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turing flax would seem not only to be simple, but to have 
been followed for ages in different climes throughout the 
world with great similarity ; indeed, the end to be obtained, — 
the separation of the fibres from the plant, and the com- 
bination again of these into thread, and the threads woven 
into linen, — seems to have been easily carried out by the 
Egyptians to such perfection that, rude as may appear 
their instruments, yet it is found that mummy cloths have 
been made of so fine a texture as to rival the finest 
cambric produced by the unexampled combinations of 
capital, machinery, and energy of our present business 
times, aided by all previous examples. It has required 
the microscope and the practical skill and investigations 
of Mr. Thomson, of Clitheroe, to settle all doubts upon 
the subject of the skill of the ancient Egyptians. 
That country, early renowned for its " fine linen," now 
yields a flax among the coarsest in commerce, and, with our 
machinery even, is incapable of being woven into fabrics 
half so fine as are found among the tombs and mummies of 
Egypt, woven thousands of years since, and with simple 
means. The whole processes of the growth of flax — the 
preparation of it — the implements employed — the attitudes 
of the labourers — and the specimens of complete work, are 
all exhibited to us by the remains of pictorial art upon the 
walls. The actual fibres of materials are preserved by 
chemical power, so that at the present day we can well 
contrast the early history and practice of Egypt, with the 
workmanship of living people. 
Wide-spread as the flax plant is, and hardy as is its 
nature, yet it yields its abundance of proper fibre in the 
stem for manufacturing purposes, after its growth in suit- 
able soil and circumstances of season, and attention to the 
periods of its ripeness. 
The culture of flax, probably, has never received more 
T 
