Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-08-21
IN A TWINE FACTORY.
Comparatively Unknown Facts
 About a Great Industry.
Sources of the Flax Supply Required by American Manufacturers-The Waste fulness of Western Farmers-How
 the Twine Is Made.

the Twine Is Made.
 It is estimated, says the New York Sun, that there are about eight million dol lars worth of flax and hemp strings made in this country every year, not the i big sorts of stFings that are dignifed by special titles such as lines, ropes, cable and hawsers, but just strings that are Jumped together under the broad name of twinSs . And, besides, there are great quantities of cotton strings, and here and there still a few paper ones, though the latter-invent- ed when cotton was so high priced during the war, and then quite Common-are now seldom seen
 There are eight twinc factories, three in the upper part of this State, two in Massa- chusetts, two in Newark, and one the largest, in New York City. This latter em- ploys 500 hands, and turns out 14,0O0 pounds per diem of finished twines and shoe thread, ranging in value from 14 cents to S1.50 per pound. h addition to these eight there are scattered through the East sev- eral small establishments, but there are none, large OF small, in the West and South. These statistics are perhaps a little dry, but the clammy solidity of cold fact seems necessary to give some idea of how very big, after all, is this interest that few per- 1 sons not directly concerned with it realize ! Us DelnS or al eSp6ClaI importance
 Mir. Hinde, the general manager of the factory, accords some interesting facts con- corning the industry. He says:
 I've use only flax and hemp. We have experimented with other ibers, principally ramie, but they dld not work we'll The necessary processes of manufacture seemed to take all their strength out of them. Cot ton string is made in the cotton factories, not by the twine makers. Most of the flax that we use is imported, the finest grades from Holland and France, and it's cost is from e40 to e15 sterling per ton. Flax tow, which we also use, costs 10 or 12 cents per pound. The import duty on flax is $40 per ton for the fine hackled article, so per ton on the crude, and $10 per ton on tow. Some flax is supplied in this country, but not great deal. The best source of supply that we have son this continent is from Rens- selaer County, ln this State, and some comes also from Canada. Hundreds and thousands of tons of flax straw are burned up annually by our Western farmers. They grow it for the sake of the seed and will not take the trouble to save the valuable fiber from the straw. In Canada the On tario millers pay the farmers S10 per acre for flax land, the miller supplying the seed and gathering the crop, while all the farmer does Is to blow the land and seed it in. There both seed and fiber arc carefully saved, and it is much to be regretted that our agriculturists are not equally thrifty. The heavy duty that is put upon flax, and the good and ready market it commands, ought to encourage them to grow it for the sake of the fiber, but does not seem to do so. know that prejudice exists in the minds of many farmers against flax, be- cause they believe that it wears out the land so rapidly, but contrary opinion is entertained by many equally weIl-informed
 growers. I know of farm in Canada that has been planted in fax for twenty years, and yields as much now as ever.
 We get good deal of hemp from Ken lucky, and some from Missouri and Illinois, but are forced to depend mainly upon for eign supply Our native hemp is worth $l20 per ton unhackled, or about 10 cents per pound unhackled, while the best from abroad-the 1taGan-cOsts $40 per ton. The duty is $25 per ton. Our Kentucky hemp is of a strong and long hbor, generally about 12 feet long, but has a dark, dirty brown color. There is no reason, however, why it
 should not be produced as fine and white as the Italian. 1 remember seeing, in 1S40, . some hemp grown by Henry Clay on his
 plantation, and prepared for the market under his supervision, which was equal to
 any imported. The next best hemp to the Italian is the German. The Russian is coarse and dark. By bleaching and soften ing its fbers we arc enabled to make twine
 from hemp that is so smooth, strong and
 fine that it is hardly distin guishable from
 linen tWine, still for the best goods, such as
 "harness twine" or "loom cord and
 fishing lines, we employ only the purest and
 best flax. For certain grades of tWine flax
 and hemp are used together, and some of our small, brightly colored cords, used for
 the ornamental tying up of packages, arc
 made wholly of hemp, which takes and re- . tains bright dyes much better than flax
 does"
 |, Superintendent Hinde, a big, good-na- tured, and good-looking young giant led the way into realm of chatter, roar, rattle and
 dust, the first impression at sight of which ! was that it was an inextricable confusion of girls and machinery, that the girls all had
 their hair in curl papers, and that they | were fine lot of sturdy-armed young Ana Zons.
 , "The flax fber," he said, lis first
 combed, or, as it is technically termed
 'scutched.' Then it goes to the 'spreaG
 board where it is laid out strai ght, and o- as uniform 6 thickness as possible, in foul
 lines, on endless aprons that carry 1t up tC
 hackle-ike teeth, that hold it straight and
 steady while it is subjected to the drawing action of rollers moving faster than tht rate of it's delivery. The soft, even band ot , straight fibers thus formed is called { - silver Twelve of these are put into z ! drawing frame,' extended and delivered as one, and this operation is repeated three | times, twelve 'slvers' each time being drawn into one which is not thicker thar . oQe of the twelve had been before drawing By-this time the fibers are all straight anc dispSsed with perfect evenness. Th' ,, ssliYeS' is now lightly twisted, and so be comes 'rove,' ready for the spinning frame The processes of spinning ant twisting strands together for the attain ment of my desired degree of stoutnes detailing. Hemp is worked up in the sam way as flax Tow, which is only used fo the coarsest and cheapest strings, 1 carded, like co, ton, instead of being pu upon the spread b0ard'
 Fresh NelNraska Butter.
 :, Strange things fr,squently happen righ :, , at home while we are l,soking in every diret 4 -N