of the crop from the time the land is plowed until the last operation has been performed. In this way, each year's experience will suggest improvements in the next year's practice, and in time a profitable flax culture will be the crowning result. PRESENT SUGGESTIONS. In the preceding account of how the crop should be managed I have considered the cultivation of flax for fine fiber only. Recalling the figures of seed production in the United States, it is shown that already a large area is annually cultivated in flax for the seed alone, the amount of fiber utilized being quite small. A certain (or uncertain) quantity is produced each year, however, of which the greater part is represented by up. holsterer's tow; a small quantity goes into bagging stock, perhaps, and a less amount into twine. The remainder of that which is used goes into paper stock. In Ireland they grow for fiber, and, as a rule, throw away the seed; in America we grow for seed, and, as a rule, throw away what fiber there is. If the Irish peasant is accused of being wasteful, what can be said of the American farmer? How to utilize these vast stacks of Western flax straw and make them a source of income to the grower is a problem which the farmers themselves must work out. A great deal of the straw is so good that it ought to be much better. It is possible to grow for both seed and fiber, though the fiber will be coarse, naturally, and only fit for the lower classes of manufacture. It is practically good for nothing, as at present produced, in its tangled, short, and broken condition, unless for paper, and its demand for paper stock is not large. Will it not be for the farmer's interest, then, to adopt new methods, even when growing for seed? Will it not pay him to give a little better preparation to the seed-bed, making it smoother, so that he will be enabled to run the reaper knives as near the roots as possible, and get the full length of straw? Then let him discard the ruinous practice of tearing the straw into fragments in taking off the seed. Let him keep the straw straight, water-ret it if he will take the trouble, or carefully dewret it if he thinks the water-retting will not pay, and there is not the least doubt but he will make enough more out of the crop, in addition to the value of the seed, to compensate him handsomely for his trouble. As to the matter of scutching the straw, that need not be discussed here. When the better quality of straw is produced, there will be scutch-mills if they are needed. In this connection reference should be made to the communication of Mr. Ross, on another page, whose interesting statements show that good fiber can be produced without the operation of scutching. The beautifully prepared samples of Western flax, grown for seed but kept straight, which accompanied this communication, were hackled directly from the breaker. There were also fine tow samples that are among the best that have been received by the Department. Letters were sent by me to some half-dozen leading flax manufact urers, asking their opinions as to the value of the Western flax straw as at present grown, its possible value with a little better cultivation and preparation, as outlined on a preceding page, and a consideration of the flax industry in general from the agricultural stand-point. These replies bear such valuable testimony, and the opinions carry such weight, considering the high sources from which they emanate, that they are produced entire, or with the omission only of general remarks not bearing specially on the subject. The first is from Mr. A. R. Turner, president of the Flax and Hemp Spinners' and Growers' Association, and is an important document. FLAX AND HEMP SPINNERS' AND GROWERS' ASSOCIATION. BOSTON, MASS., February 4, 1890. MY DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of your valued favor of the 21st ultimo, which has had consideration. The culture of flax for fiber demands careful attention at the hands of the farmers, and this care has not been given while cereals have been very profitable. With the reduction of margins on cereals the growth of flax claims new attention, and it should now be of interest to farmers to give special attention to flax. As to duties on flax, it may be well to retain them for the present to stimulate the raising of the fiber and to help the farmers in price at this time, and until they may have established a business on such a basis as to reduce the cost of production materially from the present cost to them. I am sure that if we can re-establish flax culture that with it we shall perfect new methods and cheapen the production so as to be able to compete with foreign nations. I venture to predict that the day may come when we will be exporting flax. When that time comes no duty will be needed on raw material. The United Kingdom of Great Britain imported last year about 90,000 tons of flax and flax tow, all this being in addition to home production. The importations were as follows: Valued at £3,066,144 sterling, this would average a ltttle less than 74 cents per pound. This price has only general value, as the statistics do not give detail of flax and flax tow. At present we have a home demand for good flax fiber for yarns, thread, etc., but many farmers who have shown samples have offered inferior flax, raised from poor seed, and the fiber has not been properly cleaned. While the making of threads requires a strong flax, many grades of flax not fitted for threads are suited for weaving, and it is a thoroughly practical matter to make coarse linens from ordinary grades of Western flax when sufficient protection is given the manufacturer in the producing of goods. The manufacturers can not co-operate with the American farmers to-day as much as they desire, because the supply is insufficient, and the manufacturers, for self protection, are