<X1  MONTHLY. 
Vol.  XV.]  COLOMBO,  JuNic  ist,  ihg6.  [No.  12. 
LEHMANN’S  FIBRE  MACHINERY 
G-REAT  quantity  of  fibre, 
suitable  for  tiie  produ;tioa  of 
maltiLg,  carpeting,  bagging, 
sacking,  ropes,  cords,  nets, 
braids,  and  cloths  for  a variety 
of  purposes,  is  deslioyod  an- 
nually, either  from  lack  of 
knowledge  of  the  nianipti- 
latiou  on  the  part  of  the 
manufacturer,  or  because  the 
methods  adopted  in  fibre 
growing  countries  are  too 
slow  and  costly  to  be  carried 
out  on  an  extensive  scale. 
It  is  therefore  evident  that, 
if  some  machinery  could  be 
applied  to  the  various  pro- 
cesses necessary  to  convert 
the  plant. into  the  fabric, 
no  small  benefit  would  be 
reaped  by  fibre  producers  as 
well  as  by  the  machine 
maker. 
Mr.  Ernest  Lehmann, 
an  engineer  of  Chatham 
Street,  Manchester,  has 
turned  his  attention  to  this 
class  of  mechanism,  and 
has  succeeded  in  making 
machines  which,  ho  claims, 
combine  all  the  most  mo- 
dern improvements  for 
treating  and  working  these 
fibres  on  an  extensive  scale. 
The  actual  fibre-extracting 
machines  may  be  classed 
under  two  heads,  viz.,  for 
the  extraction  of  leaf  or 
stem  fibre,  and  for  coir 
fibre.  The  leaf  or  stem 
fibres  include  aloe  leaves, 
pita,  heneq  on,  sisal,  abaca,  Manilla  hemp,  islle,  Mex* 
can  fibre,  cabuya,  ju'e,  banana,  or  pineapple,  rhea,  aan- 
sieviera,  piassava,  bombax  ceiba,  majagua,  or  poa  tree, 
carludovica  palmata  and  maoutia  pnva.  For  coir  fibre 
or  fibre  obtained  from  the  husks  of  the  coconut,  a ma- 
chine of  special  construction  is  employtd,  differing 
entirely  from  the  machine  used  for  leaves  or  stems. 
The  order  and  process  of  manufacture  arc  as 
follows:— The  material  should  be  regularly  sorted 
whether  in  leaves  or  stalks 
and,  when  operated  upon, 
must  be  as  uniform  as  possi- 
ble. The  stalks  of  rhea  or 
China  grass  should  be  cut 
into  equal  lengths,  and  with 
pineapple,  henequen,  agave, 
sisal,  abaca,  aloes,  &c.,  the 
leaves  should  be  distinctly 
sorted,  and  each  description 
separa'ely  treated.  When 
there  is  a material  difference 
between  the  quality  of  the 
fibre  of  the  inner  and  outer 
leaves,  each  quality  should 
be  kept  separate,  and,  before 
the  actual  extracting  process 
takes  flace,  the  leaves  or 
stems  should  be  passed 
through  the  crushing  or  soft' 
euing  machine,  which  ren- 
ders them  pliable  and  takes 
^’ut  the  sap.  This  machine 
is  used  to  enhance  the  pro- 
ductive capacity  of  the  ex- 
tractor by  at  least  20  per 
cent.  One  crusher  will  serve 
10  extrsetors. 
After  extrnctirg,  the  fibre 
must  be  dried  thoroughly, 
and  then  be  subjected  to 
a brushing  action,  either 
by  being  beaten  against 
a post  by  hand  or  by 
Lehmann’s  riaitinrj  Machine, 
