PHORMIUM TENAX.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1830, 14 February 1863, Page 2

PHORMIUM TENAX.

In a recent number of the London Times, a letter appeared from Mr G, A, Anstey, calling attention to the subject of New Zealand Flax, aud stating that lie had seen several trials by a new flax dressing machine, at the Exhibition, which were completely successful, on samples both newly cut and twelve months old. The machine was exhibited by aMr Guild. While machinery has thus been perfected at home, the neighbouring province of Canterbury has been visited by a gentlemen from Ireland, named Pownall, the proprietor of a flax mill there, who proposes to get up a company in the Colony, for the cultivation of flax and its preparation by a new process of which he is the patentee. We quote an interesting article on the subject from a recent number of the Canterbury Press. Another of the numerous proposals which New Zealand lias entertained for the manufacture of the Phorraiuro tenax or New Zealand flax has been brought under our notice.. Wo verily believe that there is nothing more astonishing in the history of manufactures than the indifference of the public and the manufacturers to this most extraordinary fibre. Almost as strong and as glossy as silk, and longer in the staple than any other known vegetable fibre, it still is comparatively unknown as an article of trade. The Otago Daily Times in a recent articlo on the. subject, places the relativo strength of different fibres as follows : — ' The fibre of the Agave breaks under a weight of 7 European flax . . 11$ Phormium tcnax 23$ Silk 24 Many yeara ago we have seen specimens of linen and of finer fabrics, as fine indeed as have I been produced by any fibre in the world, and of oxqnißito whiteness and softness, made from tho New Zealand flax. Rope has for many years been manufactured from it, but the use of the fibre notwithstanding has rather declined than progressed. The reason is that the leaf cannot be prepared at a marketable price. Even the liberal reward of £5000 which has been offered, and is still open by the New ZealandGovernraent has not stimulated any one to make the requisite discovery, and]| the reward is still unclaimed. In these days when machinery has been brought to such, perfection that nothing seems beyond its grasp, and still more at a time when there is a want of vegetable fibre, in the manufacturing world, it is strange — almost unaccountable — that so magnificent a material' as our own, should be left unutilized. The want of fibre is not one arising solely from the crisis in American affairs. Three or four years ago a sooiety or company was established in London for the discovery and introduction of new fibres. The loss of the cotton was then contemplated as a possibility, though a remote one. Still there was great uneasiness felt as •to the deficiency of all Sorts of fibrous material. In nothing more has this been felt than' ih paper; and the company referred, to were, interesting themselves in the introduction of materiai for jpapev quite as. mu,oh as for elgthing fabrics,