obliged to buy in European markets (at certain seasons of the year) in order to command the best assortment and lowest prices. That we can grow flax is shown by the acreage of flax grown for seed. The above covers acreage of flax raised for seed only, and the question arises can we profitably grow flax for the fiber as well as for the seed? That there has been good flax fiber raised in the United States through a long series of years, as well as good flax fiber being raised at this time, is an established fact. Many years ago, flax was raised on small farms where the fiber was prepared and spun, or spun and woven, for domestic uses. In recent years the spinning-wheel and hand-loom have given way to the power machinery in factories, and the raising of flax in small plots has been discontinued. Encouragement has not been given to the raising of flax because the supply of linens is principally imported, and we have lost our position as manufacturers in the linen trade. Cotton and woolen products have had good protection from foreign competition, but the flax and hemp productions have had less protection and have suffered in conséquence. The manufacturing of twines is carried on extensively in the United States, and the manufacturing of threads has assumed fair proportions, the growth of the different branches of these industries depending largely on the amount of protection. The importations of brown and bleached linen ducks, canvas, etc., for Threads and twines... $14,003, 235 1,802, 089 516, 013 The references just given apply only to flax and linen goods, and do not cover hemp and jute products. The exports from the United Kingdom of Great Britain of plain unbleached or bleached linens for the year 1888 amounted to £3,749,088, and for a period of seven years 52 per cent. of the exports of this class of linens have been sent to the United States. The American Economist, of New York, dated January 3, 1890, refers to an article of a Washington correspondent of the New York Herald, and among the reasons he gives for the lack of success in the linen industry is the following: "Another reason is that when, in 1861, Congress enacted tariff laws, there was no association to set forth the linen interest." It is evident that in the past our legislators have not given the attention that should have been paid to the flax and linen industry, and, as a result, we are not in a commanding position to-day. It would seem wise that Congress should place in the hands of your Department a special appropriation for investigation, and to establish experimental stations and deterinine just what can be done with the tangled straw or with the straight straw of flax grown for seed, the seed being removed without tangling the straw. This appropriation should be sufficiently large for you to secure able talent, and to place experiments in the hands of men who have had a life-long experience, and who know the needs of the trade. Some plan should be devised to save all the fiber that is now being wasted, and to me it seems a safe statement to make that it is possible to preserve all the fiber from flax even though it may be sown primarily for seed. Your experiments should also cover the raising of long and strong flax from the best seed, the aim being to produce the best possible quality of fiber. Sowing, cultivating, harvesting, retting, breaking, and scutching should all have your attention with a view to perfecting improved methods and minimum cost of the production, and when you have arrived at a practical solution of the problem you will find farmers and manufacturers ready to co operate with you to establish a large business in the United States, and produce our own linens, in the place of depending on foreign nations. It is not my desire to make my letter to you cover too much the question of tariff legislation, but we must have a demand for the fiber if the raising of it in large quantities is to be a success, and the market for the fiber is dependent upon having sufficient protection against foreign competition to build up the manufacturing industry. This statement will be sufficient to show you why I have necessarily referred to the question of protection, but I have aimed to simply touch matters of fact rather than to submit an argument. The raising of hemp is increasing in quantity, and while the greater part of the crop is still raised in Kentucky they are also cultivating hemp in other States. There is great need of a good power hemp brake to supplant the primitive hand-brake, but although three hundred patents have been issued for power-brakes in a series of years, up to the present time none have been adopted as a practical success, although several brakes are now being perfected with a fair prospect of success. In your consideration of fibers, flax and hemp should have special consideration before the many new fibers which are constantly brought to your attention. The successful raising or manipulating of many new fibers is a matter of speculation, but with flax and hemp you have positive matter in hand, and fibers about which there is no speculation. The United States is the first nation in the world in the consumption of linens and binding twine, and this should inspire us to secure a home production for our own home market. We have favorable climate, rich and extensive lands, the need of diversified crops, and a ready market the best in the world; it remains for a proper adjustment of conditions, and special support of the Government through you, to establish enormous industries of national reputation. If I can be of further assistance to you, I should be pleased to serve you. CHARLES RICHARDS DODGE, Special Agent, Fiber Investigations. A. R. TURNER. President. Another communication, with valuable suggestions on the subject, was received from Mr. John H. Ross, of Boston, whose