FOR SEPARATING FLAX. 215 
it in a solution of caustic potash, and subsequently washing it 
with soap. In 1775, considerable quantities of refuse Flax 
and Hemp were converted into Flax cotton by Lady Moira, 
with the aid of T. B. Bailey, of Hope, near Manchester. 
It appears that the fibre was boiled in an alkaline ley, or a 
solution of kelp, containing carbonate of soda, and subsequently 
scoured. The result of this was, that “the fibres seem to be 
set at liberty from each other,” after which it may be “ carded 
on cotton-cards.” It appears that at this time “ Flax cotton” 
was made and sold at threepence a pound. Some of it was 
spun into cloth for gowns, and also for waistcoats; but her 
Ladyship complains that the spinners were hostile to the 
discovery, for fear of its injuring the cotton trade, and the poor 
of the North of Ireland, to whom it was supposed it would be 
beneficial, were indifferent about the merits of the inven- 
tion. Specimens of the Flax cotton and of the fabrics woven 
from it are still preserved in the Museum of the Society of 
Arts. 
Several attempts were subsequently made in Germany to 
convert, with the action of alkaline solutions, Flax into a 
fibre resembling cotton, which could be used, either alone or 
together with cotton, in the manufacture of cotton goods, 
But there, as in Ireland, the manufacturers probably set them- 
selves against the introduction of Flax cotton, and the work- 
people determined not to use the new material. The matter was 
subsequently investigated by Berthollet, by Gay-Lussac, and by 
Giobert, who employed alternately steepings in hot solutions of 
soap, alkali, and sulphuric or muriatic acid; and’ Berthollet 
observes that equally fine cotton is obtained from the com- 
monest refuse tow as from the best Flax. (v. ‘Jury Report,’ 
p. 98.) More recently, in 1842, M. Rouchon, of l’Ecole 
Polytechnique, at Paris, has devised a method for preparing 
Flax by means of immersion in a weak acid solution for a 
short period, and then placing it in a mass kept moist by 
occasional waterings. These are repeated daily until the 
desired effect is produced. The Flax is kept tied up in 
small bundles, and a man and a boy could attend to two tons 
per day. (Wilson.) 
As carbonate of soda is very abundant and cheap in most 
parts of India, as well as the vegetable acids, and as the 
