New-York daily tribune., 1861-06-09
HINTS MERCHANTS MAGAZINE. June.

In this number of the Merchants Magazine"
the principal articles of general interest are on
The Future Supply of Cotton" " Cottonized
Flax" and "The Ancient Commercial Cities of
the Low Countries" The portion devoted to
statistics contains great deal of information on
the sugar trade, the coffee trade, naval stores,
and other departments of commercial importance.
From the paper OH I" Cottonized Flax" we
extract the following paragraphs, which Will be
found TO POSSESS special interest at this moment:
Among the processes recently applied to the dsinieg-
ration o flax hemp and other fbrons plants, and the
preparation of the product for textile purpose, The
most eicaciOus and by far the most economical IL
that discovered by Mr. A. ). Lyman OF New. iofk,
and lately patenied in severn, European countries and
India, q, well as in the United Stae'. The principle
of this invention consists in highly ingenious ap IL
cation of the eXplOsye power OF steam TO the seaI,
alton Of the bers of all vegetable materials In all
fbruus plants, such fax, hemp, cane, &e., Wheh
freshly cut sap or if dry, after being roaked shoit
time moisture is found 10 be niinuely distributed
throughout tho entire structure oil the plant iDE
simple element IL is which IL converted INTO an agency
of immense but esy regulated power, for the cOui-
,ete dinteQuion of fbrous plants of any and every
d,scriplion The m0dHs 0pTaHdt consists IN the Use
Of strong iron cylinder say ~ inches m dametot and
"a feet long having valve at either end, carried 10y
an arm moving oa a center, that The end OF tue
cylild can be thrown open 10 ITS fIl area. IDS
cy Under being more Than calf filled with lax or hemp
recently cut. charged with moisture ny beng
soaked Tor brief perOo, the valves at the ehds oil Tue
cylinder gIc closed being made steaIn-tgh, ana, Dy
mean OF rpe from boilef, steam is supplied to the
cylinder Of any required pressure 10 tie square lucn
In "A few minutes the moisture IN the hemp or nax Is
raised a tInI above that requisite Tor brcom-
iuy steam; hut l. cannot be converted INTO sleain,
bripg controlled by the pressure Of the steam winch
aready flls the whole available sIce for steam WIN
in The cy hinder; the valve 1t the mouth Of tie hhde5
being now lc loose the couhned mate ia u dicIbtd
from IL with a loud eXplpsOn, and being suddeiIy
uroeced from tie CIV ndor, where II wa under pres
sure of zoo lbs into The atmosphcro at pressure oi
only ID lbs. 20 the square men, TIE h.htd moisture
within the fbrous material instamaneously ta'hes
into steam Iendiug and disntegTting ,he uateih ar
corrrlctey and miuutely the moisture was distilb
uted thr uglout its ibrVus structure.
In the ease Il naX and hemp it Is found that thi'
proc--s of blowing sel ardtes IN the moat complete
manner the fiber from the shove woody portion oi
the rlant from which il is then freed By brns pa,sed
through au ordinary buung mill and being aiiofwad
v.athed in "a mild nlkaliac solution. can tr 'aidco
mud used in conbina i'm with oiihtr wool or coh or
bo,h and well ior telling oI spinning purpose IN
Il condition the ber thus simply ano mex pehsI cy
pTeIaled il applicable 20 many valuable uses-takils
The place of wool with equal utility ada not more lhgn
third Of iis ooeand of cotton IN those fabrics III
which il il combined w,h other textile substances,
with equal aniagc aud ~ very large lednc Ton on
the cost pf cotton. When, however, tie Tax noer Il
subjected t. second blow ing proces u found To be
Infinitely subdiVidcd IN lHtufi lnlo no
mate or component bers which are ascertaned TO be
Of the length Of from and half TO two inches. By
means OF a simple and economical process, applied by
the inventor the couminuod fiber Is hletehed any re-
naming gun l. removed, ana 1t II reduced 20 eohdi-
ton in which i. can be made capable OF beng spun
alone in The same manner as cotton. Although ex-
pernens n large scale, IN this respect nave MOI
vet been made, there remains little doubt that, with
ZONE slight notifications OF machinery, which erpeii.