long experience in handling flax fiber, as well as knowledge of the requirements of the industry from the manufacturer's standpoint, enables him to speak authoritatively. Mr. Ross makes statements as follows: BOSTON, February 7, 1890. DEAR SIR: I have had before me for several days your favor of the 21st ultimo, and have held my reply that it might be accompanied by the samples I send herewith, and which are necessary to illustrate the points I wish to make. I would reply to your questions as follows: I am not aware of any use to which the Western straw in the tangled condition in which it comes from the thrasher can be put other than to use it as upholsterers' tow. I have never seen the tangled straw retted or treated in any way which fitted it for spinning purposes. I would note here, however, that I regard it as possible that a thorough process of water-retting, such as I shall refer to later, may bring the tangled straw into a condition suitable for spinning into binder twine. All the tangled straw that I have seen retted has been treated by retting on the grass, which process I do not consider suitable for getting the best results from the Western straw. All the dew-retted tangled straw I have seen has been very imperfectly retted and cleaned, and not suitable for any spinning purpose. To obtain the best results as to quantity and quality from the Western straw, as at present sown and cultivated for the seed, I believe that the straw should be cut, or better, pulled and kept straight, and the seed removed by rippling or some similar process which will not tangle the straw. The straw must then be steeped in water in streams, or in pits or ditches, and thoroughly water-retted, the process being carried as far as is possible without positively endangering the strength of the fiber. Then the retted straw must be thoroughly dried, and, if possible, exposed to some artificial heat immediately before being broken. In Holland the straw is dried by exposing to the heat produced by the combustion of the shives and dust from the brakes, and this drying process is attended by a boy. The dry straw should then be passed through a brake provided with several sets of fluted rollers, so that the straw, rendered brittle by the drying process, will be thoroughly broken up, and the greater part of it will fall, and that which remains on the fiber will be loose and will be easily detached by the subsequent processes of hackling, carding and spinning, thus yielding a clean yarn. It will be noticed that this method of treatment omits the process of scutching. This is always the most expensive process in the preparation of the flax fiber, and when applied to so short and weak a fiber as is produced in the West under the present system of cultivation, it would cause a large product of scutching tow, and would raise the cost of the fiber beyond its market value. I send, in the accompanying box, samples of the hackled line and tow produced from Western straw which has been kept straight and retted in water and passed through a brake without scutching. The samples of coarse line and tow represent a product of 50 per cent. line, and about 40 per cent. tow, and 10 per cent. waste, and are suitable for spinning into medium and coarse twine, and for the warp and weft yarns in coarse crashes, etc. The samples of the fine line and tow show what can be produced from this flax when thoroughly hackled, and from this line can be spun a 50-lea weaving yarn suitable for many of the finer and even some of the finest of the linens on which the Flax and Hemp Spinners and Growers' Association asks an additional duty that they may be made at home instead of imported from abroad. The fine tow is suited for fine weft yarns for weaving purposes. These samples of water-retted flax were produced from flax grown near Cedar Falls, Iowa, for seed purposes, and well illustrate the possibilities of this fibre when properly handled and grown as at present without additional expense to the farmer except the keeping of the straw straight and the rippling of the seed. It should be noted that the straw from which this fiber was produced was longer than some of the Western straw. It is, however, perfectly practicable to hackle a shorter flax than this, although the longer it is the better, both for the growth and the spinner. Of course if more and better seed was sown, and the young plants weeded and pulled a great improvement both in quality and quantity would result, but even as at present a fiber can be produced which will compare favorably with the average of the water-steeped flaxes now exported from Russia. I would note here that I have recently received samples of flax from Wisconsin grown for the fiber from imported seed and water-retted, and this flax will compare favorably for fineness and spinning quality with the higher grades of European flax. It is suited for the finest yarns, and while there is but little demand for such fine flax in this country, it could be exported and would find a ready sale among the foreign spinners of fine weaving yarns. This flax well illustrates the fact that with proper care and attention we can produce in our Northwestern States flax fiber fully equal to any now grown in Europe, and if our farmers are willing to give this care and attention, it is quite unnecessary for us to import any flax at all. To produce a good dew-retted fiber from our short and weak straw we should follow the methods employed by the Russians, who obtain a good fiber with the shives loose and not sticking fast, as is the case with our dew-retted flax; this loose shive falls out in the process of manufacture, yielding a practically clean yarn. I believe, however, that the water-retting process is more worthy of attention, as it will yield a stronger and better fiber from our straw than by any other method. |