3Q0 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
SANFORD & MALLORY’S 
PORTABLE 
FLAX AND HEMP DRESSER. 
Date of PateiDts, Sept. E6, 1862, and April 28, 1863. 
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Made and Sold by 
&LlU5)tY <§ SAFJF01: 
HARLEM RAILROAD BUILDING, 
Room No. 26, in WMte-st., near Centre. 
Our terms are Cash on delivery of shipper’s receipt or hill 
of lading, and persons ordering can send draft on New-York, 
or Treasury Notes, to some person here whom they know, 
or by Express, to be delivered to us on our delivery of bill 
of lading for shipment of Machine. Price at our Factory, 
at Paterson, New-Jersey, for 
No. 1 Machine, (capable of dressing 2,500 lbs. ot Flay. 
Straw in ten hours,) §355. 
No. 2, §255. No. 3, Hand Macliine, §155. 
First.—A machine capable of dressing 2,500 pounds of flax 
straw in ten hours, can be sold at the factory, ready for ship¬ 
ment, at $355 ; and the second size capable of dressing 1,500 
pounds of straw at, $255. A third size, capable of dressing 
from 600 to 800 pounds of straw per day, at $155. The small 1 
cst size weighs about 300 pounds and can be run by hand. 
Second.— The yield of flax fibre by the use of this machine, 
in proportion to the weight of flax straw dressed, exceeds 
by at least one-fourth that obtained by any other ma¬ 
chine or process. 
Third.—T he fibre, dressed by this machine, is much more 
valuable than that dressed in any other way, on account of 
the greater yield over the hackle. 
Fourth.—T his machine is so simple in Its construction and 
operation, that the liability to derangement is very slight. 
Fifth— This machine does not require in its use any pecu¬ 
liar skill. It can be operated by boys or girls, and does not 
Involve any risk to the hands or arms of the operatives, while 
the ordinary machines require the use of skilled labor, and 
as experience has proved, arc always attended with risk to 
the operatives. 
Sixth.— This machine can he driven by any of the horse 
powers in use, and as It can be operated by ordinary farm 
labor, it enables the farmer to dress and prepare for market, 
at little expense, the flax raised by himself, thus opening to 
him a new and profitable occupation. 
Seventh— This machine is small, the largest size occupy¬ 
ing only about four feet square, and weighing not over 1,100 
pounds. 
As there is a demand for larger machines for hemp, the 
proprietors are building such, capable of dressing two and-a- 
half tons of hemp straw per day. 
The amount of flax fibre produced in the United States in 
the year 1850 was 7,806,809 pounds. Had the straw from which 
this amount of fibre was taken, been dressed by the Sanford 
& Mallory Machine, the yield would have been not less than 
10,409,078 pounds. The increased product or the flax saved, 
at present prices, would be worth $650,542. 
When It is remembered that in many of the Western 
States an immense quantity of flax is raised for the seed 
alone, the straw being destroyed or wasted as of no value, it 
will readily be seen that the introduction among farmers and 
manufacturers of a cheap and effective machine, capable of 
converting what would otherwise go to waste, into an arti¬ 
cle of great value, can not fail to produce the most import¬ 
ant results. 
It is well known that flax can be successfully cultivated in 
all the Northern States. If in addition to the value of the 
seed—sufficient of itself to pay the entire cost of cultivation— 
the straw can be made a source of large profit, a wide field 
of successful industry will be opened. 
That the statements here put forward as to the efficiency 
and value of the Sanford & Mallory Machine, and especially 
as to the great saving effected by it over any other machine 
or process known, are rather below than beyond the fact, 
will abundantly appear from the subjoined reports and let¬ 
ters from practical flax-workers and dealers. Nothing need 
be added to their direct and positive testimony. 
Over fifty of these machines for flax and hemp have been 
in successful use during the past season, in different parts of 
the country, and the demand for them is now large—conse¬ 
quently, orders for them should he made early, as the coming 
crop of flax and hemp will soon be ready for dressing. 
The demand for flax during the past year and-a-lialf has 
quite doubled its price, and it is now used for many purposes 
to which it was never before applied, and for which it is found 
to be superior to cotton and other materials before in use. 
Whatever, therefore, may be the future product of cotton, 
the demand for flax will not diminish, but, on the contrary, 
increase with its new and useful applications. It is now 
largely mixed with woolen goods of almost every descrip¬ 
tion; is used for paper, wadding, batting, belting, druggets, 
delaines, calicoes, stockings, felt hats, and carpeting. Should 
the experiments for cottonizing flax, for which Congress 
has made a large appropriation, succeed, the already large 
demand for it would not only be enormously enhanced, but 
made practically unlimited. 
Take a given quantity of Flax Straw, either over or under 
retted, and pass it once through this Machine and it will in¬ 
variably have lost four-fifths of the slioove or woody part, 
without the least fibre of tow. The Machine requires two 
men, or boys, to tend it, and runs from eighteen to twenty 
hundred lbs. of straw in ten hours. There is no risk whatev¬ 
er to life or limb of the operator. 
A dry or wet day makes no difference with this Machine, 
with reference to its result in the saving of Fibre. 
The Machine can be seen in operation any day at room No. 
26, Harlem R. II. Building, corner of White and Center 
Streets, New-York City, or at Mr. Harvy Wilcox’s Flax Mill 
in Union Village, Washington County, N. Y. 
This Machine with one-horse power will also run from four 
to six hundred lbs. of llemp stalks per hour leaving the 
fibre perfectly clean and straight, with not one ounce of tow 
to the ton. 
