The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-26 00:00:00

THE MAURITIUS.

A dispatch from the Governor of Mauritius, with a re-
port on the state of the rural districts in that colony, has
recently been printed, and gives a very sanguine picture
of its condition and prospects. The quantity of luxuriant
canes on lacle redeemed within only a few years from the
forest or the rock, the increase of steam machinery, and
the general improvement
coupled
improvement in the processes of manufac-
tur-
ang,iadupatted with symptoms of activity, self-reliance,
lotion, ere'rY on the part of all classes of the popula-
imported Coolies dwelt upon. The habits of the
relations withieshaving become better understood, their
their employers are now, it is said, highly
astisfactore, „i-
-once
so niftnetourt,,compleinte on either side, which were
furnishing theta wittZeocomparatively rare. The means of
howee:atior, even in the most elemen-
tary shape, appear
as
t,, ear _to be " beset with such formi-
dable difficulties"
of progress. The great admit at present of little hope
cupidity between the sexes
which resulted from
Indian immigration
want of foresight at
the commencoment of the
being immigration still con-
tinues, but is in course of
neje mitigated. With re-
garci ice the emancipated
still abstain population,i it is re-
marked that they
.mtost totally from
plactatien labour, aid thus eel:nine
graduisning all field
curse which follows !slavery, of
es°. exemplify the
work to tie looked upon as degrading. They re-
wood and charcoal.
main either in the toi'VCS or in titra,,Al
easy eubsistenee by rearing hamlets,
poultry
where they derive an
and other stock, or by a traffic! in fire
Intermarriages between Indians and Creole,
rare, lint !snore frequent than formerly. A conviction of
are very
the grout resources of the island i 4, it ISaid, Universally
entertained, and it is unque-
etionable tteit the present
large produetion of sugar falls far short of
what may
nitiknetely be anticipated,

THE

PRICES of WHEAT, FLOUR, and BREAD.
Annexed is a comparison of the present priee• of
wheat, flour, and bread in London and Paris:—
__

" The hightest price of wheat of the first quality in
Paris is 30f. per 1 hectolitres, which is equal to 455.
10d. per quarter; and the highest price of white wheat
of the first quality in London being 495. per quarter, it
follows that wheat is nearly 7 per cent. dearer in London
than in Paris.
" The highest quotation of flour of the first quality
in Paris is 37f. the 100 kilogrammes, which is equal to
378. per sack of 2801 b. English; and the highest quota-
tion of flour in the London market being 40s. per sack,
it follows that flour is about 8 per cent. dearer in Lon-
don than in Paris. The highest quotation of the
second quality of white flour in Paris is 34f. 40c., which
is equivalent to 345. sd. per sack of 2801 n., and which,
as compared with the quotation in London of 31s. for
household flour, shows that this description of flour is
about 11 per cent. dearer in Paris than in London.
" The price of bread of the first quality in Paris is Mc.
per kilogramme, which is equal to about sid. the 41b.
loaf English weight; and the price of bread in London
at the full-priced shops being 7d. per 41b., it follows that
bread is about 33} per cent. dearer in London than in
Paris. The second quality of bread is quoted at 24c. per
kilogramme in Paris, which is equivalent to nearly 4id.
per 41b. loaf."

