A New Flaxdressing Machine.

Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 89, 11 October 1889, Page 3

A New Flaxdressing Machine.

Mr. David Murray has constructed a new flax machine which bids fair to mark a new era in the New Zealand flax industry. The maohine ia constructed on the prinoiple of goraping, as distinct from tho machines in u«e, which operate by beating the loaf. Two drnms of about 12 inohea in diameter have diagonal scrapers, wbioh are olosely set with a distance botween them to admit a sheet of brown paper, and oporate by subjecting the leaf to a rapid eoraping operation, the drums revolving with groat rapidity. Before the leaf enters the drums it is pressed and flattened between rollers for the purpose of bruising the woody material, and giving the leaf a uniform thickness. The fibre disappears from the drums into a silky texture without any of the woodiness perceptible in tho ordinarily dressed artiolo. The next operation is bleaching, and this is effected in the following manner : — The leaf reduced to fibre after passing through the drums enters a hollow tuba vortical ly arranged, at the upper end of which a jet of steam and a stream of water entors. The steam foroes the water through overy part of the fibre, bleaching it and disintegrating the strands, giving it a fine Bilky texture. The fibre is then passed through other rollers which break up any remaining partioles of vegetable matter ndheriug to the fibre. The product ia then dried, either in the usual manner on tho grass, or by patent dryers. Tho final operation of scutching, whioh may be resorted to or not, renders the material far superior to anything in fineness yet turned out by machinery, and olosely resembling what is produced by

, tho natives. Tho machine ia vory rapid, and the operations we have described, apart from ■ the drying and scntchim?, aro all done con- . tinuoualy, and aro tho work of a few mo5 montH. A patont has been applied for, and Mr. Murray expects ho will bo ablo to bavo I tho machine perfected and in operation in i about a month from tho preßcnt time.— i Wanganui Herald.