DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 221 



whose house eighteen young- ladies "belonging to prominent families in Providence 

 assembled by invitation and employed the time from sunrise to evening in spin- 

 ning." (A. B. Turner, jr.) 



The statistical records show that sixty-odd years ago almost three-quarters of a 

 million pounds of flax fiber were produced in the United States, and flax was sent 

 to market from Connecticut sixty years ago that was strong, clean, and as good as 

 any raised in tbe United States at the present time. Very strong and flexible flax 

 also came from northern Xew York and Vermont, but it was not clean. The poorest 

 flax of those days came from New Jersey, though the State has been capable of 

 growing flax equal to Archangel. In past time "North River" flax was regularly 

 sent to market from New York State, it being very strong, hut poorly cleaned. 



The figures for flax fiber in the year 1869 show a product of over 13,000 tons, but 

 this does not mean fine line, but the coarser fiber, or tow, used in the manufacture of 

 bagging, for this period marks the highest point reached in fiber product before the 

 collapse of the industry a year or two later, owing to the free introduction of jute 

 for cotton-bagging manufacture. 



At the present time flax is largely grown in the United States for seed, the straw, 

 of inferior quality, when used at all, going to the tow mills or the paper mills, and 

 worth from $1 to $8 a ton, the average in different sections being not more than $2.50 

 to $4. In the older States the area under present cultivation is very small and 

 steadily decreasing; in the newer States, or States where agriculture is being pushed 

 steadily westward from year to year, the area under cultivation about holds its own 

 one season with another. Cultivation for fiber is beginning to attract attention, and 

 good commercial fiber has been produced in very small quantities in Michigan, Wis- 

 consin, and Minnesota. The Puget Sound region of the State of Washington has 

 shown its ability to produce a fine grade of straw, the fiber from which, according 

 to recent experiments made by the Barbour Company, in Lisburn, Ireland, is worth 

 $350 per ton. 



Bast fiber. — Flax may be considered the most useful and valuable of all com- 

 mercial fibers next to cotton, having, however, a wider range of uses. The fiber 

 occurs in the greatest variety in regard to strength, length of filaments, color, and 

 adaptability to manufacture, and, compared with cotton in fabrics, is the fiber of 

 luxury, while the latter is the textile of the masses. 



The dimensions of the fibers are as follows: Length, 0.157 to 2.598 inches; mean, 

 about 1 inch; diameter, 0.0006 to 0.0014-8 inch; mean, about 0.001 inch. The chief 

 characteristics of flax are its length, fineness, solidity, and suppleness. Its remark- 

 able tenacity is due to the fibrous texture and the thickness of the walls; its sup- 

 pleness permits it to be bent sharply; its length is invaluable in spinning, and the 

 nature of the surface prevents the fibers from slipping on each other and contributes 

 to the durability of fabrics made with them. Flax may be made lustrous, like silk, 

 by washing in warm water, slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, then passing 

 through bichromate of potash vapor and gently washing in cold water. Samples of 

 flax exposed for two hours to steam at 2 atmospheres, boiled in water for three hours, 

 and again steamed for four hours, lost only 3.5 per cent of their weight, while manila 

 hemp lost 6.07; hemp, 6.18 to 8.41; jute, 21.39. The conversion of flax into textile 

 fabrics is a large and distinct industry. (Spon's Enc.) 



Uses of flax. — Some of the uses of flax fiber are the manufacture of lace (see 

 Appendix C), fine linens, cloth for shirtings, sheetings, etc.; handkerchiefs, dress 

 goods and suitings, canvas and duck; for embroidery, flosses, "flax thread," and 

 twine, from shoemakers' and harness thread to salmon twine and the rougher pack- 

 age twines; for warp in carpets, for the body of oilcloth, and even for rope and 

 cordage. The rougher fiber is applicable to the manufacture of binding twine and 

 paper, though little used for either purpose. 



During the first years of the war of the rebellion an attempt was made to replace 

 cotton in the manufacture of fabrics by a textile substance produced chemic- 

 ally from flax, hemp, and other textiles that would give a fiber claimed by those 



