70 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
establishment equal to the probable produce of 
a given district. The steeping process being 
entirely automatic, the cost of labor is very 
small indeed, and the whole expenses of the 
operation materially reduced. 
Manufacture of Flax in England. 
Her imports of dressed fiber (flax and hemp) 
average, for the last ten years, 70,000 tons per 
annum; for 1851 they were 124,784 tons, show¬ 
ing an enormous increase; this, at £40 per ton, 
would amount to £4,991,360 sterling, or nearly 
$25,000,000 for these two articles, which could 
be entirely supplied to her by the United 
States. 
Besides this large amount for fiber, she re¬ 
quires annually a supply of 650,000 quarters of 
linseed, to be used as seed or for crushing pur¬ 
poses : this requires an outlay of about £1,500,- 
000 sterling, which goes principally to Russia 
and the northern ports. This country at pre¬ 
sent does not supply her own demand for lin¬ 
seed oil, as large imports of seed are made 
every year from the same sources. The cake, 
however, the residuum of the pressed seed, so 
valuable as a feeding substance for cattle, is ex¬ 
ported in considerable quantities to England, 
and forms a portion of the large supply which 
she draws annually from other countries. This 
averages about 75,000 tons, and amounts to 
about £500,000. Thus a market already exists 
in Great Britain for all the surplus flax produced 
whether in fiber, seed, or cake, which the United 
States will have to export for many years to 
come. The produce of 600,000 acres is required 
to supply the demand of the United Kingdom ; 
while in Ireland, during the past year, only 
136,000 acres were cultivated in flax, and pro¬ 
bably not a fourth of that quantity in the rest 
of the kingdom. 
In England, in 1851, the Factory Inspectors’ 
Report gives the number of spindles at 265,568; 
in Scotland, at 303,125; and in Ireland at 500,- 
000: forming a total number of 1,068,693. In 
France we find the number of spindles to be 
about 350,000; the establishments being situ¬ 
ated chiefly in the departments du Nord, Calva¬ 
dos, Finisterre, and Pas de Calais. In Belgium 
there are about 100,000 spindles in operation; 
the factories being at Ghent, Liege, Tournai, 
Malines, and Brussels. Holland possesses only 
one factory, of about 6000, in Friesland. Rus¬ 
sia has two large factories, one at Alexandrofsky 
and the other at Moscow, together numbering 
about 50,000 spindles. Austria possesses eight 
factories, with about 30,000 spindles in opera¬ 
tion. In the states of the Zollverein about 
80,000 are estimated to be in use; and in Switzer¬ 
land there are three or four small establishments, 
making between them from 8000 to 10,000 
spindles. In the United States twelve small 
factories exist, having in operation about 15,000 
spindles; these are situate in the States of New- 
York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massa¬ 
chusetts. The consumption of flax worked up 
by these spindles averages about 25 tons per 
1000 spindles; per annum for fine yarns, and 
about 30 to 50 tons for coarse yarns. 
Now, reckoning the average cost of buildings, 
machinery, and motive-power at 90s. per spin¬ 
dle throughout, it would appear that there is 
altogether a fixed capital of upwards of £8,000,- 
000 invested in the trade, of which sum 
£5,000,000 belongs to Great Britain. Notwith¬ 
standing these large returns of machinery in 
operation at home and abroad, we find that the 
hand-spun yarn very far exceeds it in quantity, 
since throughout the Continent, hand-spinning 
is still carried on to an enormous extent. 
In Enslnnrl, ILf. of lino** Lftc 
increased from 45,000,000 yards in 1805 to 
110,000,000 yards in 1850, notwithstanding the 
enormous developments of the cotton industry 
during that interval. Her exports, too, testify 
to the position she occupies in foreign markets. 
In 1850, these amounted in the aggregate, for 
yarns, thread, small wares, and woven goods, to 
£4,828,994; in 1851, to £5,058,822; and in 
1852, to £5,356,871. Of the woven goods ex¬ 
ported, the markets of the New World take the 
greatest proportion ; those sent to the Eastern 
Hemisphere being of trifling amount in com¬ 
parison. From returns recently published, we 
find that 39,000,000 of persons in America con¬ 
sume annually more than two yards of her linen 
per head—equal to Is. 3fcZ. sterling; in Canada 
the proportion is Is. 6£d, or nearly 20 per cent, 
more than in the United States; while 228,000,- 
000 in Europe take but l-38th part of a yard 
per head. 
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WONDERFUL TREES. 
Among the remarkable trees in the world, the 
following are some of the most curious: 
The Dwarf Tree.— Captains King and Fitz- 
roy state that they saw a tree on the mountains 
near Cape Horn, which was only one or two 
inches high, yet had branches spreading out 
four or five feet along the ground. 
Tiie Sack Tree. —There is said to be a tree 
in Bombay called the sack tree, because from it 
may be stripped very singular natural sacks, 
which resemble “ felt” in appearance. 
TnE Tallow Tree. — This tree is found in 
China. It is called the tallow tree because a 
substance is obtained from it resembling tallow, 
and is used for that purpose. It grows from 
twenty to forty feet in hei. lit. 
Lace Bark Tree. — In the West Indies is 
found a tree, the inner bark of which resembles 
lace or net-work. This bark is very beautiful, 
consisting of layers which may be pulled out 
into a fine white web, three or four feet wide. 
It is sometimes used for ladies’ dresses. 
