. A descriptive catalogue of useful fiber plants of the world, including the structural and economic classifications of fibers. Fibers. FLAX MACHINERY. 347 appliance. Through the rooms, from end to end, runs a wrought-iron shaft to which are attached, at intervals of a few feet, systems of wooden beater blades, which revolve rapidly. The workmen stand in small compartments partitioned off" from the room, but open on one side, the flax being presented to the action of the wooden blades through a bevel-edged slit in the side of the parti- tion. The blades as they revolve strike the already
. A descriptive catalogue of useful fiber plants of the world, including the structural and economic classifications of fibers. Fibers. FLAX MACHINERY. 347 appliance. Through the rooms, from end to end, runs a wrought-iron shaft to which are attached, at intervals of a few feet, systems of wooden beater blades, which revolve rapidly. The workmen stand in small compartments partitioned off" from the room, but open on one side, the flax being presented to the action of the wooden blades through a bevel-edged slit in the side of the parti- tion. The blades as they revolve strike the already broken flax, held firmly in the hand, knocking out the shive or waste matter, when the opposite end is cleaned in the same manner. The accompanying illus- tration, from Spon, will explain the device. See fig. 103; a is the shaft; b the supporting pillars of iron or wood; c the wiper ring, to which the blades d are attached; e is the partition; / the bracket at top, by which it is stayed to the beam g, which connects the line of pillars; h is the opening through which the flax is presented to the blades. These blades are sometimes long and narrow, somewhat resembling the blade of an oar. The fiber of flax surrounds a slender stem, straw-like or sometimes woody, which, by retting, is easily broken, and the filaments partially separating from the crushed bits are readily freed from them by the opera- tion of beating. A perfect machine, there- fore, would be one that would break the straw or wood into fragments without inju ry to the fiber, separate the long filaments from all waste matters perfectly, doing away with hand labor, and accomplishing the work without waste of fiber and at eco- nomical cost. It would seem a simple prop- osition, but from the fact that none of the many improved machines that have been brought to public notice have been largely adopted by mill men, and the old-fashioned berth scutching described above is still practiced even in this country, we may infer
Size: 1203px × 2077px
Photo credit: © Paul Fearn / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherwashingtongovtprin
