made that the farmer pays the owner of the scutch-mill one shilling' per stone (14 pounds) of fiber cleaned. At this amount one-half, or a sixpence, is retained by the owner as the mill earnings, the other sixpence going to the "foreman finisher," who divides it pro rata among the entire staff of workmen. From these figures and the statement regarding the capacity of one machine, the advantage in favor of the machine may readily be com puted. When the cost of attendants is distributed over two or three machines the net earnings will be greater. In a recent communication from Mr. Wallace he says: The proved capacity of the breaker is now such that it will keep fully occupied two buffing machines, and on good straw will enable the machines to earn from 20 to 40 shillings per day when properly fed and attended. Two-horse power per machine is required to drive them. The price of the machine in Belfast is £250 net, payable when the machine has been tested in the foundery and found in good working order. I witnessed the working of this machine in Belfast, various kinds of flax straw being run through it, as green or unretted, good retted, grassed and over-retted, tangled or thrashed similar to the flax straw of the Western States after the seed has been extracted, besides some other fibers. The machine worked smoothly and well, there being no waste of fiber whatever, and the cleaning was apparently accomplished evenly and thoroughly. The unretted flax straw naturally showed the poorest results, the sample having been put through to show the adaptability of the machine for preparing a substitute for oakum, from green flax straw. The sample from over-retted straw has the appearance of a fair fiber as to length and evenness, though in color it was spotted or mottled and in places semi-bleached. A few stalks of Egyptian hemp which were run through gave a fairly good fiber. The machine was not timed by me, and I made no attempt to demonstrate its capacity for any given length of time. The samples were all retained by me and will be preserved in the fiber collection of the Department as specimens and for future reference, though as yet I have made no microscopic or other tests in detail to learn if the flax filaments have in any way been injured by the system of pins which enters into the mechanical construction of this device. This, I have been informed, was one of the weak points of another machine, invented by Jules Cardon, and which at one time gave great promise, but which has now been abandoned. Mr. Wallace claims, however, to have obviated all danger of injury from the pins piercing the fibers themselves, and the testimony of others whose opinions were asked have been favorable to this view. While the inventor calls it a flax-scutching machine, it is claimed to be adapted to clean hemp, flax, ramie, jute, and other fibers. I had no 'Practically 25 cents. The legal value of a shilling as established by the United States Treasury is 24.33 cents. opportunity of witnessing its work on ramie stalks, but find in the Bulletin of the Royal Gardens, Kew, for November, 1888, the following reference to it, which may be introduced here: The machine was not constructed for the special treatment of ramie. In spite of this, however, it has cleaned ramie in a fairly satisfactory manner, and the inventor claims that, with a few necessary alterations in detail, he will be able to treat the stems, either green or dry, at the rate of 1 cwt. per hour. THE JOHNSON MACHINE. This is another Belfast machine, but regarding which I can give little information other than gleaned from the patent specification and drawings, and from various extracts from the Irish Textile Journal and other publications, manuscript copies of which were given me. The machine was not in operation when I was in Belfast, and there was no opportunity to make a personal inspection of its workings. It is the invention of Mr. Sibbald Johnson, of Newtonards (Belfast), Ireland, who is the patentee. It may be briefly described as a rectangular horizontal frame, carrying two revolving beaters, very much like the drum of a thrashing machine. These are about 7 feet long by 2 feet in diameter, and are parallel to each other and at such a distance that their longitudinal lower blades interlock to a depth of 3 inches, like the teeth of wheels. This relative position is maintained by means of a pair of spur wheels fitted to the ends of each axle. Over the line of interlock, at an equal distance vertically and horizontally from both axles, there is what may be termed an inclined railway. Along this slides the holders in which the flax is screwed. The holder, with its beet of flax, which has been previously broken on another machine, is placed on the high end of the railway. The ends of flax are instantly caught by the beaters as they revolve downwards, and this action strips the shives and at the same time draws the holder along the incline to the other end, where it is removed. The holder is then unscrewed and the flax turned end for end, as only one-half of the beet has been cleaned, screwed up again, and a second time passed through the machine. There are several drawbacks to this feature of the machine: the danger of injury to the flax fiber from twice screwing it into the metal holders; the loss of time and the increase in number of attendants (boys) to perform the extra work; and, lastly, which is perhaps the smallest objection, the increased area of floor space required. In a trial reported the yield averaged from 20 to 25 per cent. of fiber, which dressed 62 to 70 per cent. of line. THE DEATH FIBER COMPANY'S MACHINE. This machine, for general fiber decortication, has attracted more or less attention for some years past, and a notice of it will not be out of place. It is the invention of W. E. Death, of Brixton, England, popularly known as the "Death and Ellwood" machine, patent bearing date July 13, 1885, improvements having been added. It claims to work well on all fibrous plants, from flax straw and hemp and ramie stalks to fleshy-leaved plants, like the Agaves. It is a single-drum machine, involving the beater principle, the breakers operating upon the fiber in conjunction with a stream of water, which washes out the refuse. The feed motion is worked as follows: The upright handle C is for the self-acting motion to carry the leaves to or from the machine. By simply moving it backward or forwards it puts friction wheels into gear, which take the table to or from the machine. In working the holder F the levers are lifted by means of a knob at the end, and as many leaves or stems (as the case may be) as the machine will take are put across the V part in the holder and placed so that the grip on the holder may be taken near