1854.] 



NKW ZEALAND FLAX. 



55 



subsequently of 35,000 per annum was made to this great 

 -work ; but judging frcm the past, and knowing how little trust 

 is to be placed in public men who have been driven to the dis- 

 charge of a duty, not by the impulse of knowledge, but by an 

 overwhelming pressure from without, we fear that the necessi- 

 ties of war will be employed as an excuse for neglecting this 

 and all the other works of peace. 



"We have already had occasion, in a previous article, to men- 

 tion the honours and rewards which were conferred upon Sir 

 Roderick Murehison by the Emperor of Russia, in consideration 

 of his services in investigating the geological structure of that 

 vast empire. The scientific institutions of Europe have equally 

 recognised his services to science, and we find his name in the ■ 

 list of members of the Imperial Academies of Science of St. 

 Petersburg, Berlin, and Copenhagen, in that of the correspond- 

 ing members of the Imperial Institute of France, of the Royal 

 Society of Edinburgh, of the Royal Irish Academy, and of the 

 Trustees of the British Sluseum. In enumerating these honours, 

 we may add that he has long been an active member of the Royal 

 Society of London, and that he has received the honorary degree 

 of 51. A. from the Universities of Cambridge andDurham, and of 

 D.C.L. from that of Oxford. In 1846 he received the honour 

 of British knighthood — the cheap reward which an ungrateful 

 country offers in exchange, to-day, for professional sacrifices 

 and national benefits; to-morrow, for political subserviency 

 and corruption. The last service which Sir Roderick has 

 performed to geological science is the publication of the work 

 entitled Silurla. 



Important Improvement in tne Manufacture of Iron and 

 olher Metals by the Introduction of a Liquid Purifier. 



The advantages derivable from this new principle (the liquid 

 purifier) are being fast appreciated. Among other establish- 

 ments where the indefiitigable discoverer has been, may be 

 noticed the paper-mills belonging to the highest civic authority 

 of the borough of Birmingham, who received him with his 

 usual kindness and urbanity ; and having listened attentively 

 to Mr. Phillips's statement of its effects on metals, and of what 

 he proposed doing at the paper-mills, the Mayor at once went 

 with him to the mills, and whilst the machine was in operation, 

 Mr. Phillips's introduced a small quantity of the liquid : in about 

 a minute a piece of paper was produced of decidedly different 

 texture to the bulk then making. This is, of course, not to be 

 considered a fair test or experiment, but merely as showing 

 the extraordinary power of the liquid purifier, whether applied 

 to hard or soft substances. Instances of its effect on other 

 articles can be equally well authenticated ; but enough is here 

 shown to prove that various sources of our national prosperity 

 arc likely to derive advantage from its introduction into the 

 factories at Manchester and elsewhere, and to which, we under- 

 stand, it is Mr. Phillips's purpose to turn his attention as soon 

 as he has firmly fixed the practical application of it in the 

 metal trade generally. 



As respects copper, brass, &c., we beg now to state that on 

 the introduction of the liquid purifier into the cnicible or 

 melting pot (either in or out of the furnace), whilst the metal 

 is in the proper melted state, it brings up almost immediately all 

 the dross and impurities, which the present imperfect mode of 

 fluxing is incapable of doing; this, of course, renders the 

 metal better, and the castings made, whether into ingot or 

 work, are superior, being stronger, tougher, and more solid, 

 cousequently better for boring and turning. Its practical 



working and economical properties have been fully proved, and 

 it may be stated that lighter or thinner castings wUl be equally 

 strong, and much neater than those in present use; that mre 

 and other things retpiiring increased strength, in proportion to 

 size, may be made and used thinner than at present; and that 

 ingot metal, being more pure, will be increased in value, and, 

 consequently, wll go further in manufacture. This has been 

 frequently tested, particularly as regards the commonest sort 

 of stuff, such as brass filings, which by the new purifier is 

 rendered a good metal, and fit for use again ; and although it 

 loses considerably in weight by the new process as compared 

 vrith.the old, yet, on being valued for its metallic properties, 

 after being cast into ingots by the old and new process, the ad- 

 vantage is always found to be on the side of the later, besides 

 having a good metal to work upon ; so that if the manufacturer 

 desires to lower in quality, he can do so to suit his purpose 

 and work. This advantage alone, independent of every other, 

 must bo of great benefit to the manufacturer and to the public, 

 producing profit to the one and economy to the other. — jlaiiny 

 Journal. 



IJew Zealand Flax. 



The open hostilities in which this country is at present 

 engaged with Russia, have rendered it incumbent upon us to 

 seek substitutes for articles, the produce of that empire, on 

 which we have been dependent, amongst them for Russian hemp. 

 The demand for paper in this country has also so outgrown our 

 usual sources of supply, that we are forced to seek for new 

 fibrous substance suited for its manufacture, and the New Zea- 

 land flax seems to be one well calculated to meet in a great 

 measure these requii'ements. The Plw)-mmni tenax, or New 

 Zealand flax grows in great luxuriance in every part of the 

 islands of that vast district, the flax being contained in the leaf 

 of the plant, covered with green cuticle, which r«i[uires to be 

 peeled oflF, and a viscous, gummy substance removed, the pre- 

 cise nature of which is as yet unascertained, before the fibre 

 can be obtained. This cleansing has been as yet but imperfectlj' 

 accomplished, although the highly valuable qualities of the 

 plant liave been long known to the colonists, and it has been 

 used immemorially by the natives, who have only as yet 

 attempted the operation of hand-scraping the leaves in a green 

 state. It has been for the last twenty years an article of 

 limited commerce ; but the difficulty of preparing it for use, 

 from the want of proper means and machinery, had been so 

 gTcat, and the cost so considerable, as to have hitherto 

 rendered it unsaleable at a remunerating price. 



Aware of these difficulties, and of its increasing commercial 

 value, the Society of Arts at Wellington, New Zealand, lately 

 proposed a premium of frf'tj' guineas to any pcreon who should 

 furnish them with modes of operation, models, and specifications 

 of macliinery, by which the flax might be dressed at a cost not 

 exceeding £5 per ton, and the CouncU expressed their opinion, 

 " that the time may not bo veiy far distant when the navy 

 and mercantile marine of Great Britain will be supplied with 

 cordage and sails from the hitherto eoni])aratively useless New 

 Zealand flax." This announcement naturally attracted attention 

 and accordiuglj' a small hand-revolving machine has been con- 

 structed, making GO revolutions per minute, at each of wliich 

 revolutions two green leaves are passed through, completely 

 macerated, and forced on to a second part of the machine, 

 which frees the fibre from the gum-resiuous substiince with 



