FLAX COMMISSIONERS.

83

G.—No. 4.

of a spring-balance, which 1 had previously tested, and the following are the average results of many trials made on the leaves of four different plants of each variety:— Tihore broke with a strain of 48 lbs. Sarakeke „ „ 42 lbs. Paritanewha „ „ 42 lbs. Wharariki „ „ 34 lbs. That Tihore is stronger than swamp flax, is contrary to the opinion of many. Major Heaphy (Trans. N.Z. Lnst., Vol. 11. p. 116) expresses the opinion that the fibre of the Oue (Tihore) is of" so brittle a character as to require a mode of preparation in which a knife or scraping instrument may not be used ;" but I conceive that the real reason for the difference in the preparation was that the" fibre of the Tihore is so strong that the Maoris were enabled to pull it away from the tissue so completely, that scraping with a knife or shell was unnecessary. I also made some experiments on the strength of prepared fibre of the different varieties, but found that the small scale on which I was obliged to experiment gave results so discordant that they were of no value. This was probably owing to the difficulty of dividing the strain equally among the different fibres; and useful results can be only obtained by twisting the different varieties up into rope, and then breaking them. It appears to me, therefore, that Tihore is the most valuable variety for all purposes; but the kinds that should be cultivated would depend upon the nature of the soil; for swamp flax of excellent quality could be grown in places where the superior Tihore could hardly live. But all the varieties of P. Colensoi should be carefully avoided, or, if manufactured into fibre, should not be sent into the market under the same name as fibre from P. tenax, or the latter will fall in the estimation of the public, from the inferior strength of the former. The leaves of the different varieties of New Zealand flax vary from 3 feet to 14 feet in length, and from § inch to 5 inches in breadth, in tho widest part of the leaf. They appear to grow all the year round, but more rapidly in spring and in summer than in autumn and winter. Swamp flax, that had all the outer leaves taken off in the end of January, had so many young leaves full grown by the end of April that the casual observer would not have known that the plants had been cut at all. The stumps of the leaves that are left on the plant still continue to grow also, but the younger leaves grow quicker thah the older ones. Of four leaves cut down in the end of April, the outer one had grown 2 inches by the end of June, the next one to it, on the opposite side, had grown 3 inches, the next 6 inches, and the inside leaf 17j- inches. Of those sets of the plant that do not flower, the leaves last probably three or four years and then decay, new ones taking their place ; but when a set produces a flower-stalk, the set itself, and all the leaves upon it, die down the following spring. DESCEIPTION OF FIBEE. Throughout the whole of the leaf, bundles of fibres are found lying parallel to the midrib. These fibrous bundles are composed of numerous elongated cells, called the ultimate fibres, which lie parallel to one another in the direction of tho length of the bundles. These cells aro not joined together end to end, but are quite distinct from one another. They are in the form of long, hollow cylinders, tapering towards each end, which is pointed, and closed in by the cell wall ; they do not vary much in thickness in the different varieties, or in different parts of the same leaf, being from l-2,500th of an inch, to 1-1,500th of an inch in diameter, and from l-Bth to 4-sth of an inch in length ; the average length being about 3-Sths of an inch. They lie closely packed side by side, with the ends overlapping each other, and adhere together by means of a kind of gum or cement, which will be more fully mentioned presently. (For further particulars, see Trans N.Z Lnst. Vol. 11. p.p. 109 and 111.) The fibrous bundles differ considerably in size, both in different varieties and in different parts of the same leaf. They are in the form of more or less flattened ribbons, varying from l-250th of an inch to l-16fh of an inch in breadth, and from l-250th of an inch to l-100th of an inch in thickness. The number of bundles in a strip of leaf an inch broad varies from 40 in the coarsest varieties to 65 in the finest, which will give from 150 to 250 bundles in the whole breadth of the leaf. In the upper and narrower parts of the leaf the bundles are nearly together, so that there are nearly as many bundles there as in the broader parts. Besides these ribbons, there are also in the central parts of the leaf about an equal number of small, nearly cylindrical bundles, about l-350th of an inch in diameter, so that the whole number of fibrous bundles in the central parts of the leaf is from 300 to 500. The fibrous bundles are pure white until tho leaves get old, when they turn brown, especially near the butt, or get spotted with brown all over the leaf. gummy peoducts. I will now pass on to the consideration of the gummy and mucilaginous products that are found in the leaf, and which are generally considered as the chief cause of all our misfortunes in endeavoring to produce a high quality of fibre. What is ordinarily spoken of as the " gum," is, in realty, at least three different products, viz.: —l. The gum on the outside of the lower parts of the leaf. —2. The bitter principle and mucilage contained in the cells of the leaf, and which, no doubt, is a mixture of several different substances, but which I shall treat as one here. 3. The cement that binds the ultimate fibres together into bundles. And as Igoon I shall show that these three substances differ essentially in their chemical properties, and must be carefully distinguished from one another when considering the best processes to be employed in preparing the fibre. GUM. Taking first, then, the gum, which is found only on the outside of the inner surfaces of the lower parts of the leaves, we find it to be colourless or pale yellow when pure; semi-solid and viscous. It softens and swells up slightly in cold water, but does not dissolve ; soaking in water for an hour or two and exposure to rain for three weeks does not affect it. It dissolves easily in boiling water, and in acids, but not in alkalies. It will not dissolve in alcohol, but neither will alcohol precipitate it from solution, although, on the addition of large quantities, it turns the solution milky white. It is