the ends of them. With ramie the point ends are cleaned first and the butt end last. After securing the stems or leaves to be cleaned the clip is put on and the lever pressed down by the knobs and the material fed into the machine by pushing the upright handle. When the holder has traveled as far as possible into the mouth-piece the handle is reversed for drawing the cleaned fiber out. The stems are then reversed in the holder and the fiber gripped in it and the ends sent forward for cleaning, as before. The wheel E is for working by hand, if desired. The machine requires a three-horse-power engine to drive it, the velocity being 400 revolutions per minute. From 300 to 400 gallons of water per machine per hour are necessary, and this it is reckoned is attainable by a 7-foot fall through a three-fourths service pipe. The capacity of the machine is placed at 2 cwt. of dry fiber per day of ten hours. Regarding the drying of the fiber after cleaning, it is hung out on frames of bamboo poles, and when about half dry large handfuls of the fiber are whipped against a post six inches in diameter, a drawing action as the blow is given producing the same effect "as brushing and combing it and will leave it thoroughly separated when whipped a second time just before it is dry for baling." It may be noted that in field work, in the decortication of ramie, this machine has made a good record, though it has the serious fault of all ramie-cleaning machines, failure as to quantity. THE HEMP INDUSTRY IN FRANCE. In the latter part of September I spent a week in the hemp district of France, with a view to learn something of French methods of retting, and of the special treatment of the hemp crop in this country by means of which so white and lustrous a fiber is produced. It was my intention to go to Angers, which is the center of the industry and the headquarters of both the cordage and hemp fabric manufacture, but being able to secure all desired information in the departments of Sarthe and Ille-et-Vilaine, I did not visit Maine-et-Loire. These are the principal departments of France engaged in the industry, although Cotes-duNord, Morbihan, and Isère should also be mentioned. HEMP CULTURE. Climate has much to do with the successful cultivation of this plant, as it makes the best length of stalk, and therefore gives a greater yield of fiber, in those situations where the climate is mild and the atmosphere humid. Limestone soils or the alluvial soils, as found in the river bottoms, are most congenial to its growth, and as this portion of France is well watered by rivers or smaller streams, the cultivation is quite general along their banks. I may say that such soils in our own country have given the best results. A rotation of crops is practiced, hemp alternating with grain crops, although MM. Girardin and Du Breuil state that it is also allowed to grow continually upon the same land. Regarding this mode of cultivation, they consider that it is not contrary to the law of rotation, as by deep plowing and the annual use of an abundance of fertilizers the ground is kept sufficiently enriched for the demands which are made upon it. If the soil is not sufficiently rich in phosphates or the salts of potassium, these must be supplied by the use of lime, marl, ground bone, animal charcoal, or ashes mixed with prepared animal compost. Even hemp-cake, the leaves of the plant and the "shive" or "boon," may be returned to the land with benefit. This high fertilizing is necessary, as "the hemp absorbs the equivalent of 1,500 kilos of fertilizers per every hundred kilos of fiber obtained." The deep plowing is absolutely essential, as the hemp roots require a mellow soil. The final plowing is done in the autumn, the land being thrown into ridges, and a couple of weeks later carefully leveled with the roller. Some farmers take this time to apply their fertilizer, or a portion of it at least, and also sow beans to form a green compost. When the beans are up the land is plowed a second time between the rows, and after making furrows to carry off the excess of water it is left until spring. The best seed comes from Piedmont, and, as it deteriorates rapidly, it is frequently renewed. The closer the plants can be grown the better the fiber; and to this end a large quantity of seed is used. A farmer in Sarthe informed me that the usual custom was to sow 60 liters of seed to 44 ares, 40 ares being equal to an acre. This would give as the proper rate to sow about one and a half bushels to the acre, though four bushels are sometimes put in where fine fiber is desired. The sowing is done about the last of April. As in flax culture, the crop must be kept free from weeds, all injured plants must be removed, and it is the custom even to thin out the plants when growing too thickly, as is frequently the case from irregular sowing. I learned that two hundred and fifty plants to a square meter1 of ground is considered the right average when the fiber is grown for cordage; but when produced for fabrics at least four hundred plants are allowed to grow in this area. I did not obtain full details of the manner of harvesting the crop at the farms visited, and have therefore condensed the following account of methods of harvesting from a French work2 put into my hands by M. Grosjean, of the ministry of agriculture. In order to obtain the best possible results in the quality of fiber, the plants should be gathered when the male stalks have shed their flowers and the stems begin to be yellow. Regarding the sex of the plant the authors state in a foot-note that In many localities they give the name of male hemp to those plants which bear the fruit, and that of female hemp to those which have no fruit, a less development, and in which the vegetation is sooner arrested. This nomenclature is incorrect, as precisely the contrary (terms) should be employed. This season of shedding the flowers comes in the west of France about the middle of July. There are two modes of gathering, dependent upon the use to which the fiber will be put. If for cordage the stalks are cut with a sharp instrument resembling a short scythe, and laid upon the ground in sheaves, where they are left to dry from one to three days. The leaves are then stripped and the stalks removed to the sheds to be assorted, placed in piles horizontally, the lower ends of the stalks being pressed firmly against a wall, so that the inequalities of their length may plainly appear. Upon each pile there is placed close to the wall a weight, to prevent deranging the stems while drawing them out in assorting. This is done just by handfuls, first the longest stems, then the medium, and then the short ones. They are 1 A meter is about three and three eighths inches over a yard. |