The Sorrowful Tree. — At Goa, near Bom¬ 
bay, there is a singular vegetable — the sorrow¬ 
ful tree — so called because it only flourishes in 
the night. At sunset no flowers are to be seen ; 
and yet. half an hour after, it is quite full of them. 
They yield a sweet smell, but the sun no sooner 
begins to shine upon them than some of them 
fall off, and others close up; and thus it con¬ 
tinues flowering in the night all the year. 
The Great Chestnut Tree. — On one side 
of Mount iEtna there is a famous chestnut tree, 
which is said to be 196 feet in circumference, 
j ust above the surface of the ground. Its enor¬ 
mous trunk is separated into five divisions, 
which gives to it the appearance of several 
trees growing together. In a circular space, 
formed by these large branches, a hut has been 
erected for the accommodation of those who 
collect the chestnuts. 
TnE Ivory-Nut Tree. — The ivory-nut tree 
is properly called the Tagua plant, and is com¬ 
mon in South America. The tree is one of the 
numerous family of palms, but belongs to the 
order designated screw-pine tribe. The natives 
use the leaves to cover their cottages, and from 
the nuts make buttons and various other arti¬ 
cles. In an early state, the nuts contain a sweet 
milky liquid, which afterwards assumes a solid¬ 
ity nearly equal to ivory, and will admit of a 
high polish. It is known as the ivory nut, or 
vegetable ivory, and has recently been brought 
into use for various purposes. 
The Brazil-Nut Tree — T hp RracHi.vmt tr» 
may justly command the attention of the en¬ 
thusiastic naturalist. The tree thrives well in 
the province of Brazil, and immense quantities 
of its fruit arc exported to foreign countries. 
It grows to a height of 50 to 80 feet, and in ap¬ 
pearance is one of the most majestic ornaments 
of the forest. The fruit, in its natural position, 
resembles a cocoa-nut, being extremely hard, 
and about the size of a child’s head. Each one 
of these contains from twelve to twenty of the 
three-cornered nuts nicely packed together, 
and to obtain the nuts as they appear in mar¬ 
ket, these shells have to be broken open. Dur¬ 
ing the season of their falling, it is dangerous 
to enter the groves where they abound, as the 
force of their descent is sufficient to knock 
down the strongest man. The natives, how¬ 
ever, provide themselves with wooden bucklers, 
which they hold over their heads while collect¬ 
ing the fruit from the ground. 
The Cannon-Ball Tree. —Among the plants 
of Guinea, one of the most curious is the can¬ 
non-ball tree. It grows to the height of 60 feet, 
and its flowers are remarkable for beauty and 
fragrance, and contradictory qualities. Its blos¬ 
soms are of a delicious crimson, appearing in 
large bunches, and exhaling a rich perfume. 
The fruit resembles enormous cannon balls, 
hence the name. However, some say it has 
been so called because of the noise which the 
ball makes in bursting. From the shell domes¬ 
tic utensils are made, and the contents contain 
several kinds of acids, besides sugar and gum, 
aud furnish the materials for making an excel¬ 
lent drink in sickness. But, singular as it may 
appear, this pulp, when in a perfectly ripe state, 
is very filthy, and the odor from it exceedingly 
unpleasant. 
The Bread-Fruit Tree. — This tree is found 
on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. The trunk 
rises to the height of 30 and 40 feet, and attains 
the size of a man’s body. The fruit grows 
about the size of a child’s head. When used 
for food, it is gathered before it is fully ripe, and 
baked among ashes, when it becomes a whole¬ 
some bread, and in taste somewhat resembles 
fresh wheat bread. This is a very useful tree 
to the natives ; for, besides its fruit, which sup¬ 
plies them with food, its trunk furnishes tim¬ 
bers for their houses and canoes; the gum 
which exudes from it serves as pitch for their 
vessels, and from the fibers of the inner bark a 
cloth is made to cover their persons. 
TnE Cow Tree. —This tree is a native of 
Venezuela, South America. It grows in rocky 
situations high in the mountains. Baron Von 
Humboldt gives the following description of it: 
On the barren flank of a rock grows a tree 
with dry and leathery leaves; its large woolly 
roots can scarcely penetrate into the stony soil. 
For several months in the year not a single 
shower moistens its foliage. Its branches ap¬ 
pear dead and dried; yet as soon as the trunk 
is pierced, there flows from it a rich and nour¬ 
ishing milk. It is at sunshine that this vege¬ 
table fountain is most abundant. The natives 
are then to be seen hastening from all quarters, 
furnished with large bowls to receive the milk, 
which grows yellow and thickens on the sur¬ 
face. Some drain their bowls under the tree, 
while others carry home the juice to their child¬ 
ren ; and you might fancy, as the father re¬ 
turned homeward with the milk, you saw the 
family of a shepherd gathering around to re¬ 
ceive from him the production of his flock. The 
milk obtained by incisions made in the trunk is 
tolerably thick, free from all acridity, and of an 
agreeable and balmy smell. It was offered us 
in the shell of the calabash tree. TVe drank a 
considerable quantity of it in the evening before 
going to bed, and very early in the morning, 
without experiencing the slightest injurious 
effect. 
- » 4 -# - 
Fruit and Flowers at the South. —A friend 
from Savannah, Ga., writes us : “ I have recently 
commenced a floral and fruit garden on a large 
scale. I shall spare no expense in my attempt 
to bring out the best collection of fruit and flow¬ 
ers that our climate will permit. I have 24 kinds 
of grapes planted, 18 of strawberries, 14 of pears, 
12 of plums, 4 of figs, besides apricots, almonds, 
&c. 
