1864 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
313 
The above cut is an end view of the machine. The section of sear shown at the right nand side, 
represents the form of the roller-gears and the central gear F. This form of gear obviates the back¬ 
lash and consequent liability to breakage. Another important feature consists in the substitution of a 
wrought-iron chain in the place of gears formerly used on the connecting-rod. By referring to the draw¬ 
ing. it will be seen that the chain wraps around the two gears on the present connecting-rod, engaging 
a iarge number of cogs; whereas, by the use of the ordinary gear, it is impossible to engage more than 
two cogs at any one time. With this new improvement, there is scarcely any danger of breakage. 
where there are 
no flax mills, this 
is a great advan¬ 
tage. A machine 
which can be 
driven by one or 
two horses will 
dress from 2,500 
to 3,000 pounds 
of straw per day 
of ten hours. A 
person wlio can 
run a fanning- 
mill, or any other 
simple machine, 
can run this flax 
brake, and do the 
work for a neigh¬ 
borhood, or the 
machine can be 
transported from 
place to place in 
the same manner 
as is now practis¬ 
ed with threshing 
machines. Sec¬ 
ondly: 60 to 70 
per cent, of the 
shive (as the 
strawy matter is 
called) is remov¬ 
ed, which is much 
Flax and Flax Machines. 
At the recent State Fair, at Rochester, were 
two machines, each of which was constantly 
surrounded by admiring crowds. One of these 
was a Cotton Gin, engaged in separating the 
fibre from the seed with marvelous rapidity. 
Here was a wonderful illustration of the link-' 
ing together of the different branches of human 
industry and the mutual dependence of agricul¬ 
ture and the mechanic arts. The Yankee ge¬ 
nius which devised the first cotton gin made 
possible the profitable culture of cotton. A cot¬ 
ton gin at a New-York fair was very much like 
a growing pineapple, a curious exotic but with¬ 
out any practical bearing upon the agriculture 
of the Northern States.—Thinking of the evil 
as well as the good that had resulted from the 
invention of the cotton gin, we turned to the 
machinery department where the Flax Brake- 
of Sanford & Mallory, of New York City, was 
in operation. This machine promises to be to the 
northern farmer what the cotton gin has been 
to the southern planter, enabling him to readily 
and rapidly prepare flax in a condition to be 
marketed. Impressed with the importance of 
this invention to the agriculture of the country, 
we have watched its progress and improvements 
with much interest. One of the early forms of 
the machine was figured m the January Agricul¬ 
turist, of 1863, but since then improvements have 
been made in details of gearing, and such mat¬ 
ters, which render the machine more efficient 
and durable. The straw is placed on a feed ta¬ 
ble, and passes between a series of grooved roll¬ 
ers, having a peculiar vibratory or back and 
forth motion, which so completely breaks up the 
strawy portion of the flax that very little is left 
to be removed by scutching. From what we 
saw of the machine in operation, from conver¬ 
sation with persons who have the Brake in use, 
and from the testimony of responsible parties, 
we are convinced it will do all that the Proprie¬ 
tors have yet claimed for it. In the first place, 
the machine is portable and may be worked by 
any ordinary horse power. In neighborhoods 
more than by the old methods of break¬ 
ing, there is none of the fibre injured, and 
from five to eight pounds more of dressed flax 
can be obtained from a hundred pounds of straw 
by using this brake, than by any previous meth¬ 
ods of dressing. The fibre comes out in flat¬ 
tened ribbons, as straight as it laid in the straw, 
and scarcely a thread of it is broken. A Com¬ 
mittee of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, in 
a report dated Sept. 18th, 1863,'say : “ We are of 
the opinion that the saving effected by dressing 
the flax crop of the present year, by this ma¬ 
chine over all others with which we are acquaint¬ 
ed, will equal, if it does not exceed one million 
of dollars.” There is abundant testimony that 
flax broken on this machine loses three to five 
pounds less to the hundred, over the hackle, than 
when dressed in the ordinary way, and that the 
fibre is softer and better for spinning purposes. 
