Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1852-11-04
AQritnltMral.
The Flax Cotton.

This substance, about which so much
has been said, and said favorably too, APP
pears to be failure; at least this is the
view we take of the subject,
A parliamentary paper, recently printed
in England, contains further report from
Sir Robert Kane, the Director of the Mu'
scum of Irish Industry, on M. Claussen's
invention for the production of flax cotton.
Some surprise has been expressed, that, il
M. Claussen's improvement contained any
thing real, that the facts have not been
communicated to the public. The result
of the experiments in Ireland do not, how
ever, appear to sustain the expectation that
a substitute for cotton has been found in
Claussen's method of working fax. The
agents acting for M. Caussen found it i'm
possible to produce satisfactory results IN
those works which they had themselves Sc
lected, and where they had been working
previously. This was attributed to defec-
tive machinery. Sir Robert Kane, in his
report, says that several interesting facts
have been already ascertaned as to the real
nature of the material produced, and as TO
The true action of the material used. He
expresses himself satisfied that M Claussen's
process does not at all produce material
approaching in structure or organic quality
to cotton. The views of the bursting up
of the fibres put forward by some Of the
persons, who have come forward to explain
the process in public, do not appear to be
we'll founded. The fax 6bres are, in M.
Claussen's process, excessively finely divi-
ded and separated from each other, but
each remains still thorough and complete
flax fibre, and quite unlike cotton; and the
same amount of division, and the same fine
ness and pliabllity of fibre, may be given,
and often is given, to flax by simple dIess-
ing, especially if the flax has been over-rot.
ted. This point, as to structural charac-
ter, is fundamental to the value and quality
of the fax cotton, and further experiments
are to be made. 1t is asserted since this
report that the various minor difficulties
which impeded the practical application of
the discovery have been fully surmounted,
and that the use of the article has been car
ried on with great profit for some time past
by body of individuals in Belgium
We, however, accept the statements
about its success with great canton; we
are positive that many falsehoods have been
told about the cheapness of the production.
A patent has been secured for the United
States, and a company has been formed for
carrying out its objects, but the company,
as far as we learn, have done nothing
to merit such attention in the way of sue
csssluly competing with cotton We
we're informed some time ago, that factory
to carry out CIaussen's patent had been
started at Fall River; but lis products are
yerv dillatoEy, ig COMING to market Iesa {, Or
the nature of what was called flax.co,ton
was entirely different from cotton" and
the testimony of Sir Robert Kane corrobo-
rates our statement. II seems then, that
the flax-couon, so far, has failed to realize
the expectations of many, and at the same
time, has not turned out according to the
representations of those particularly inter-
ested in making good their own assertions
about tie superiority and advantages of the
discovery,-Sci. Am.