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468 ' ,- ¦ ¦ : . ¦¦'.. / ' . ' .. ^ TJ|:...
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PATAGK>KIA AND ST. GILES'S. Iir commenti...
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C0XLIBEY EXPJ&OSlOIfS. Two more fatal ex...
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NONE BUT THE BBAVB DJSSBBVB THE FARM' Tu...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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On The Cultivation Of Flax. J[0w To Ob0w...
nroDf by more detailed information , gathered from the best sources , that the profits assumed by _ M ? . Warner have not been in the least degree exaggerated , although we do not expect that tenant-farmers . in general have either the means or the intelligence necessary for the practice of that gentleman ' s refinements in agriculture . . . , ¦' .,, j- x i . 1 A statute acre of land will yield , according to the season , from 2 | to 3 $ , or even 4 , tons of flax straw , with the seed included . If we estimate the average y ield at 3 tons , the produce may be divided nearly as follows : —• Tons . cwt .
Twenty bushels of linseed , weig hing about . 0 10 Husks and capsules of seeds , say . * ... 0 10 Flax straw . . •¦ . • • • • • . " * ° Total ...... .. 3 0 The expense attending the mere cultivation and harvesting of this crop way be stated to be , in round numbers , 6 / . Is . per acre ; viz . Two plougbings , at 10 s . . . . . . . . £ 1 O 0 Clearing the land , harrowing , sowing , and rolling . 060 Two and a-half bushels of seed , at 8 s . . . 1 0 0 Weeding 0 5 0 Pulling , turning , binding , carting , and stacking . .... • •• . 1 O O Bippling and cleaning seed ..... 1 O Q Bent , rates , and taxes , say ... ... 1 10 O £ 6 1 O Produce . Value of 20 bushels of linseed , at 7 s . . . £ 7 O O lOcwt . husks , Ac ., " equal to hay" . . . 1 10 0 Two tons flax straw , worth , without further preparation .... ..... 6 0 0 £ 14 10 0 Deduct expenses . . . . 6 10 Gross profit . . . £ 8 9 0 from which the expenses of marketing alone remain to be deducted . But by pursuing this course of management , however suitable to the careless farmer , we are losing sight of the principle we laid down in our previous paper on this subject , "that no process should be adopted , but such as will enable the farmer to preserve on his farm the greatest possible amount of constituents derived directly from the soil . " Accordingly , we are bound to suggest some other course in the preparation and disposal of the flax crop ; and it is fortunate that we have to deal with a product which , unlike turnips or wheat , amply repays the cost of additional labour in its manipulation . It has been proved , by repeated experiments , that , under the slovenly and wasteful processes adopted by the Irish peasantry , of steeping flax straw in pits , the average yield of fibre is one-eig hth the weight of the straw . The return , therefore , from two tons of straw will be five cwt . of fibre , worth , probably , 45 * . per cwt . ; and about one cwt . of tow . The farmer ' s account of profit , by pursuing this system , would stand thus—¦ Valuo of seed , as boforo ' t , n n Husks , ditto ... ... . 1 10 0 lcwt . tow ii it n 6 cwt . flax fibre 11 o » £ 20 16 0 Deduct expenses , as before . . £ 6 \ ° „ stooping , , drying , and " " Bcutching" .... 400 1 Q 1 Q Groas profit £ ^ U 0 Still this course of management , however sanctioned by usage , does not seem calculated to fulfil our imperative conditions as to the exhaustion fV » *» L Several considerations induce the beUef that the wastefulness of this method of preparation is but ill repaid by the result as to price . Much experience is reqmred to enable tho farmer to determine the precise moment when tho flax should bo lifted from the stceping-pits ; an hour more or less , or a sudden change ui temperature , seriously affecting the whole batch . The construction and management of these receptacles , too , is a matter demanding a knowledge of tho peculiarities of tho plant not generally possessed by English farmers . Tho bulk of water , again , requisite for tho stooping of flax in tho straw rondors it a matter of some difficulty and expense to return to tho land tho constituents hold in solution in the p its ; and tho refuse or chaff extracted in tho process of " scutching , " or separating tho fibre from tho straw , is entirely doprived of tho qualities which would otherwise render it a very proper material wherewith to mix tho various linseed and otlior compounds bo usofully employed in fattening cattle . . ^^ . -EhB ^^ dioctttcs of what is termed tho " dry process " ^ ifflWW D ^ lio flax flbro have proved most satisi ^ te ? # 3 tS ^ iK ^^ o average yiold of fibre , in place of ^^^^ P ^ S & leoat 1 . 4 & ia relation to the etrtw
operated on , and in some fayourable cases ; it has even reached l-3 rd . By this process the whole of £ hei wood y portion of the plant is separated ; leaving only the flax and the gummy matter by which the fibres adhere to each other . It has been asserted * that flax in , this , condition is available for the manufacture of coarse articles , and a price as high as 5 $ & per ton . has been affixed to iib by some , London brokers . UntU further experiments shall have proved that flax so prepared is riot liable to fermentation when subjected to a damp atmosphere , we must refrain from recommending our readers to adopt this plan in its integrity . Thus much , however , may be advanced in its lUvour , and it is quite sufficient to entitle it to consideration and the inventor to great credit : we allude to tho enormous reduction in bulk ,