Thirdly: the machine is safe and may be oper¬ 
ated by any one of ordinary intelligence. The 
serious accidents which have occurred from the 
use of ordinary brakes can not happen to the 
operator of this machine. All that he has to 
do is to spread the straw upon the feed table, 
and this can be done without any possible risk. 
Mr. M, F. Roberts, of Niagara County, has one 
of these brakes which affords his daughters 
employment during the winter. Two of these 
young ladies were present at the fair and oper¬ 
ated the machine, showing in a striking man¬ 
ner that it can be worked by any intelligent 
person, male or female, with perfect safety. 
Our remarks apply chiefly to the No. 1 ma¬ 
chine, the size usually sold to farmers and 
small operators. There are smaller sizes for 
working by hand power, and larger ones for 
factories. A new machine has been built for 
operating on the large scale, in which the num¬ 
ber of rollers is increased to six or eight. These 
are worked by a very ingenious screw mo¬ 
tion, the last pairs of rollers being very fine. 
There is also a set of three machines of twelve 
rollers each for the treatment of unrotted and 
tangled straw. Two of these machines rough- 
dress the straw and much reduce it in bulk. 
The third machine takes the fibre from the* first 
two, and so completely frees it from shive that 
without any scutching, it is ready for immediate 
use in paper making. The invention of tlijs 
set of machinery renders available the gres' 
quantity of flax straw which has accumulated at 
the West and wherever this crop is grown for the 
seed alone. If machinery.were now in opera¬ 
tion to throw tills otherwise wasted material 
into market, it would have the effect to bring 
down the price of printing paper materially. 
Although the manufacture of flax is, like all oth¬ 
ers, of slow growth, there is a ready and remu¬ 
nerative sale for the dressed fibre. It is now 
used to mix with wool, to make twine, batting, 
belting, druggets, stockings, felt hats and oat 
peting, and for numerous purposes where othe ! 
fibrous materials were formerly used. Mr. Rot> 
erts, above mentioned, states that from the saic 
of his flax, tow and seed, for which there is a 
home market, his flax crop brings in a profit 
per acre of seventy-five to eighty-five dollars. 
School Houses—New Plan Suggested. 
The growth of the rising generation in knowl¬ 
edge, the culture of the mind, and the training 
of those who are soon to give tone to society, 
to manage the affairs of the nation, to speed or 
impede the cause of truth, religion and progress 
in right directions, are subjects which have a di¬ 
rect personal interest to every man. A good 
school in one’s immediate neighborhood ought 
to be considered as important as to have com¬ 
fortable dwellings for the inhabitants. Country 
Fig. 1.— HEXAGONAL SCHOOL-HOUSE. 
district school-houses are usually required to 
accommodate so small a number of children 
(20 to 60) that they are necessarily of simple 
construction. The points of great importance 
which are very often entirely neglected are, fret 
ventilation , without subjecting the children to 
drafts of cold air, (see page 272, September 
Agriculturist ,) and a wash room, that cleanliness 
of hands, faces, and clothes may be insiste/ 
upon and enforced. In villages, especially in 
those where there are considerable manufac¬ 
tories, there are frequently large numbers of 
children to be provided for; they are of differ¬ 
ent ages and degrees of advancement, and there 
is a necessity for the exercise of great economy. 
We present herewith a plan for a school- 
house devised by the Principal of one of the 
large public schools of New-York City—a teach¬ 
er of large experience and practical views. 
The building is six-sided : it is divided into six 
triangular compartments of equal size (numbered 
1 to 6, fig. 2) surrounding a smaller hexagon in 
the center, having for walls double, glazed doors, 
which, when open, fold against the partition 
walls between the six main rooms. The teacher 
standing in the middle at 7, is in plain view of 
the entire school, and by turning round can see 
all. All of the triangular rooms may be used 
