Growth of flax.

Flax cotton.

Flax carding.

Flax is largely grown in some of the States for the seed, for oil making, and the straw is at present thrown away. In some parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio, it can be bought for from $4 to $5 (about 19s. to 24s. sterling) per ton, delivered to the consumer, and can often be obtained for the mere cost of carting away, after the separation of the seed. Flax-seed is raised at from 15 to 20 bushels per acre, usually 16 to 18 bushels. This sells at $1 per bushel, and, if more cultivated, the price would perhaps be reduced to 40 cents.

In the mechanical process above named, the straw is put through a machine and crushed by rollers. By an arrangement for a difference of speed in these rollers, the fibre is torn to pieces and reduced to a cotton wool, the woody fibre, falling out in the process.

The flax, thus prepared, can be sold without further preparation to paper makers at 2 cents (about 14d. sterling) per pound. A chemical process is applied simply to bleach, after the separation. This statement as to the growth and price of flax, and the results of the mechanical operation of the machine, is given on the authority of Mr. Kennedy, of the firm of Messrs. Kennedy, Childs and Company, Penn Cotton Mill, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The samples of unbleached flax-cotton, prepared by this process, appeared, on examination, to be of sufficient length of fibre for spinning on the ordinary cotton machinery, and only to require finally freeing from the smaller particles of woody substance. For this purpose, the new carding-machine, in operation at the Stark Mills, Manchester, New Hampshire, alluded to iu Class XI., seemed most especially well adapted from the thorough manner in which it clears the material submitted to its action.

CLASS XV.

Mixed fabrics.

Grey mousellines de laine.

Silk and wool flannels.

Printed shawls.

MIXED FABRICS.

The mixed fabrics manufactured in America have been treated of in Class XII., alike for convenience as from the fact that they chiefly belong to that class of manufacture, though composed of other materials as well as wool.

The only fabrics calling for notice here are mouselline de laine and barrage, which are manufactured by a few firms in New England, the most extensive being the Manchester Print Works Company, Manchester, New Hampshire, and the Hamilton Woollen Company, Southbridge, Massachusetts. The produee of the Manchester Company's mill, for the week ending June 4th, 1853, was 422,389 plain de laines, 7-44 yards to the pound. The printing aud dyeing of these goods will be considered in due course in Class XVIII.

The grey mousellines de laine manufactured by the companies above named are firm fabrics, of a fair class, and are woven by power. The Manchester Company employ 400 looms in the manufacture of varied qualities of de laine and barrage cloths; the coarser kinds of the former being woven of No. 37 cotton warp, and No. 40 wool weft or filling. In the finer qualities, No. 70 cotton warp, spun on the Potter mule, and No. 50 wool weft, spun on the Smith mule, are used.

The contributions in this class to the Exhibition at New York are very limited. The specimens of silk and wool flannels are good, and the fabric of the printed shawls of the usual character; the patterns of the latter being of the oriental style.

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CLASS XVI.

LEATHER (EXCLUSIVE OF TANNERIES), FURS, &c.

The manufacture of leather in its various forms and qualities, and its making Manufactures in into articles of use, has grown into an important branch of the industry of the leather. United States. Differing in no important point with the methods used, or the purposes to which it is applied in Europe, the manufacture of leather into saddlery, harness, portmanteaus, &c., is carried on in almost every town of any importance, and the trade is conducted on a similar principle to that usually adopted in England. Occasionally large manufactories of portmanteaus and harness are met with; but these are exceptional. At Philadelphia the manufacture of articles in leather is followed to a very considerable extent, and the harness and saddlery Harness and produced in this city is of a very superior character, alike as regards workman- saddlery. ship and beauty in design. Nor are the productions of New York and Boston less noticeable for the same qualities.