ence and ingenuity viii easily supply, this cotonzed
d., ND la
saIne ordinary cotton, while by this process
il can be- manufactured at half the cost Of cotton
For textile and telling purposes In combination with
wool and cotton or with both and especially as sub
stitute for wool ts vane and great economy are al
ready established; and for all such combination Pnr-
pose. it cannot fail henceforh to come ino e1!enrye
ice. Specimens Of felted cloth, hall wool ana nail
fax: OF kings ia the like proportion; OF ielt hets
one-,hird flax and two-tbirds wCo and other laoTer,
are exhibited. Thread spun goods cloth are being
made all of which articles manufacturers pronounce TO
lie improved by the adnixture OF flax but ID hrst sam
plea ARE greatly inferior In quality they tsy 10 What
will be produced. ,
One peculiar advantage of the Lyman process If that
by means OF IL no single particle Of the ber Ii wasted
OF becomes refuse; but every part is equally valuable
for the highest uses by this process moreover the
fiber OF hemp can be made equally available WIN iaA
and it il specially adapted TO the treatment oi ue ana
numerous other iibrous plants IN Ike manner.
The rt application of this most ingenious invention
has been the disintegraion OF hbrous MATERIAL and
into paper ktOCk, u uiun
fair 20 supersede in economy of production, any exist
ng agency In the treatment Of the hemp plant Tor
tls purpose s results most striking. But ns IN
ture value to the manufacturing community VIII be
chiefly in the economical preparation OF fa1 for textile
purpOses. To the agricultural II presents power
ful nducement for turning to profitable account the
yast area Of Western lands specially adapted 10 the
growth Of fax and hemp; while II furnishes facilities
for utilizing the many Thousands OF tlns oil max straw
which heretofore have been, and still are, leit rs use
less to rot upon the ground, after the removal OF the
| seed.
The cost of the apparatus for working Lymans pro-
cess is very nconideTabe when cOntIasicd with IL
prodnce; while hardly skilled labor "a required
battery Of three guns, OF the contents o forty cubic
feet each gum with ,team boiler, tubag, Mc, can be
set mp for "A cost in all not exceeding y00Up. Ia ll
nois and Ohio whose soil is specially adapted 10 the
culture Of flax aud hemp, coal coss mol more than
two in many places but one dollar per tan. The
shove or boon OF the flax Will furnish large portion
OF the fuel for working flax. Farmers in Ill nO- VIII
contra 10 deliver hemp with the seed on it, ut 20 or
before the seed Iipens At 81 10 per tun; aud illA
can b. had abuiidanlly, we learn 1T - the tnn La
the use of hemp for paler stock the woody part OF
shoy. il equally valuable with the hber; ana nom
accurate trials made il il asccrGined tEt tun OF
hemp of 300 bs. will yield 10 per cent or ~ ios
Of bleached paper stock. Each gun IL capable OF
blowing 1900 lbs. OF hemp, producing ',elo ibs'
bIeached fiber per day OF ~ LourS. ,
OF fax il is found that one tun OF 22lO lbs yiedr
:2l lbs Of pure bleached fiber, aud large proportion
OF material Tor iuel. Hemp or lhA 10 iFes 10 DC iu
tLe pnn only from five 10 siX minutes and Two minutes
suffice for leading. This admits Of egh, and hall
charges per hour; seven may be safely counted on.
Tie - Merchants Magazine which attained
such wide popularity under the management oil
its founder, the late energetic Nr. Freeman
Hunt, ID row edited by /. Smith Homanf,
Secretary of the New-York Chamber OF Com
merce, and Mr. William j. Dana.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
Life of eo, Wellington BY Washington Irving. tNaiona
Editon) vols. limo. Geo. r. rntnain "a, . =.
The Sold.ra uesl.h Companion. by DE- j. W aeT scott
th1 lie