464 
Flax for Paper-makivg. 
the Ely Mills are carried on, he would have been aware that the 
unsophisticated farmer was much the most likely to be caught. 
The Ely Paper Mills make one class of paper only, viz., 
news-paper, of which they turn out 75 tons, or thereabouts, 
weekly. To effect this, about 3000 tons of esparto-grass is 
used annually, at a cost of from 5/. to 11. per ton, and 2000 tons 
of straw and other materials at various prices. If 1 have shown 
that flax can be grown at a profit of 4/. 10s. per ton for the 
straw, and 85. per bushel, or even 7s., for the seed, the British 
farmer will still want security that he will obtain a market for 
his produce before going into the business. Facts speak louder 
than words, and the announcement by !Mr. Reed that he would 
be prepared to take 1000 tons of flax-straw, at 4Z. 10s. per ton, 
during the ensuing season, should be pretty conclusive evidence 
that he finds it an economical substitute for esparto-grass ; as a 
matter of fact, he would be prepared to take 2000 tons at the price, 
provided the quality were equal to what I have supplied. Now 
this is no spasmodic action on the part of Mr. Reed ; he has 
arrived at his conclusions after very careful experiments, scien- 
tifically conducted; and as flax has undoubtedly proved a great 
success here, it is absolutely certain that other paper manu- 
facturers will adopt it, or they will be driven out of the market. 
Hitherto Mr. Reed has simply used flax as a substitute for 
esparto-grass, to bring his paper up to a certain standard ; it 
has not been used for making any special paper, for which from 
its marvellous tenacity it would appear to be peculiarly suitable ; 
the full extent of its value as a paper-making ingredient is not, 
therefore, yet determined, but I take it as absolutely proved 
that, at the price mentioned, it is an economical substitute for 
£sparto-grass in the manufacture of news-paper. 
I am not in a position, for various reasons, to make an exact 
comparison of the relative values of flax and esparto-grass for 
paper-making ; it would be extremely difficult to do so with 
scientific accuracy, and would be quite beyond the objects of this 
paper, which pretends only to deal with the matter broadly, 
leaving the more subtle points to be dealt with, if necessary, by 
experts. But it is admitted b}- Mr. Reed, and must be clear to any 
one, that, as far as quality of fibre is concerned, flax is far superior 
to esparto-grass ; but esparto yields a rather larger proportion 
of fibre, it is of a far more yielding nature, and more easily and 
cheaply converted, requiring simply to be put into ordinary 
boilers without any further trouble (than to be picked over to 
extract the knotted portions) before being reduced to pulp. 
But with flax the treatment is slightly more expensive. The 
cost of picking certainly is saved, for in pulled flax it is unne- 
cessary, but it has to be chaffed, or it would form ropes and be 