and to the consequent finality in preparing the fibre for market , with tho not least advantages of its leaving the chaff" in a fit condition for mixing with cattle compounds , aud the enabling the grower to steep the flax in vessels of such convenient dimensions as to permit him to return the steep water to his mamure yard , and thus maintain the fertility of the soil . Several machines are now being constructed on improved principles , and it is stated that the cost of one capable of working up such a quantity of flax as may be grown by a small farmer * does not exceed 101 . A great advantage seems to us to be , that one of the best of these implements may be readily worked by children . We shall draw the attention of our readers to thissubject in good time to enable them to take advantage of these inventions in the preparing the crop of the present
year . Assuming the return by this process to be l-4 th in relation to the straw , there will remain to the farmer 1 ^ tons of chaff and 10 cwt . of flax , from which the gummy matter alone has to be separated to render it fit for the spinner . It has been found that the best steeped flax loses , in boiling , about l-16 th of its weig ht-. this loss consisting of such particles of gum as were not completely separated in the steeping process , and of sundry impurities acquired in the steep water . On the other hand , unsteeped flax ,-on being boiled for an equal space of time and in the same quantity of water , is found to lose as much as one-eighth of its original weight . This loss consists entirely of the resinous matter , and the flax is then found to be a white fibre of superior strength , totally free from -the spots and impurities which are so often found in steeped flax , and which require the application of strong bleaching liquids to restore it , at a great sacrifice of strength * to the colour imparted by nature to this valuable fibre . The comparative results , therefore , from two tons of straw treated by these processes respectively , appear to be nearly as follows , viz .: — Cwt . qrs . lb . Common steeping—Produce per acre , one-eighth of two tons straw 5 0 0 lioss loss in boiling , l-16 th 0 17 Nefct produce . . 4 2 21 Dry process— Cwt , qrs . lb . Produce per acre , one-fourth of two tons straw , .... 10 0 0 Less loss in boning , one-eighth . 110 Difference in favour of dry process ... 4 0 7 Strange as this result may appear to persons wedded to the more antiquated modes of preparation , it is strongly confirmed by the results of the Chevalier Claussen ' s experiments in producing from flax what he terms " British cotton , " since he requires at most five tons of flax straw to produce one ton of the " cotton ;" or , from the two tons of straw selected for these remarks , M . Claussen would obtain eig ht cwt . of a material so fine and free from extraneous matter as to enable a , manufacturer to spin it on the existing cotton machinery . The farmer's profits under tho latter system may be not unfairly stated as follows , viz .: —• £ s . d . 8 owt . flax , worth at least 45 Z . per ton . . 18 0 0 1 owt . of tow 100 10 cwt . of husks , <&*> 1 10 0 Value of flood as boforo 7 0 0 1 J tons of chaff half the valuo of wheat atraw 0 16 0 ££ 28 5 0 Doduot expenses of cultivation as beforo ... ...... 0 1 0 Breaking , stooping , haokhng , & c ., Bay . ' 8 0 0 14 1 0 Gross profit per aero . . £ U 4 i 0 Skilful manipulation of tho flbro will determine tho valuo , which may be increased to 120 ? , per ton , but as wo desire to treat this as a puroly agricultural question , wo do not advise tho small farmer to encroach on tho province of the manufacturer , who will be perfectly coutjont to roceivo ' m any shape a quantity of flax ; fibre
freed from aU iinpjarities ^ ancj requiring little or bleaching ., . ; ¦'"'" . . ¦ ..: ; ' ¦ '¦ ' ¦ ' ; .. ' ^ ° To > this portion of oar subject we may advert in future remarks onthen ^ nagement of the flax croD Our limits this week only permit ? us . ; to add the useM recommendation of the Royal Irish Flax Societv nnrt the head of " Weeding * " which forms the exclude business of the grower at this season of the year . "If care has been paid to cleaning the seed and + }» soilfew weeds will but if
, appear ; there be any , they must be carefully pulled . It ii done in Belgiunt bv women and children , who , with coarse cloths round their knees , creep along on all-fours . This injures the young plant less than walking over it ( which , if done should be by persons whose shoes are not filled -with nails ) . They should work also feeing the wind , so that the plants laid flat by the pressure may be blown up again , or thus bo assisted to regain their upright position . The tender plant , pressed one way , soon
recovers ; but if twisted or flattened by careless weeders it seldom rises again . " We may add that the crop should be at least six inches high before this operation is performed , and that one effective weeding ought to suffice .
