VEGETABLE FIBRES AVAILABLE FOR TEXTILE FABRICS. 
83 
fibre, considerable difficulty must exist in the spinning. Eeport gives it the character of 
producing a firm cloth ; but its comparative coarseness and non-adaptability for long 
count yarns must hinder its bearing a high commercial value in such a state of prepa¬ 
ration, whilst its magnificent length and strength, exceeding, with few exceptions, every 
other fibre, together with its peculiar beauties and qualities, adapt it for far more valu¬ 
able employment than to enter into competition with coarse-stapled cottons, or, at least, 
to scarcely fill a place capable of being filled by fibres of half the cost. Towards its 
preparation for those more suitable and valuable uses, many attempts have been made 
with mediocre success. It appears generally to have baffled all efforts either to com¬ 
pletely separate it into its cells, or to retain in these the length and strength which they 
naturally possess. 
Much attention has been given of late, both in Canada and in the United States, to¬ 
wards producing a cotton substitute for flax. The government of the United States, 
with its usual fostering care, voted, in 18G4, a subsidy of 10,000 dollars to defray the 
expense of a commission to ascertain whether it be practicable to prepare from flax such 
a substitute. The success appears to have been moderate, and some interesting samples 
have been shown of flax so prepared both from the United States and from Canada. 
Some grounds of hope of complete success appear to exist, as it is proposed or decided 
to extend the commission for another year with a further grant of money.. 
It is a consideration of much importance whether it has not been taken too much for 
granted that what may be termed “manufacturing properties,” which specially belong 
to cotton, will be present in any or all fibres, when separateed into their individual cells, 
and whether any of these fibres, when so prepared, will actually supply the peculiar 
place of cotton. Most of their properties would seem rather to point to a totally new 
class of cloths; doubtless, also, to a modified mode of working the fibres. A want of 
adaptiveness for spinning appears to exist in a greater or less degree in all. The pecu¬ 
liarities of many which possess a similar length to cotton consist in being gradually 
tapered from the middle to the ends; stiff throughout, almost cylindrical, little twisted, 
showing under the microscope great brilliance and smoothness of surface. Some exhibit 
polarity enough to adhere in a long string when placed end to end. Some possess the 
remarkable softness of the fibrine of chamois leather, but are very short and tender.. 
But other fibres exist which possess great evenness of thickness long as mohair. One 
at least has all the length and fineness of coarse middle draft silk. Yet with all these 
varied materials lying buried under chemical difficulties of a very slight character, com¬ 
pared with many which are continually overcome, except the isolated instance of China 
grass, we use to-day nothing which Nature has not almost “prepared” ready to our 
hands! 
Much misapprehension appears to prevail concerning the strength and other proper¬ 
ties when prepared for fabrics which exist in the natural filaments before preparation. 
A consideration of the widely differing states will at once convince us that is po.?£ibIe 
that the exact opposite may be the reality. Take Phormium tenax, the New Zealand 
flax, as an example. This fibre in its natural state is of immense strength, and is also 
worked by the Maories to a great degree of fineness in certain ways, that is, by cleansing 
and combing out the ends of the filaments as a fine lustrous fringe. The separated cells 
possess great brilliancy, but, instead of being long and strong as has been inferred, they 
do not exceed i to a inch in length, and are amongst the weakest of fibres. But when 
it is considered that the fibres are coated with a large amount of vegetable matter, 
amongst which tannin is decidedly marked, which, with the proteic bodies, invariably 
present in fibres, will form a sort of brittle leather, we cannot wonder that, when built 
up into long filaments, it should class amongst the toughest of fibres. No better fami¬ 
liar simile can be given of this difference of strength than a billiard ball now making, 
constituted chiefly of about the shortest of all fibrous substances (paper pulp), which, 
when mixed with glue, becomes so tough that no fall or ordinary amount of beating 
can destroy it. The susceptibility of Phormium tenax for dyes has also been much 
spoken of. But will not this be accounted for by the fact of its being used by the 
Maories in a half-cleansed state, when the tannin would naturally fix dyes forcibly. 
When fully cleansed, capable of being worked on European machinery, it appears to 
possess no such remarkable property. 
The lists of comparative strength of other fibres published as having been tested 
against each other at various times, though doubtless excellent practical tests of their 
G 2 
