The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-09-11
Flax Cotton.

the staple agricultural product Of Minneso-
Ia, and that extensive mills for its manu-
facture into various kinds of cloths, will he
erected at ST. Anthony; aud that our far
uers will yet be able, proftably, to barter
away flax in bulk, by the ton, as they now
sell hay, for shrtings, caicoes, hosiery and
almost every variety of cloths now made OF
cotton, just as farmers exchange raw wool
with the manufacturer, for woolen goods,
we arc exceedingly interested in the follow
ing article on the subject Of cottonizing
exhibited at the Worlds Fair, by Cheya-
lier Claussen:--
With respect to the great value Of the in
ventioD, when carried out, % the country
whether regarded in an agricultural or man
ufacturing point OF view--whether as at
iOrding to our agrculturalists a market for
a profitable and beneficial crop, as render
ing them independent of foreign mid for
their supply OF oil-cake produced from the
fiax-seed, or as bringing to the assistance of
the cotton and wooden manufactures a val
uable auxiliary, available at all times and
all seasons-there cannot, we apprehend,
exist difference of opinion in any reason-
able mind.
The history which Chevalier Claussen
gives of the causes which first led him to
experiment upon flax, for the purpose of
''cottonizing" it, Is exceedingly interesting;
inasInuch as it shows that his success was
the result Of intluctivc research, and not the
offspring Of mere chance. He tells us that
in wandering along the luxuriant banks of
one Ut the Brazilian rivers, his attention
was attracted to a white, down like sub
stance, adhering to the branches Of trees.
Overhansing and touching the stream. On
obtaining quantity of it, he was 30 pleas
ed with its character that, thinking he had
discovered some hitherto unknown vegeta-
bic product, he was determined to trace it,
II possible, 10 it's source, and 10 ascertain
the plant which had yielded it. With the
ardor of naturalist, he commenced his
task; and eventually found that the sub
stance bad been washed from bed of flax
straw, the produce of some Of his own land,
and which, lo.lg before, he had caused to
he thrown, as useless, near the banks of the
river. To this heap the swollen waters
had occasional access-ftrmentation and
decomposition of portion of the plant hat,
natural chemistry had so separated the fila
menls of the flax filser, as to give the mass
a corton-like appearance; and some Of it
having been washed into the river, had been
arrested i'y the overhanging branches. Al
though the substance thus accidentally dis
covered was far from being in that cond:-
ton which would fit it for the hands Of the
cotton spinner, yet, even in its then inper-
, feet state, it led the Chevalier to entertain
the idea of the possibility of completing. by
the aId Of artificial chemistry, that which
nature had but partially accomplished.
/ he first object worthy of notice in the
stand of the Chevalier Claussen, is a ma
chine for the purpose of reducing the bulk
OF the flax crop by the removal of a consid-
cradle portion of the straw from the stem
of the plant. leaving the fiber in "A partially
cleaned state. Hitherto the great difficulty
with all growers of flax, has been the pre-
paratiOn of the crop for market; the grower
having BEEN compelled either 10 resort to
the tedious and precariOus process of steep
ing his fax, or TO dispose of it to factors as
it came from the field, upon any terms
which they might think proper TO offer, as
The great bulk of the crop prevented the
farmer from sending it to markets in the
same manner a. he would his grain or 9th
er produce. In order to extricate the far
mer from this dilemma, and to afford him
the means Of ava'Iing himself Of the best
market Tor his produce, this machine has
been constructed, which will enable him,
without resort to any sleeping process, to
reduce the bulk of his fax, and at the snme
time admit Of his returning to the soil, in
the shape of the straw removed, a large
portion of The nutrtive matter extracted
and which, formerly destroyed in the steep
ing process, had given rise to al opinion
very generally held by agriculturaIists, that
flax was an extremely exhaustive crop. -
Several specimens of the flax thus cleaned
by the machine are shown.
| The flax thus produced is in this stage
adapted for the manufacture of sail cloth
and other coarse fabrics, ropes, cordage.
&c. 1t requires, however, n more minute
separation of the fibers to adapt it for the
manufacture of finer descriptions of fab
rics. To make the subject perfectly famil-
lar TO the reader, it will he necessary to ex-
plain the structure of the flax fiber. The
stem Of the flax plant consists Of three dis
tinct parts-the shove, straw, or woody
matter which supports the plants; the fbers
which cover the outer surface Of the straw; :;
and the gum or resin, by which the fbers
are held together The machine, as we
have already described, removes the straw
only, and partially disntegrates the fbers
held together by the resinons substance -
Hence their coarseness and their suitability
for coarse fabrics only. In order to adapt
il for the linen manufacture, as also to car
ry it one stage further in the process of
preparation for the cotton or wool spinner,
it is necessary to obtain a more complete
separation of the fibers. This object is to
be accomplished by the removal of the re-
sinous and glu,inous substance which binds
them together; and, as it does not appear
that mechanical power will completely ef-
iect this, recourse is had to chemical ac-
tiOn. These substances are therefore dis
solved by the chemical action Of fermenla-
tion, which takes place under the ordinary
modes Of sleeping, whether in hot or cold
water; and the application Of mechanical
power in the process of scutching afterward
separates the fbers, and leaves them in fit
state for the various nanipulations required
previous to flax spinning. II is found, how
ever, that the present process OF sleeping,
not only occupies a considerable portion Of
time -h,l that ira ELECTS are ,,of :,