CHEVALIER CLAUSSEN'S FLAX COTTON.
The Illustrated Exhibitor and Magazine of Art, in an
article descriptive of Chevalier Clauisen's flax-works at
Stepney, gives the following account of how the dis-
covery of flax-cotton was made by M. Claussen, and of
its valuable properties. We may add that a specimen of
the raw material and of the flax•cotton, prepared by the
Chevalier's process, may be seen at the office of Messrs.
Rennie and Gordon, here. A greater contrast than the
two aubstances present can scarcely be imagined; and
the beautiful quality of the cotton at once conveys an
impression of the very great value which it will be found
to possess as a raw material for the manufacturer:—
" The Chevalier was wandering along the luxuriant
banks of one of the Brazilian rivers, when his attention
was attracted to a white down-like substance adhering
to the branches of trees overhanging and touching the
stream. On obtaining a quantity of it, he was so
pleased with its character, that thinking he had dis-
covered some vegetable product hitherto unkown he
determined to trace it, if possible, to its source,
and to ascertain the plant which produced it. Pur-
suing his task with great ardour, he eventually found
that the substance had been washed from a bed of flax-
straw, the produce of some of his own land, and which,
long before, he had caused to be thrown, as useless,
near the banks of the river. As swollen waters had occa-
sional access to this heap, fermentation and the decom-
position of a portion of the plant had taken place; and in
time the influence of natural chemistry had so saturated
the filaments of the flax-fibre as to give the muss a
cotton-liko appearance; and some of it having been
washed by the river, had been arrested by the over-
hanging branches. On the facts thus brought before
him, M. Ciaussen proceeded carefully to reason, and
the processes now to be described are, therefore, the re-
sult, not of mere accident, but of inductive research.
Tne flax, brought from the breaker,' is boiled for four
hours in hot caustic soda, or steeped in a cold solution
of it for twenty-four hours. It is afterwards washed in
water containing one per cent. of sulphuric acid, and
then in pure water, when it is dried, and subsequently
treated by scutching, heckling, &c., according to the
ittiv,rsal practice in the linen manufactures. Here,
then, we have an immense improvement, by the long and
difficult process of fermentation, which occupied six
week,, being entirely avoided. Yet the process is most
effective and profitable, as twenty per cent. of long flax
may bo obtained instead cf seventeen, while the sub-
vance is far more silky and soft. It is a popular
error that Clauisen's process is merely to turn flax into
cAton, which people say is like turning gold into
lead;' wht reas he obtains by it a much larger proportion
of the brig and valuable fl.x, and render. the refuse—
ordinarily considered comparatively worthless—by a
process now to be explained, capable of being worked
into cotton, wool, or silk fabrics. According to the mode
lo,ig adopted in the linen manufacture, and immense
qeantity of tJw is made, which can only be used for twine
and similar coarse purposes. But the chemical process
employed by M. Claussen effects a change which is
hi q•hly important. A series of vats are put in requisition.
The first vat holds a solution of carbonate of soda; and
in this the fibres, previously boiled and washed, are
saturated for a quarter of an hour. It is then removed
to the next vat, in which there is five per cent. of
sulphuric acid, the effervescence causing the carbonic
acid gas to separate and divide the fibres, thus rendering
them more flocculent, and completely altering their spe-
cific gravity, as they rise now to the top of the vat, while
before they sank to the bottom. The next process is to
place them in another vat of soda, to neutralise any re-
maining Reid; and this being effected, they are trans-
ferred to the bleaching-water of the fourth vat, composed
of a solution of chloride of lime and sulphate of mag-
nrsia—thus forming a hyper-chlorite of magnesia. In
this preparation they remain for two hours, during
which they are perfectly bleached, requiring only to
be transferred to a bath of diluted sulphuric acid, and
then to pure water. The fibres, on being withdrawn
from the vats, are dried by atmospheric or steam-heat,
or but air, They are then taken to a machine similar
to that used in chaff-cutting, where they are cut
into lengths adapted for spinning or cotton machinery.
To specify all the advantages secured by these processes
would far exceed our limits. It must, therefore, suffice
to observe that the following are a few out ci many :
Any cloth made from flax cotton-yarn may be readily
printed, dyed, and bleached by the ordinary cotton pro-
cesses. The flax-fibre, from its milling properties, is
capable of being made into common felt hats with or
without an admixture of wool. Cloth in which flax is
mixed with wool is reduced in price from twenty-five to
thirty per cent. Flax may be spun with silk on the
existing silk machinery; and any useless flax can be
converted into a first rate article for the paper-maker.
The advantages thus presented are opened to our view
at a critical period. Our supplies of cotton from Ame-
rica appear to have reached their maximum, and conse-
quently an efficient substitute is required; while our im-
portations of flax from Russia have suffered a decrease
of about twenty per cent. And why, it may be asked,
should we thus continue dependent on continental
Europe for the flax which the United Kingdom is per-
fectly capable of producing? Why should not the sums
we spend annually for oil-cake and flax-seed go into the
pockets of the employers and the employed of our agri-
cultural districts?"

SUN,

LON DON,