Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-08
THE PART OF FLAX AND
LINEN IN INDUSTRY
Some Interesting Points and
Figures on Usefulness of
Blue-eyed Plant.

From the dawn Of civilization the cul-
tlvation OF the flax plant and the spin
ming and weaving Of the fibre have EN-
ployed the active hands of many of the
worlds inhabitants, yet history does not
tell us who first discovered that the deli
cate, beautiful blue-eyed plant contained
fibre so useful to mankind. While in
some countries the fax plant is cul-
tlvated for both the fibre and the seed,
In others the seed is considered of great
er Importance, and this Is particularly
true Of our own country, where there is
greater acreage each year under fax
than any country in the world, with the
exception of Russia; and it is estimated
that the market value of the linseed oil
and the byproduct of oil cake produced
from this crop amounts to about $50, ,OOO,
900 annually.
Flax is grown for the fibre in many
countries where labor is cheaper than
in the United States, notably Russia,
Hungary and Belgium; but the average
yearly importation of linen is only $780,
900 900, or about one-thlrd Of the market
value of our annual crop of flax products
FLAX intended for the manufacture of
linen is not cut, but pulled up by the
roots and In order to produce fine
fibre must be gathered before IL Is quite
ripe. The next process Ia called 'retting,'
which means to separate the tlaXen fibre
from the woody core. This Is accomplish
ed by sleeping in water for from 10 to IA
days. Next comes "scutcning, the OPP
Grafton necessary to remove the shell
(Which Is fax from the pithy stalk, fol-
lowed by many other processes known
tl,ao all ttIaVnliDR' ~ 'anTtinR,' etc.
until the flax reaches the stage where
is is ready for spinning.
So fine can this fax be spun. 1t Is re-
corded that in the exhibition In London
in 1851 were shown specimens OF linen
yarn, hand-spun, one-pound weight OF
which would measure 22S,VUO yarus, VI
about 1870 miles
Next comes weaving, an art as old
as civilization and the loom may be
reckoned among the earliest of mans
inventions in bygone ages the loom used
was a very simple affair, and the COM
mon hand-loom of the present day does
not differ much from that used by the
Greeks and Romans. In the National
Exhibition of Industry. held in Paris In
1901. n machine was shown, invented by
Joseph NJ. jacquard, for controlling the
warp threads of a loom. This machine
made possible the producing In woven
fabric any figure or design. This is done
tern, in conjunction with an arrange
ment of lifting hooks, which raise the
necessary threads of warp to produce
the design Numberless improvements in
details have since been introduced, many
of which doubtless were brought about
in the last % years by the American
publics demand for more elaborate de-
signs About 20 years ago border could
not be made on table damask of a greater
width than 10 inches; now they can be
made 20 inches wide without repeating
the design. These elaborate designs cost
considerably more than simple ones. The
drawing, painting and mounting Is more
intricate: for instance, most of our de-
signs are made by three machines on
loom, one picking up the thread
from another to produce unusually wide
borders, and II is necessary to cut from
1900 to 1900 cards for a single one of
these designs. These cards are about 3X6
inches and perforated. We have more
than 800 designs In table damask made
each year exclusively for Strawbridge &
Clothier, 'necessitating the cutting of over
100000 of these cards. and have from 500
to 900 looms constantly engaged in the
weaving of humidor linens.
Weaving is followed by bleaching.
The old-fashioned way was by exposing
the linen to the sunshine and air. The
exIgences of the present day, however.
demand a more rapid process, and
bleacheries now form separate depart
ment in the perfecting of linen manufac-
lures, humidor linens being shipped often
times hundreds of miles from the place
of manufacture to bleacheries. where the
water, air and other conditions are Just
right. After being thoroughly bleached.
the linens have yet to be subjected to
various finishing processes. such as cal
endering, beetling, etc, all of which
must be carefully watched to insure sue
cess with the finished article.
THOMAS POWER.