In portmanteaus, valises, and other articles for use in travelling, consider- Portmanteaus. able ingenuity in arrangement is often shown. The workmanship and finish of the best class of goods are unexceptionable, and, even in the cheaper and lower qualities, the style in appearance is a matter of much consideration, and displays a decided advance, in point of taste, upon the unsightly character of the cheaper kind of travelling conveniences in England.

leather in the Exhi

There are very few examples of portmanteaus contributed to the Exhibi- Manufactures in tion at New York. In harness and saddlery, however, there are specimens bition at New York. showing great skill in execution, as also fitness and beauty in construction and decoration. The whips are generally of excellent workmanship, but the mount- Whips. ings are often in the absurb taste which at present prevails in Europe.

In furs and feathers, those shown, though of American production, are Furs and feathers. more or less of European manufacture, and in artificial hair there are some Artificial hair. clever contrivances.

Specimens of furs from the State of Minnesota are also exhibited. These Furs from the State chiefly consist of marten, otter, fisher, mink, and beaver, together with buffalo of Minnesota. robes and bear-skins, and are generally well preserved and of fine surface. Minnesota is the great fur-producing State of the Union, and the trade of 1852 is said to have reached nearly $700,000 (about £170,000 sterling).

The specimens of various kinds of leather contributed to the Exhibition at New York, show in a most favourable light the ability of the Americans as tanners and finishers of leather, in nearly all its most useful forms. As Professor Wilson reports on tanneries, it is requisite only to remark, that in fancy-varnished leathers, and in morocco, the surface, finish, and elasticity are generally of a high character.

In connection with the material of morocco leather, it may be as well to Morocco cloth. notice here an important invention already alluded to in Class XI., under the name of Leather Cloth. This is a most perfect imitation of morocco, by the application of a preparation of caoutchouc, or gutta percha, to the surface of plain woven or twilled cotton cloth. The surface is corrugated in imitation of morocco, and is coloured and varnished so as to present all the external appearance of that kind of leather. The elasticity is perfect, showing no tendency to crack, and so far as time has at present tested its durability, this appears to be satisfactory. Its cost is less than one-third that of morocco, and from the width of the cloth, it cuts to much greater advantage in the covering of articles of furniture, for which, as well as carriage linings, particularly railway carriages, it is coming largely into use. Time did not permit of a visit to the manufactory of the patentees, Messrs. J. R. and C. P. Crockett, at Newark, New Jersey, but specimens of the fabric have come to hand recently, which fully confirm the opinions above given; but it is now stated, that after a trial it has not been found to answer for the lining-band of hats, to which it was at first applied, as the colouring matter is decomposed by wear, from the surface not possessing the absorbent quality of leather.

As the trade in raw hides and the manufacture of leather must, from the extent of the latter, form a most important item in the productions of the United States, it is to be regretted that, up to the present time, the census returns for 1850, in this department of industry, have not been made public.

E

Paper manufacture.

Paper mills in the State of Massachusetts.

CLASS XVII.

PAPER, PRINTING, TYPES, BOOKBINDING, &c.

The manufacture of paper is carried on to a great extent in most of the Atlantic States, but unfortunately the census returns, so far as published in a collective form, do not contain the statistics of this important branch of trade, which must have increased to a great extent within the last few years, as the quantity of printing papers alone consumed in the United States must be immense.

The whole production is by machinery, not more than one or two houses making hand-made papers. The machines are all adaptations and improved applications of Fourdinier's invention, modified to suit the wants or ideas of the manufacturer, who would appear to be the stationer also, as far as the making up of the paper into reams, quires, and packets is concerned, and its distribution to the retail trader, even in the ornamental form in which it reaches the public. In this respect the general commercial dealings in paper are very different to those of England, and the function of the wholesale stationer is an exceptional one in the United States.

The State of Massachusetts would appear to be largely engaged in the manufacture of paper. At Lee, Berkshire County, in that State, there are 19 paper mills, employing a capital of about $200,000 (about £50,000 sterling). In Norfolk County, Massachusetts, there are 17 mills, and in Worcester County, 15 mills, employing a capital of £100,000 sterling in this manufacture. In 1845, up to which date the last general statistical information on the State of Massachusetts is published, there were 89 paper mills, consuming 12,886 tons of materials, and making 4,765 tons, giving 607,175 reams of paper per annum, the value of which was $1,750,373 (about £430,000 sterling), and employing 1,369 operatives; and this certainly gives no exaggerated view of the general position of the paper trade in nearly all the New England States, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, at the present date. The materials used are chiefly raw cotton and mill waste. Linen rags are the manufacture of imported from Europe, but the principal consumption would appear to be cotton, either as above named or in rags. The general character of the printing paper is of a low quality, with a very small amount of dressing or size. In writing papers the make is quite equal to the general run of European papers, but the finish is not always so perfect. It is stated, however, that whilst the Americans try to imitate the English finish, the latter are trying to imitate that of makers of the United States.

