NEW ZEALAND FLAX

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 23, 28 January 1928, Page 11

NEW ZEALAND FLAX

FIBRE FOR TEXTILES EXPERIMENTS AT HOME If experiments which are now being carried out in England with New Zealand flax prove successful, immense possibilities will be opened up for the development of another great primary industry in the Dominion. Stressing the importance of chemical research, in the course of his remarks at the Institute of Chemistry dinner last night, the chairman, Professor T. H. Easterfield, said he had had advice from a Lancashire, wool and cotton manufacturing firm that they were attempting to make a material resembling wool from New Zealand flax. He hoped the work would be successful, for it held enormous possibilities. Flax was a unique plant, and it was bo specifically New Zealand in character that a great future might be built upon it. It produced more fibre per plant than any other in the world, and its value was not yet fully appreciated. Professor Easterfield quoted the opinion of a leading spinner in Lancashire that if the work of converting New Zealand flax into material suitable for spinning turned out successfully they would be able to take the whole of the New Zealand export of flax for manufacturing purposes. ARTIFICIAL SILK. Similar advice in regard to experiments with flax has been received from the same spinning firm by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Besearch. Some time ago Sir Amos Nelson, a large spinner and manufacturer, of Nelson, Lancashire, England, visited the Dominion, and he became very interested in New Zealand flax. He conferred with the Director of the Scientific Research. Department (Dr. E. Marsden) and Professor Easterfield, and was referred to the Government flax grader, Mr. Petrie. As the result, Sir Amos took Home with him samples of Now Zealand flax with the idea of utilising it in the manufacture of artificial silk. He found, however, that i-inch was too small for spinning purposes. FOR COTTON AND WOOL. The Department has now received advice from Sir Amos Nelson, that his chemists have been successful in producing from flax a fibre three inches in length, with an excellent lustre," which he considers would make a valuable admixture for cotton and woollen goods. If able to spin this successfully, Sir Amos Nelson stated that he would be able to absorb the whole of the output of New Zealand flax for the next five years. Experiments had not yet been completed, but he did not see why they should not be successful.