The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1916-11-24
FLAX PAPER TO
ENRICH FARMERS
BIG INCREASE IN PROFITS
IS IN PROSPECT THROUGH
UTILIZATION OF WASTE.
Mill in North Dakota Points Way to
Profitable Disposition of 100000
Tons Annually in This State Now
Burned as Worthless.

An increase of Is per cent in the
profits of the flax production in Mon
tana is in prospect as the result Of
experiments conducted by chemists
Of the United States department Of
agriculture, now very nearly conclud-
ed, which demonstrate the possibility
of utilizing the waste straw Of seed
flax in the manufacture of paper and
fiber-board.
Arthur D. Little, formerly of Bos-
ton, now head of the research bureau
Of the Canadian Pacific railroad, has
shown how flax straw taken from the
farmer at So ton and transformed
into paper at an expense of $11 will
sell for $500 ton, giving net profit
of 1886.
A small flax tow mill is in opera
ton in North Dakota, which is
equipped with pulping boiler, beat
or and other apparatus for the manu-
facture Of paper pulp. ''This mill has
produced bleached flax pulp of an APP
parently satisfactory quality, from
which good grades of writing paper
have been manufactured, says bull
letin No. 1922 of the United States de-
partment Of agriculture, giving the
conclusions of Jason L. Merrill, paper
plant chemist of the bureau of plant
industry.
The bulletin points out that in the
manufacture of certain grades of fl
Der board known as counter board, one
of the main constituents is flax waste
from the textile industries of Europe
and that the total quantity so used
in this country is approximately 1000
tons per annum. In other words the
American textile manufacturers are
importing this amount Of textile waste
from Europe as we'll as 100000
worth of rags per annum, which are
) used largely in the manufacture Of
writing papers.
Price of Waste Scars.
The price of this imported flax
waste ranged from 1926 to 500 ton
from 1908 to 1912, inclusive, and the
average price in 1913 was $2650. The
waste constantly deteriorated in quail
ity until the same grade was 20 to
25 per cent poorer for fiber board
: manufacture than in 190S9. Soon
after the outbreak Of the European
war the available supply of flax waste
was bought up and stored for future
manufacture, and the importation was
greatly curtailed. The waste, finally
l was withdrawn from quotation after
. it reached a price of about $65 ton
? It was thought that if American
!, flax straw could be substituted fol
3 the imported waste, this would be the
3 most propitious time to establish q
!, market for this waste crop, and one
5 of the leading counter-board factories
has co-operated with the bureau oil
t plant industry in it's experiments. II
2 was found that exhaustive tests were
necessary before the utilization of the
straw could be pronounced practicable
as all the American waste except thai
of a few hundred acres around Con.
rad, Montana, was that of flax grown
for seed, whereas the European waste
is the by-product of fiber flax.
Stronger Chemical Agents Needed.
It has been ascertained that strong.
er chemical agents are necessary in
dealing with the American flax waste
but it is now believed that all the DIFF
ficulties are on the point of being
overcome.
The next step would be the estab-
lishment of paper and fiber-board fac
, tories near the sources of supply-in
3 the flax territory Of North Dakota,
3 Minnesota and Montana. The import
ance Of this development to Montana
is realized when it is noted that in
{ every county in northern Montana
3 east of the divide and in every coun-
3 ty in central and eastern Montana
4 flax growing is an important industry.
5 There is just one factory in Mon
} tana to utilize this waste, the uphol-
} stery tow factory at Baker, which
5 probably, however, utilities less than a
! tenth of the straw. This mill is one of
3 10 flax tow mills in the United St.! IS.