Materials used in

paper.

Wall papers for hangings.

Ivanhoe mills,
Paterson, New
Jersey.

Book papers.

A considerable number of paper mills are engaged in the manufacture of wall papers only, for printing as hangings. These vary in quality, but are chiefly of the coarser and cheaper kinds; and as there is a constantly increasing demand in this branch of the paper trade, the manufacture extends rapidly.

The Ivanhoe Mills, Paterson, New Jersey, has the reputation of being the most complete establishment of its kind in the States. This manufactory is erected on the Canal, by which the head water of the Passaic Fall, on the Passaic river, is converted into mill power.

The buildings are admirably arranged, and whilst every department, from that for the reception and picking of the rags and cotton waste, to the making of the paper, is complete within itself, the whole is so connected as to be perfectly progressive; thus economising labour, and preserving the orderly arrangement and cleanliness of the whole establishment.

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Book papers only are manufactured, and two sets of operatives are employed, one for night and the other for day; so that the works always go on, except on the Sabbath.

There are ten vats or engines for grinding the materials for making the paper. These are larger than those generally used in England, and this appears to be the rule throughout the United States. Each vat contains pulp sufficient for making 180 lbs. weight of paper. In England they usually contain 120 lbs. only. The bleaching of the material is effected in a number of airtight chambers of large size, built of stone, with iron doors, the whole so constructed that no chlorine can escape.

The paper machine at work in the Ivanhoe Mills is one of great accuracy Paper machine, and beauty, wood framing being avoided as much as possible in the construc- Ivanhoe mills, tion, and bright brass substituted. The whole has a clean and elegant appear

ance, with perfect freedom from rust; whilst the action is firm, smooth, and

steady.

If the inspection of this establishment was satisfactory as to the mechanical

and economic arrangements, and the excellence of the book-papers produced, Carew paper mill, a visit to the Carew Manufacturing Company's Paper Mill, South Hadley Falls, South Hadley, on the Connecticut river, Massachusetts, showed that the older mills were quite Massachusetts. equal to the production of the first qualities of writing papers, though the Writing papers. internal arrangements might be less consecutive and complete than those of the Ivanhoe Mills. The Carew Company's papers are firm, well-finished examples of the best class of writing papers, pure in colour, and well glazed.

The pressing is chiefly effected with steam-heated cylinders covered with paper, Roller pressing. through which the sheets pass in quick succession, and a very good surface is

obtained.

The cutting of the paper into sheets is effected by a very simple but Contrivance for ingenious contrivance. A knife is set in the wheel round which the paper cutting the sheets. revolves as it leaves the machine; a flat board, swinging on a pivot, comes in contact with the edge of the knife at stated intervals, thus measuring off the sheet and cutting it at the same operation. The sheets fall into a receptacle below the revolving cutter, and are removed at stated intervals as they accumulate.

The water used in the Carew Mill is not from the Connecticut river, from which the power is obtained, but from an artesian well sunk in the rock on which the mill is built. The water is of great purity, and the supply is most abundant.

It has been already stated that the paper manufactures of the United States fulfil the functions of the wholesale stationers of England. Of this the Carew Company are an example. In the above mill the paper is made, cut into sheets, pressed, the edges cut and gilt, ruled by machinery when required, and made up into reams, quires, and packets, in such covers as the retail stationer to whom it is supplied may require; the styles of making up being more or less imitative of those adopted in Europe.

The wrapping papers of the United States are of great variety, both as Wrapping papers. regards quality and colour.

