Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1886-02-20
HISTORY OF THE FIAX-PLANT.
No. 2.
WITHIN Fer THE TRIBUNE.

IL liktl1iC VI tLS Sotlibiol iiSA L.
LINUM UsITATIssIMUM. Aud a very ap-
propriate name it is. The generic
name is derived from the Celtic Hin
meaning. a thread. and the specific
name, usitatissimum, is equivalent t
the English term very useful or, Of
the greatest use. The flax family
contains three genera and, about nine
ty species. It is a very important or
der in the arts.
The fax-plant is an annual with
slender, tapering roots. which pene-
trate deeply into the soil. It attains
an height Of from two to five feet
when reaching its greatest perfection
The stalk, Or straw, as it is often call
ed, is slender, and hollow at the lower
end, branching at the summit. covered
by a greenish bark containing a fibre
which, upon being separated from the
gumny and woody matter, constitutes
what is commonly called flax" The
leaves are numerous, linear lanceolate
three nerved, and sparingly distribute
ed along the stem. The flowers are a
delicate sky-blue Zone variety has
pure white flowers growing in bunch
es at the ends Of the branches and
succeeded by yellow, globular capsnl-
es Or seed-boIls, armed with sharp
prickles at maturity, generally COM
prising five cells each Of which con-
tains two elliptical, feshy seeds.
Upon examination with an achromatic
microscope, three distinct structures
T deserned in the stem, viz, the
outer skin. called the c%uticle, covering
a compact network Of %concentric
fbres orbundles of capillary flaments
all running parallel to each other
throughout the entire length of the
plant, held together by a glutin-
Gus substance, which is sometimes
called vegetable albumen, being chemi
cally almost identical with the white
Of eggs, and when dry it is similar to
hard glue, but only partially soluble
in cold water,-which enclose as in a
sheath the dense pithy matter Of the
inner parts Of the stalk, called by
some fax-dressers the "boon." The
cuticle is composed Of a similar gum
my substance as that which binds the
fbres together, and is nearly insoluble
in cold water, but when the water is
warmed to a certain temperature, it
decomposes easily, or separates from
the other constituents, causing what
is popularity known as 'rotting," or
sleeping the plant. It is for this par
ticular reason that iudicious flax
steepers avoid putting their flax into
cold spring water or V e. in water OBJ
scured from the rays of the sun, as
the object of stepping is to dissolve,
or at least to soften the cuticle and
resinous matter, thus allowing the
flaments to separate, which is very
necessary to produce fine fax.
Should the sleeping be continued too
long the fibre itself may rot, or at
least be injured and weakened in
quality; and, if not exposed to the ac-
ton of water sufficiently long, the
fbres will not be thoroughly separated
from each other, and the quality of
the fax will be coarse and harsh to
the touch. II rotted or stepped in hot
water or steam or alkaline solutions,
the tendency also is to render the
fibre more coarse and harsh than it
would otherwise be. But let us study
these fbres a little. Under the micro
scope they appear viterous and shin
ing, resembling capillary glass tubes,
about one two-thousandth part
$4,000 o fone inch in diameter, round
and jointed, breaking at right angles
t~ransversely.
In the length of the fibre we dis
tinguish three qualities of fax, viz,
in the middle, at the foot, or root end,
and at the head of the plant. That
of the latter is weak, though fine; that
grown at the root end is coarse, harsh,
and strong; while that found in the
middle is neither coarse nor fine, and
is the best. When the fibre is long it
is sometimes cut and assorted into
three equal lengths for the conven-
fence of spinning by mill machinery,
and three classes of thread are ac-
cordingly obtained.
Having glanced at the botany, we
shall now consider some of the chemi-
cal constituents of the fax-plant.
The dried stalks usually contain from
70 to 70 per cent. Of woody matter,
and from 81 to 80 per cent of bark.
The latter contains Of
p,,. shrons m.,t+.r Per cent e
in soluble in water II.
100.
The matter insolub1e in water can
be sepa s ted from the fiber by the
of an alkali or soap. Pure
fibre has a specific gravity Of 1.5, dis
water being / at &c #.