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 tlie Royal Society 

 of Victoria, in a letter addressed by Dr. Mueller to the Grovernor of Yictoria, 

 in October, 1860 : — 



" SiE, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 

 15th October, accompanied by a coj)y 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 Yictoria, and are likely to supply a 

 Avant of raw material for British manufactures. 



" Whilst, in compliance with His Excellency the Grovernor'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 (Plior- 

 mitivi tenax) are deserving of especial attention, as likely to supply the 

 wanting material to British weavers, the strength of the JPhormium fibre 

 being almost equalf to 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 Fliormimn 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. 



It will thus be seen that both for local use and for exportation this 

 article affords an opportunity for the profitable employment of capital ; but 

 I am satisfied that profit can only be derived where its production is under- 

 taken on a large scale. 