Envelopes are usually made of a light buff-coloured paper; but the chief Envelopes. portion of the fancy stationery at present used would appear to be imported from Europe.

The printing operations are extensive and well conducted, particularly in bookwork. The printing of newspapers alone forms a large item in the industry of the country. In the New England States, according to the Abstract of the Census of 1850, there were 424 newspapers; in the Middle States, 876; in the Southern States, 716; and in the Western States, 784; and the following table shows the daily, weekly, and monthly issues and aggregate circulation, as given by the above authority :

Book printing.

German newspapers.

Type-founding.

Boston type foundry.

Machines for casting type.

Ornamental type.

Stereotype plates in gutta percha at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington. Stereotyped titles for catalogues of libraries.

Specimens of type in the Exhibition at

New York.

Combination type.

Bookbinding.

Account books.

With an educated people, taking a vital interest in all public questions, the newspaper press is likely to increase even in a greater ratio than it has done during the past decade. The number of German emigrants has caused the establishment of newspapers for their use, and at Cincinnati alone there are four daily newspapers published in the German language.

Type founding is carried on to a great extent at Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, and there are single establishments in several other of the large cities. The whole of the type used in the United States, besides a large quantity exported to the British provinces and the various States of South America, is produced in these foundries, and the statements made in the Report of the Jury for Class XVII. in the Great Exhibition of 1851, appear to be so far correct, that a reference thereto will be sufficient for all practical purposes here; and the same may be said with reference to the sketch of the progress of the paper manufacture, given in the same Report.†

At the type foundry of John K. Rogers and Company, Boston, Massachusetts, machines for casting the smaller bodies of type are in regular use. A pump is used for forcing the melted metal into the mould, and a workman turns out 90 brevier type per minute, and smaller kinds at a more rapid speed. This machine, or an adaptation of it, is in general use in the type foundries of the United States, and some few have been lately exported to England.

The larger kinds of type are still cast by hand in the usual way. Ornamental type is not manufactured to any great extent; the forms, however, of the ordinary bodies are neat and elegant, with a clearly-cut edge. The metal used is an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, each preponderating according to the type required; 75 per cent. of lead, however, is stated as the average of that metal.

The use of gutta percha for the purpose of stereotype appears to have been extensively experimented upon in the United States; and at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, a method invented by Mr. Josiah Warner, of Indiana, has been adopted for the purpose of realizing a plan suggested by Professor Jewett for stereotyping catalogues by means of separate titles. The titles of the books to form the catalogue being set up in any convenient number, a matrix is made therefrom, and a stereotype plate cast in gutta percha. This is sawn into the number of titles of which it is composed, and the alphabetising is accomplished by the simple assortment and arrangement of those titles, which are fixed together in the requisite pages. By this means the books added to any library during the year may be inserted in their proper places, and an annual catalogue published at a comparatively small cost, containing all the recent additions to the library.

It must be evident that the gutta percha plates, thus divided into titles, might be used for the formation of matrices from which to cast metal titles, if such are desired. All the practical difficulties in the way of the realization of this plan have been, it is now believed, overcome, and the Smithsonian Catalogue may be shortly expected to illustrate the practical benefits to be derived by public libraries in the adoption of the plan above described.

The few examples of type sent to the Exhibition are good, being generally of pure and tasteful forms, and remarkably clean in the casting.

There are specimens of combination type, exhibited by the manufacturer, Mr. John H. Tobitt, of New York. There is generally, amongst practical printers a great antipathy to change the form and arrangement of existing "cases;" and, however plausible a plan of combination types, in which a word or portion of a word can be "set up" at a single operation, may be, the single body" has still the advantage in one important point, that if damaged, a letter only is lost, instead of a whole word, if but a single letter of which it is composed is injured.

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The specimens of bookbinding exhibited do not call for any special remarks. They are of the usual character, so far as the external appearance is concerned, and the style of gilding and the taste displayed in the decorations are altogether based on European modes: a redundancy of unnecessary ornamentation being the leading feature, as in England.

In commercial account books the workmanship and finish are generally excellent.

Jury Reports, 8vo. edition, page 410.

+ Idem, page 443.