The great difficulty surrounding the New Zea* ; land, flax arises from the f*ot*th§b|o|fb % k fibr^ei embedded in a, quantity of vegetable >5 nfatt'^' saturated in a'stVbng^miwhich^wheil once dry is nearly insoluble in water. If the leaf . once dries, the' gum dries and cracks the fibife^j. > the plant mtist: 1 therefore? be clearied,<:and*tlie|&"r^ whole operation of separating the fibre frbm^the* ~'p ' vegetable pulp performed in a green state.-' -'^'i ' No one b.is yet discovered: a processVby the fibre can be perfectly ;cleaned; of the gwnfat? a marketable cost. The natives used to clean the. flax by scraping it with a pipi shell, a very slow and laborious process, but one which produced a most soft and beautiful material. ; Over and oyei\agaia f .advenJiUuerfl & haYe^toteiU*-^ up and have persuaded rash colonists to invest # their capital, sometimes there all, in scheme's ,for/ v cleaning flax ; and over and over again the result has been a failure. . At last wehayebeen-vislted*- *« by a gentleman who seems, of the. right sort. Mr Pownall is the proprietor of a flax inilHn Ireland, ; t and has acquired a thorough acquaintance with >? the whole subject of cleansing fibres for manufacturing purposes.. Ha proposes to ; establish^ ■' factory for the cleaning and exportation" of flax in , ( ," some part . of , New Zealand; and is desirous of ' ' 4 ' getting up a Company to find the requisite 'capi-'- /, tal, which is not large, and of which he proposes 1 ; to put, in a considerable part hiraselfi Mr Pownall* '■ ';. is the patentee of an invention now^ we are" toldi ' "' v generally used,: called the ' wet rolling, process/ 5 ' h And this he proposes to apply in the colony, -sndj, r * ; ' in addition, a machine which : he isabout'tp'pa-' tent in this colony, which will redU<Se'thS*fibre "•'''/ to a soft and silky state fit ior exportation . : *Tho - '■' value of the cleaned flax in the market is \fi4oa" '■.; ton, and so far as we have been made acquainted ; ; with the process there would to be a large ' ; margin for profit. . •■ '•' '•' "'*'■ "" : ">J»>..f.- • * -' The question is, w\U this be a success or only ■' l one more added to the many failures already made? On this point we do not venture fin opinion further than to say that the specimens we : t v have seen prepared appeared to be worth the siim ' r'' named above. As to the cost of producing such- ' v material on a large scale, we only take Mr ' Pow«' *• nail's word ; but the fact that he ought 'to know ■'■'? what he talks about, which is more than oah te' ;;f i said of most of the flax, speculators we have come across, the fact, that it is his iown business and- '^ subject, and that he is willing; to stake; his own capital in the enterprise will no doubt entitle^hinjj,, t to great confidence^. when he, cornea. before the public. ' ' „ „ , '„',' . .-.;., : Of one thing we are firmly persuaded ;that the day will come when the whole of the .flax which „-;-- is now being dug up to make way for other crops ».. will have to be replanted for the purpose .of get- ; v tiug an article for export. , The flax trade, - that " ' is, the exportation of the produce 'of the. flat . , plant will someday approach, the export of wopi,.,. if it does not surpass it. There is no. fibre in the f world ac all equal to the phormium tenax. .There , would be absolutely no linUtto the quantity of it . i which could be taken for manufacture and con* .- (sumption, were it only once capable of being /ts cleaned and sent to market at a reasonable price. , Whilst the best part , of the leaves wonld~.be I available for clothing arid " other fabric^ ; the ends of the j leaves ot , pai'ta j^..:,, would grind up and " might" lbe as"'"' half stuff, in : which form it would be ' eagerly bought up by the English paper makers. It is probable that even the gum, expressed by rollers before the other processes are commenced, would be saleable at a good price, and the residumof. ; the mill would constitute excellent manure. ■ > The latter is an important item, for if the,fl*li^'. mill is to succeed we believe that the whole of- r-ii the flax will have to be cultivated in gardens in ; . the neighborhood. So long as the natives were in, : the habit of making the best mats, an art which, . is now nearly lost, they cultivated flax gardens . for the purpose of getting material. " There are . t , many sorts of flax, in some of which the fibre, is ' finer than in others. The cultivation of the, flax • - ' ; in extensive gardens in the close neighborhood of the mills would be cheaper probably than the cost of carrying from b, distance, besides- affording the advantage of obtaining the beat sorts ' - of flax. . . . " The apathy which has hitherto existed on, thiß - ' subject is extraordinary. A source of wealth of unspeakable amount is lying round us on all sidea utterly neglected. We see the plough day after day tearing up a crop of Hax far more valuable ■ than the crop of corn or grass which is^to be put . down in its stead, An acre of flax swamp will it „" is said (we do not guarantee this calculajiioja)/pirbj> Jt, duce 20 tons of flax a year. If lOof.thii^airtvtl: out of the mills in fibre there is a rental of *2()0, ",'.". per acre derived from the land. Of course this is exaggerated, but allowing for exaggeration it is ,. certain that the heavy lands which are,, capable of being irrigated could produce no sort of^orops., at all compared to the phormium .tenax. in value, if once mills . were established which could suffi- ; ; ciently clean it. For these reasons we shall await with great interest and anxiety the publication of Mr Pownall's prospectus for a Flax Com* , pany, and we hope that Canterbury will \be foremost in the attempt to develope this, source of natural wealth. It is well worth risking some capital for this end. „ . . ;