'d give the 

 feathers a glossy appearance. If infested with 

 the insects, damp the skin under the feathers 

 with a little water, then sprinkle a little black 

 sulphur on the skin. Let the bird be covered 

 witn the insects, they will disappear in the course 

 of twelve hours. Also, previous to setting a hen, 

 if the nest be slightly sprinkled with sulphur, 

 there is no fear of the hen being annoyed during* 

 incubation, neither will the chickens be annoyed 

 by them.. Many a fine hatched brood pines away 

 and dies through nothing else, and no one knows 

 the cause. Having had an ostrich under my 

 care that was piniog, I looked icto his feathers 

 and observed thousands of parasites. I employ- 

 ed tobacco water and lime water, under my then 

 master's orders, to no effect. Jn his absence I 

 well damped him, and sprinkled him under the 

 feathers with black sulphur, when next day they 

 were examined by a microscope, and every one 

 was dead. Having had some macaw ', also par- 

 rots that were addicted to biting »ff tbeir feathers, 

 1 employed the black sulphur by well syringing 

 them with water, then sjrinkling the sulphur 

 over their skins. If tame, sponge the skins, then 

 rub gently with the points of tne fingers, with 

 the sulphur, every other day for about a fortnight, 

 when the parrot or macaw will cease to destroy 

 his plumage. It is not a remedy which has not 

 been proved, for I have used it these two years 

 with success. — Cor. London Field. 



—- 



Complimentary. — Price's quotations from 

 " Marco Bozzaris " while Halleckis commanding 

 in Missouri. 



Drying Rhubabd. — Rhubarb drys very well 

 and when well prepared, will keep gocd for an 

 indefinite period. The stalks should be broken 

 olf while they are crisp and tender, and cut into 

 pieces about two inches long These pieces should 

 then be strung on a thin twine, a^d hung op to 

 dry. Rhubarb shrinks very much when drying 

 — more so than any plant I am acqu^iinted with, 

 and then resembles pieces of soft wood. When 

 wanted for use, it should be soakel in water over 

 night, and the next day simmered over a slow 

 fire. None of its properties appear to be lost in 

 drying, aiid it is equally as g od in winter as any 

 dried fruit. Very few varieties of rhubarb are 

 are suitable for drying, as most of ih- m contain 

 too much woody fibre The b st kind for any 

 purpose is tbe Victoria, when grown in a suitable 

 situation. The Mammoth is worthk-ss, owing to 

 its fibrous nature, as are also some otber kinds. 



— " I was showing dear little Charlie the 

 picture of tbe martyrs thrown to the lions," 

 said Mrs. Jenkins, "and was talkinp very sol- 

 emnly to him, trying to make him feel what a 

 terrible fate it vpas." "Ma!" paid he, all at 

 once; "oh, ma ! just look at that poor little 

 lion away behind there — he won't get any I" 



