TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 197 
greatly does this wool resemble the sheep’s wool, as to deceive some of the best judges 
in England. 
The. fibre is long in staple, and by the two sticks now shown, and which were hackled 
by the Messrs. Marshalls and Messrs. Hives and Atkinson, proof is afforded how well it 
is adapted for flax-spinning machinery ; and when flax spinners shall provide warps of 
this material, cotton warps might be dispensed with, and a warp of great strength be 
introduced, which so corresponds with all the essentials of real wool, that when mixed 
with wool, they will both take the same dyes, mill and dress together, and will certainly 
manufacture a good cloth. 
The flax of India, according to Dr. Roxburgh, is mostly cultivated on account of 
its seed, and the part which in most other countries is most valued, is there thrown 
away. The Belfast Chamber of Commerce observes, that as India annually exports 
nearly 100,000 quarters of seed to Great Britain and Ireland, it has been calculated 
that the plants producing this quantity of seed would yield annually at least 12,000 
tons of fibre, value say £500,000, all of which now goes to waste. ‘There can be no 
doubt, therefore, that the question is one of immense importance not only to this 
country, which requires such immense quantities of flax fibre, but to India, which 
produces such enormous supplies of seeds, and is supposed to waste so much of valuable 
exportable material. ‘There can be no doubt that the very best flax may be produced 
in India, and always at a remunerating price; for labour there is so plentiful and 
cheap, that whatever may be the extent of cultivation entered into, there need be no 
fear of being undersold by any nation upon earth. It has been said, that if any party 
in India could supply this kingdom with 100,000 tons of Indian flax at this time, he 
might go on shipping as fast as he could, and never feel the least fear of overstocking 
the market. Instructions have been given for a considerable supply of four of the 
different India fibres. 
The silk of the wild silk-worm ought to be noticed, as the fibre or thread is fifteen 
times stronger than that of the common silk. No doubt it will be of importance to 
manufacturers of what is called spun silk, as by proper looking after, an immense 
quantity, now completely neglected, might be collected and brought to be of great 
advantage to them. ; 
India produces some 200 varieties of fibres for examination, and it is to be hoped 
for future use in Europe. The India House Museum contains specimens, not only of 
these, but of every article of raw and cultivated produce of India,—minerals, gums, 
dyes, woods, and cereals, and specimens of all the textile fabrics and works of art and 
taste: the whole are open to the inspection of the public, and manufacturers can 
obtain any desired information upon application. 
Mr. Dickson of Leeds has a case of prepared Indian fibres in the Exhibition of 
Local Industry. 
For elaborate, complete, and instructive papers upon India fibres, reference may be 
made to vol. ii. of the Transactions of the Society of Arts, p. 366, and to vol. v. p. 17, 
where the lamented Dr. Royle will be found to have nearly exhausted the subject. 
An Essay on Distinctions between Money and Capital, Interest and Discount, 
Currency and Circulating Medium, essential to be observed in the Reform 
of our Monetary Laws. By Hamer STANSFELD. 
The author sets out by stating that his ideas are not offered as the speculations of 
a profound political economist, but as the attempt of a merchant (retired from busi- 
ness on the ground of health) to account for monetary convulsions, and to find, if 
possible, some means of mitigating their frequency and severity. The conclusions at 
which he arrives as to the distinctions between money and capital, and between in- 
terest and discount, are thus summed up :—That money is a certificate of value, and 
may be the product of either capital or credit. That capital is the product of labour 
along, That money is a security for obtaining and transferring at all times its equi- 
valent specified value in capital or in any kind of wealth. That capital is that portion 
of wealth which is used in reproduction, and is the object of transfer through the 
medium of money. ‘That debts are contracted in money, and not in capital. That 
interest is, in a great degree, a charge made for the risk of lending money on credit. 
