NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2469, 20 November 1868, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

TO THE EDITOR OP THB LTTTEDTOH TIMES.' Sib,—ln your tri-weekly contemporary of yesterday's date, I noticed a letter on the preparation of New Zealand Flax, signed " Egerton Ninnis," in which Mr Ninnis imagines that he U able to " conclusively prove" that it is more economical to macerate or steep the raw leaf in cold water, prior to operating upon it mechanically, than it is to steam or boil it. If s-.>, it is a pity he did not at the same time publish the data he goes upon, and state how long it would be necessary to continue the macerating process—whether days, weeks, or months—and in what state he then expects to find the leafsoftened, hardened, or as it was? also, the quantity and quality of the "clean cold water." Perhaps bearing in mind that ■' time is money," he may find that macerating in "clean cold water" is not so very economical as it appears at the first blush. But perhaps he will give the public the benefit of his experiments, as I have done of mine. What Mr Ninnis means by "cleaning fairly without extra manipulation," I am at a loss to understand. If he means partially cleaning, he should state how far he means to go in the disintegrating process, and how much of the cellulose, &c, &c, he means to leave on the fibre. When I speak of cleaned fibre, I mean fibre as well and perfectly cleaned as the means at our disposal will permit of. Mr Ninnis also says that " the process required to remove the. colour on the fibre after boiling, would be so severe as to cause a palpable injury to take place." This I deny m toto, By the permission of the gentleman holding it, I could produce a sample of fibre of the Phormium tenax cleaned in England by the boiling or steaming process, which, although of a very dark colour indeed—far darker than ; any cleaned here—still obtained a very fair price in the London market; and, although, to be otany service to the manufacturers, it would have to

£sfh« Jt a , blea f t e P roceSß - wl,iol > Pw undergo. With regard to the "fatal objection » £i P Ir^ 0 ."? lmvingtllo sli«hteatknowledge of chemistry understands," that heat Wm M Ve ? e,aWe ftlbume »- an<i it wluble; so far true, but" a little knowledge ? a ™««»tti thing." Improve your potatmnß,anditwillbefound thatitisonly insoluble in water alone, but that acid, potash, or soda render it perfectly soluble-perhaps this is a wrinkle ? As for the fibres being " made practically one" by being boiled and steamed, this, if the process is properly condaeted. I distinctly deny, and I think, Mr Editor, from the samp'es you have seen, you can boar testimony to the truth of my statement; for the crude vagaries of a neophyte lam not responsible. Mr Ninnis contends that" if the fibre from the green leaf is properly prepared, that no vegetable matter remains, and all that it contained in the leaf, barring the fibre, is held in perfect solution." I entirely agree with him that when the fibre ia properly cleaned," no vegetable matter remains" Biitl wish also to Bay that f, and I tbiuk I may safely apeak for tin public in genernl,baTe then nevcrseen any properly cleaned—it is what we wish and are longing to see-not a small expressly cleaned sample, bat a large lot that would leave a good margin for profit. As for the rest of the sentence about being " held in solution," I neither agreo nor disagree, simply because I cannot make any sense of it, and puzzle as much «s I may, I flud I cannot arrive at the meaning. Mr Ninnis mentions that "the boiling process has been carried out in Otago for two years, and that quantities of fibre have been used in Melbourne until the last ten months where it has been fouud quite unsuitable for the market in consequence of the large parcels prepared from green leaves having been imported from Auckland." You will no doubt, observe, Mr Editor, that the Melbourne men (consisting of only two firms), after hiving used the boiled fibre for upwards of twelve months, suddenly discovered its unsuitability not from any defect in the article itself but, as explained by Mr xNinnis, because large parcels of fibre prepared in A uckland were rushed upon that very limited, and already overstocked market: at present neither raw nor boiled fibre is saleable there at anything like a remunerative price, besides, I know the quality of the boiled stuff sent to Melbourne. I showed you a sample, Mr Editor, if you remember, forwarded to me by one of the first houses in Melbourne, and I think you will admit that you have seen a sample of boiled fibre a slight improvement upon it. With reference to "sufficient strength being added" to fibre, I don't know how it is done, but as Albert Smith's friend on the top of the pyramids of Egypt, in reference to the method used in building them, said—"it is done somehow," and that I suspect is about the only explanation; but what I do know is, that all roperaakers who know anything about their business prefer the boiled stuff, as they say it not only makes better and more durable rope, but that it is softer to work and there is less loss in hackling, which, I imagine, are advantages. As for the durability of rope made from the raw material, I hear nothing but complaints, and certainly, if price is a test of quality, I heard _of some rope made from the raw material too, fetching somewhere about £47 per ton, in Dunedin, if I am not mistaken j which I conclude was fat value. The celebrated Dr Lindley tried his experiments upon New Zealand flax (and I certainly don't remember having noticed his specifying that it was fibre from the green raw leaf) many years ago, before any machinery had been introduced for the disintegration of the fibre, and I am therefore led to suppose that, if raw, it was prepared by hand, and very likely properly cleaned, and thus, all vegetable matter being absent it was found to be quite or, as his figures show, nearly equal to fibre extracted from the boiled or steamed leaf. Your obedient servant, J. H. NODING.