, 1863-08-12
AGRICULTURAL.
Shall We Grow Flax?

fFron the n. Z. Tribuue.1
One Of the most important questions now
before the farmers Of all the States that can
lot grow cotton Is, Shall We grow flax?
By majority Of Northern farmers with most
decided No. at costs too much hard work
to grow and dress fax. I nearly broke my.
back when was boy, pulling and spreading
flax; and oh! how my bones ache now ut the
thought OF that old aAx-brake In ulY fAthcr's
won't raise flax; had rather buy cotton"
True, that saving clause was made when
Gotten cloth was blxpence yard: Int the
man lives On In hopes that that good time will
come agniu, and does 1os grow tlax. It Is true
that Of late he has listened mole patiently to
his wife's suggestion than he would tive years
ago, when she says, "Don't you think, hus-
Cotton cloth il dear, and the boys are getting
very short Of shirts, and really, must have
some new sheets NEXT year. If We only had
come fax to work up next winter"
"Well, really, Yes, 7 'spose so; but darn
that old brake. That's what an thinking
OF, with DY rheumatic shoulder
HNhy, husband, Sam sayB that he would
braKo and dress the fax If iather would grow
u.''
"Look here, wife, nlyer shall set one OF
MY boys In lis teens at that work while can
remember the same period Of my own life.
We have machines to NOV and reap, and
thrash and winnow, and the grlndstone even
runs on rollers by tread Of tie foot When
ever we can have machine to break daI, I'll
grow it. ypu may he sure Of that. for It is
good crop, and not bad work to grow it. Be
sides, believe In Northern farmers being
lit,le more independent Of slave labor. Yes.
indeed, / will tor one grow flax as soon as
can be assured that there is machine con-
t.iyed that don't cost Il fortune and need
whole mil1-power to work 1t, and that man
can use without endangering bis life, that will
b. eak flax Without wasting half, and costing
more than the crop isvorih to clean it. Then,
I tell you, We shall grow tiax''
the ground by thorough, deep .plowing, this
Autumn, 60 that the frosts Of Winter will
mellow it rs no other process can. and In the
opening of 1864 you will SOW Jour seed, and
We, the farmers Of all the fax-growing States,
will grow fax.
Tie machine that you cal for has been IN
vented. 1t was patented in September, 1863,
Il Wps further improved and re-patented in
April. 1868. Yet It is not something still to
b. tried-sti,l to be proved 1t Is proved. 4
hundred have been built and put In operation
upon the crop grown in 1861 and lSG2, and
machinery, are now at work building ma
chimes, to ill orders for clearing the crop Of
1868, Everywhere the machine Is q success.
We saw the first model built, and spoke of It
then in the same terms that We speak OF 1t
to day, after seeing 1t in operation, doing It's
pe1fect work, driven by 6team power and by
hand, for there are three sizes, one OF which
can be operated by hand, but would be much
more efIectua1 if attached, as it can be, to a
email horse power.
Tlis machine Is known as II Stanford i Nal
lory's Portable Flax and Hemp Dresser." Tbs
largest size occupies about as much space as
I, tbresllng machine, without the cleaner
say five feet square, and may weigh ], 500 lbs,
and requires the light labor Of TWO meu to
break d tuu Of fax day, more perfectly than
it is possible to do it by hand, and Us we'll as
any other machine that We have ever sseen OF
heard OF, and absolutely without any waste Of
hber. That our opinion is not unsupported,
1e, US rroye bY the very best Witnesses. In
less than year ninety eight Of these machines
have been sold, and nearly all put In opera.
ton, in the following locations:
In the State Of New York, principally In the
great f1axgrowing region Of Washington,
Rensselaer,, ind adjoining counties, where
tablished with other machines, there nave
l,een sold thirty-uine machines. In Illinois,
II: in Ohio, 10; in Pennsylvania, z; in New
Jsrscy, 5;in Iowa, i; In Massachusetts,, 2; In
Indiana, i; in Canada, 2; in ireland, ll-trom
Ill Of which, particularly the latter, testitno
character calculated to inspire contldcncoi in
all who desire to establish machines Tor dress
ing fax.
4 letter from Ireland says: 112 lbs. Of flas
straw produceds.22 Ii lbs. 10 o. Of clean fax
against 20 lbs. 10 OF. upon the old style mi
cIines-a saying that y ould pay for 4 1nachint
in thirty days. Another fax manufacturer
says:
| n On very poor and hard straw found q gain o
| :: b per hundred weight over the same broken b.
| ordinary rollers; Oh medium quality Of straw 8
gain Of +, OF. per hundred weight-the yield b,
Your brake being IS u o.. against IL b On SAM
! srraw broken by ordinary method; on very tende
! straw oyer-watered the gain was 3E % per hun
dred wcight-thc yield by your bake being y 4
| D., against II b by ordinary method ! ind tn
FAX Ton your rollers easier scutched aud the yell
softer to feel and quality improved than that 5ol
! ed in the Ordinary way"
| Enos Durham, Of Lake, Washington Coun
| ty, n. T., who has been nine years engaged
On the fax dressing business, made an exper
| ment with TOO # Of flax straw, one half dresset
on the old machine, and one halt on Sanfor'
| & Ma11ory's new machine, with the following
| result:
| THE OLD MACHINE.
Time Of breaking. E,..---.-.-........--"-1n 2. g min
11nte o. sCutcn1nE. IL - - ~
Yield Of dressed Flax
Yield Of coaEee tow. -
Yield Of Fine tor.
| WITH SANFORD & MALLoEys. 3.
| 1 h mir