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Patagk>Kia And St. Giles's. Iir Commenti...
PATAGK > KIA AND ST . GILES ' S . Iir commenting on the enterprise of the Patagonian missionaries , last week , we expressed our belief that these men would have equally shown their philanthropy , if called upon to do so , among the heathen in , St . Giles ' s . With regard to one of them , at least , our surmise of what would have been done , turns out to be but a statement of the fact of what was done . " One of these missionaries , " we learn , from a private
source , " wrote a very forcible little tract , and printed it at his own expense , though labouring in humble hie for his daily bread , and circulated it among his poor relations , friends , and neighbours in his native parish . He laboured several years in metropolitan Sunday schools , and in the office of the JJondbn Gity Mission , and , whjlst offering himself for labour in the City , was , by the Secretary , advised to tender his services to Captain Gardiner . —This man was Jhhn Maidment . "
Whoever has read the account of the sufferings of the missionaries , must have been , struck with the conduct of this Mr . Maidment , the cateobist . When hardly able to move about himself , this devoted man waited on Captain Gardiner , with a faithfulness quite touching , and exhibiting a disposition in which one hardly knows which most to admire—the purely human loyalty to a friend and superior , or the more specific zeal with which he died for his faith .
C0xlibey Expj&Osloifs. Two More Fatal Ex...
C 0 XLIBEY EXPJ & OSlOIfS . Two more fatal explosions in collieries , destroying sixtyfour lives in one case , and twenty-seven in the other . It would seem that these explosions happen in batches ; a fact which suggests the idea that atmospherio conditions are a predisposing cause . Foul water bubbles before bad weather , the diminished pressure inviting the escapo of gases . Should such a cause operate on tho latent gases ot mines , we might expect these concurrences of exp losion , and with some degree of periodicity . As they are preventable , tho periodical recurrence virtually amounts to manslaughter through wilful neglect .
None But The Bbavb Djssbbvb The Farm' Tu...
NONE BUT THE BBAVB DJSSBBVB THE FARM ' Tub dootrinoa of the Peace party must be pat to a soro test at the very portal of Parliament . " Tho conduct oi tho cabmon , " wo are told , " who ply from Paloco-yard , is nightly becoming moro rookloss . No sooner doea any considerable body of hon . members emerge from the prec inc of Westminster Hall , than a general rush of conton dl " ° vociferating cabmon follows / each endeavouring to ou
his follow in procuring ' a fare . ' Tho conaoquon co u , " oflatosovoral hon . gentlemen have narrowly 08 Cfl P ^ rious injury , whilst othew have not boon altogotn er fortunate » On Monday night , Mr . Spoonor was knooKw down , and bruifled . Such conduct , wo aro U > ld > caw tho intervention of tho police ; but wo should have tuout that it was not so much tho conduct , aa tho imu ™ ' bors , that ought to call for tho police , No doubt t lioj ^ thought of colling for tho polico ; and probably a ^ to send for a policoman might bo mado , but tor i of an adjourned debate , and of Mr . Qabomos pm
Mombors hold in fear by cabmon . jlQu Wo romomber tho little wehoolboy , who was so dowix by a turkoy-cook ; Sinbad , who wafl boatTia ^ ^ acalf-skinnod old man ; tho cooknoy lads , wiw > w ^ magnan imoua awo of " robbers" on ^' ttaroa 0 " ^ J ' lion » many a Parliamont which liua boon dauntoU ty . rllb i < , in its path : but now the lions aro oabroon . J 1 rty ; Mombors liave become ohattole , goodw , ooxn « xon i r ^ a community which suggests tho proprwty » Palaoe-yard , i » fUturo , «* Cubby / fl Icaria . "
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 15, 1852, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_15051852/page/16/
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