Those desiring Machines this fall should order at once, as 
we shall supply according to the date of orders. 
TESTIMONIALS. 
Johnsonvillk, N. Y., April 27th, 1863. 
Messrs. Mallory & Sanford: 
Gentlemen.— I have been using two of your Patent Flax 
machines since the 1st of January last. I have given them a 
thorough test with the old brake. They will save from three 
to six pounds of dressed flax to the hundred pounds of flax 
1 straw (according to the quality of straw used) more than the 
old brake, and will break from one and one-fourth to one 
and one-half tons of straw per day often hours—do the work 
better than any other machine I ever saw. It takes out nine- 
tenths of the shive or woody matter in passing through the 
machine once; consequently it requires less scutching than 
if broken with the old brake, which does its work very im¬ 
perfectly-breaking some of the fibres and taking out no 
shive. My men tell me they would rather rougli-dress two 
handfuls alter your brake than one after the old. The fibre 
from your brake is left perfectly whole and straight, which 
is better for the manufacturers, as it will hatchel more to the 
hundred pounds than after the old mode of breaking. I have 
had a quantity hatched that was dressed after each brake- 
taken from the same lot of flax, and the yield was five pounds 
per hundred more after your brake than after the old. The 
fine tow is equally good with that after the old brake, while 
the coarse is worth one third more per ton. I think that if 
the machine is properly used it is not liable to breakage. 
Yours truly, WM. H. BUCKLEY 
Belfast, Ireland, May 1st, 1863. 
Messrs. Mallory & Sanford :— 
Gentlemen.— It gives me much pleasure to report that the 
five Sanford & Mallory Flax Brakes which I have been oper 
ating in the different flax districts of Ireland have given en¬ 
tire satisfaction to all who have seen and used them. The 
saving over all other machines in use is large ; on some kinds 
of straw, being as great as one-third. This taken with the 
saving in labor will give an advantage in favor of the brake 
of from £3 to £5. or $15 to $25 per day, beside increasing the 
value of the fibre by softening and giving it better spinning 
quality. In conclusion, I would say that the machine has 
been approved of and recommended by the leading manu¬ 
facturers of Ireland, and also by the Chemico-Agricultural 
Society of Ulster. Yours truly, 
EDGAR FOWKS. 
Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, May 5th, 1SC3. 
Messrs. Mallory & Sanford:— 
Gentlemen.—I have tried one of your brakes, and I have 
run through thirty-one hundred pounds in ten and one- 
fourth hours, which was well broken, and every way satis¬ 
factory. I am, gentlemen, yours respectfully, 
E. MEEK. 
Union Village, N. Y., May 15th, 1863. 
Messrs. Mallory & Sanford:— 
Gentlemen.— I have used two of your Patent Flax Brakes 
for the past eight months, and take this opportunity of say¬ 
ing that they exceed any brake I ever saw. They take out 
from sixty to seventy per cent of the shive or woody matter, 
leaving the fibre whole, and in perfect ribbons. They will 
save from five to eight pounds of dressed flax to every hun¬ 
dred pounds of flax straw over any brake I ever used. We 
can break from one to one and-one-half tons per day of ten 
hours with each brake, and there is no danger of life or limb. 
Yours with respect, HARVY WILCOX. 
Bloomington, McClean Co., Illinois, May 2d, 1863. 
Messrs. Mallory & Sanford:— 
Gentlemen.— This is to certify that I have run your Pat¬ 
ent Flax and Hemp Brake more or less since the 1st of De¬ 
cember, 1862; have broke western tangled straw, and I find 
that it works complete as it removes at least sixty-five per 
cent of the shive, and so loosens the rest that they can very 
readily be shook out, and the stock has a soft oily feel which 
is worth more than when it has a harsh wiry feel, which is 
invariably the case with the old machine. I do not hesitate 
to recommend it to any one as the best machine ever used 
for breaking flax straw, whether straight or tangled, rotted 
or unrotted, as my experience has proved it so to my per¬ 
fect satisfaction. Yours truly, 
F. A. HAVENS. 
Stittsville, N. Y., April 18th, 1863. 
Messrs. Mallory & Sanford:— 
Gentlemen.— I have used one of your Patent Brakes for 
the past four months. I am highly pleased with it, so much 
so that I would not be willing to part with It on any condi¬ 
tions, provided I could not obtain another in its place. I 
feel that it is a very safe machine for the person who oper¬ 
ates it; whereas the old brake is not safe, as many persons 
will testify who have lost an arm by them. I am satisfied 
that I get more flax and less tow by using the new brake, 
while both flax and tow ore worth more in market than that 
in the old brakes, and certainly the new brake does not re. 
quire near as much power to run them as the old one, which 
with many would be quite an object. My brother tells me 
that he lias ordered another brake through your agent, to be 
used by us, as we are about to unite ourselves in the flax bus¬ 
iness the coming season. We will want it by the first of 
August next. Yours truly, WM. B. LINK. 
Greenwich, N. Y., April 2Sd, 1863. 
Messrs. Mallory & Sanford:— 
Gentlemen.— You ask our opinion in regard to your flax 
machine. Wo must say wo are well pleased with it. The 
machine has been in almost constant use since we received 
it from you something like six months since, and it, we think 
works better now than when we first started it. We advise 
all our customers to buy your brake in preference to those 
we formerly made at our machine shop. Wishing you sue 
cess in this great invention, we are truly yours, 
EDDY, DYER & CO. 
Descriptive Circulars sent free on application to 
MALLORY & SANFORD, 
Corner White and Center-Sts., New-York City. 
