NEW ZEALAND HEMP.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 1726, 8 September 1873, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND HEMP.

j ♦ The following letter has been handed fco us for publication by Mr J. A. Bird, the Hon. Sec. of the Canterbury Flax Association : — 16, Mark Lane, E.C., London, July 9. Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 7fch April reached me on the 16th inst. I note you kindly sent fche flax, per Celestial Queen, for my use. I have nofc heard from Mr Lockhart wifch regard to the uses fco which he has been enabled to apply ifc, bufc you shall have full details when I get the fabric manufactured from it. New Zealand flax is now afc a very low prico again, in this market; j but then, we must remember, thafc lately there has been a drop of aboufc £10 per ton on Manilla hemp, and £12 to £14 per ton on Sisal hemp, so that we may consider the fall only as a natural result of an overstocked fibre market ; more especially as Phormium has not yet become sufficiently in favour to compete with the other fibres named. Since I lasfc wrote to you I have not had the pleasure to receive any other communication than the one under reply. You will find that, although I have brought my experiments and proofs to a close, lam still working in fche flax interests. Some friends were, and are, so sanguine of success, that they have at last come forward to carry out my proposed company. I send you a prospectus by this post, and I trust before ths next mail leaves, to be able to give you some information wifch regard fco this. I fancy fche company in which I have an interest will nofc clash with the one you assisted fco form, as there may be room for us and others in the colony of New Zealand, and I think the colony will be benefited by us. The Colonial Annexe of the London International Exhibition is open, and I hear my Case is attracting much attention. Mr J. A. Anstey, an old colonist whom, no doubt, you know, was calling here this morning ; he has ', lately returned from Vienna, where, he tells me, Phormium is creating excitement. The English officials are pointing out its great value, and Lieufc. T. H. Anstey, R. Engineers, the official delegate, is very energetic in setting forth the value of the colonial products. Mr Anstey has inspired both Mr Owen, the Commissioner, and Lieut. Anstey, R.E., and they are indefatigable in their exertions in the interests of the Colony. Some of the wines are pronounced by the jurors superior fco the Hungarian : and a few Bpecial Bamples are said to compete with some of the first-class French-grown : the Colonies are fortunate in having their interests protected by those who do not content themselves by fulfilling their official routine, bufc who pufc themselves to oxtra personal trouble, in order that proper care may be given to colonial products, i In my last letter (dup. herein), I promised to give you details of my exhibits in the i Colonial Annexe, and I now specify them : — , The Salver. — Under a glass shade, wifch box i forming the stand. Coarse leaves of the Phormium plant, grown in New Zealand. — Parts of leaves stripped by , Natives. Fibre extracted from the coarse leaves, and fibre extracted from parts of leaves, by me. Native dressed fibre. — Fibre extracted and cleansed by Messrs Chinnery and Ensor. Fibre extracted from green leaves, grown in Ireland, by C. Thorne. Rope made by Frost, Brothers. — Used in taking in three cargoes. Cloth adapted to the manufacture of Corn sacks and Wool packs. — Pure Phor.-iium. Hessian cloth. — Puro Phormium. Hessian cloth. — Warp Phormimn, weft jute. Sail canvas. — Pure phormium prepared coarse twilled sheeting. Unbleached and bleached pure phormium prepared by me. Twilled cloth. — Pure phormium prepared by me. Unbleached and bleached light sacking, pure phormium, by me. Canvas. — Mixture, 75 per cent, riga, unbleached and bleached. 25 per cent. Phormium unbleached and bleached. Damask table cloth. — Puro phormium, Native dressed, manufactured by Messrs D. Lornie and Sons, Kirkcaldy. Dinner napkins. — Manufactured in Gavray, France, linen warp, Native dressed phormium, weft. . Huckaback towelling. — Unbleached and bleached, manufactured in North Lopham, Norfolk, by R. and S. Beales, from linen warp and phormium yarn prepared by C. Thorne ; •pun in Largan, Ireland, phormium weft. Sheeting. — Unbleached and bleached, manufactured in North Lopham, Norfolk, by R. and S. Beales, from linen' warp and phormium yarn, prepared by C. Thorne, spun in Lurgan, Ireland, phormium weft. A corn-sack and a wool-pack. — Made from mv cloth. 'Samples of cloth woven ia a silk loom.—

Pure phormium and mixed riga and phormium. Huckaback towelling. — Bleached, woven by George Raynor, from yarn of pure phormium, Native dressed yarn, hard spun by peasant women in Gavray, France. Damask towelling, coarse linen, Scotch twilled sheeting, mail bag. — All manufactured for Dr Featherston, the Agent-General for New Zealand, from Native-dressed phormium, by A. K. Forbes. Dice pattern table cloth, damask towelling. — Unbleached, manufactured by N. T. Lockhart, Bennocjiy Works, Kirkcaldy, for Dr. Featherston ; the warp of linen yarn, the | weft of Native-dressed phormium. Stair carpeting. — Unbleached, manufactured by N. T. Lockhart, Bennochy Works, Kirkcaldy, for Dr. Featherston, the warp of linen yarn, the weft of Native-dressed phormium. Stair carpeting. — Manufactured by N. T. Lockhart, from a warp of linen yarn, and a weft of yarn spun by A. K. Forbes, from phormium fibre prepared by C. Thorne. This is very pretty, and was presented to me by Mr Forbes. 81 yards. Stair carpeting twilled. — Manufactured for me by Messrs D. Lornie, and Sons, Kirkcaldy, the warp of linen yarn, weft, Native-dressed phormium, tow. Samples of cloth adapted for ladies dresses. — Manufactured by N. T. Lockhart, for the Agent-General of New Zealand. The warp in one piece is of cotton yarn and the other silk, both weffced wifch Native-dressed phormiam. Crash or twilled cloth. — Manufactured by N. T. Lockhart, for fche Agent-General, warp linen yarn, weft of tow of Native-dressed phormium. String, cord, fishing-line. — Various sizes and description of pure phormium prepared by me. Samples of nearly all fcho phormium yarns used in foregoing fabrics ; where, nofc otherwise stated, the yarns were spun by Mr A. K. Forbes. Most of the fabrics are in large bolts, containing several yards each — not merely a yard or two of samples. So this shows that the fibre, when properly prepared, can be utilized, as satisfactorily, and for the same purposes, as other known fibres. Yours faithfully, C. Thobne.