118 Transactions. 
I find the following notice, in reference to the applicability of this flax to 
textile manufactures, in Volume V of the Transactions of the Royal Society 
of Victoria, in a letter addressed by Dr. Mueller to the Governor of Victoria, 
in October, 1860 :— 
“ Srg,—I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 
15th October, accompanied by a copy of a despatch from the Under Secretary 
of State for the Colonies, desiring information on such plants yielding textile 
fibre as are indigenous to the Colony of Victoria, and are likely to supply a 
want of raw material for British manufactures. 
“Whilst, in compliance with His Excellency the Governor's request, I 
beg to submit such information as I possess on the indigenous vegetable 
fibres, I regret that I cannot point to any native plant extensively available 
for the desired purpose, or holding out the prospect of successful introduc- 
tion into British manufactures. 
“But it appears to me that the two varieties of New Zealand flax (Phor- 
mium tenax) are deserving of especial attention, as likely to supply the 
wanting material to British weavers, the strength of the Phormium fibre 
being almost equaljto that of silk, and little doubt being entertained that, 
finally, the genius of invention will overcome the hitherto experienced diffi- 
culty of separating, by an easy method, without sacrifice of the material’s 
strength, the fibre from the leaves. 
" I beg further to draw attention to the extreme facility with which this 
plant might be reared on places not available for any other cultivation (such 
as margins of swamps, periodically inundated margins of lakes, &c.); further, 
to its great vigour of growth, to the probability of its proving quite hardy 
in the southern parts of England and Ireland, and to the certainty of its 
cultivation being attended with full success in South Europe, and therefore 
in proximity to the British market, and under the advantage of cheap 
labour.” 
Such an opinion is of extreme value, and shows that we have hitherto 
underrated the importance of this source of wealth. 
The real difficulty in regard to the application of the Phormium flax to 
manufacturing purposes generally, has hitherto been the limit in supply ; 
but I have reason to believe that if a constant and large supply could be 
insured, it would, as I have before stated, be worth at least from £25 
to £28 per ton in London. 
Tt will thus be seen that both for local use and for exportation this 
article affords an opportunity for the profitable employment of capital; but 
lam satisfied that profit ean only be derived where its production is under- 
_ taken on a large scale. 
X 
