8 PROGRESS REPORT OF THE FLAX COMMISSIONERS.
spring-balance, which I 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.
Harakeke " 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. Inst., Vol. II. 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 from 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 the 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
than 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 17 inches. On 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.

DESCRIPTION OF FIBRE.

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 the length of the bundles. These cells are not joined together end
to end, but are quite distinct from one another. They are in the form of long, hollow cylinders,
gradually 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 1-2,500th
of an inch to 1-1,500th of an inch in diameter, and from 1-8th to 4-5th of an inch in length; the
average length being about 3-8ths 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. Inst., Vol. II. pp. 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 1-250th of an inch
to 1-16th of an inch in breadth, and from 1-250th of an inch to 1-100th 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 66 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 1-350th 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 the leaves get old, when they turn brown, especially near the butt,
or get spotted with brown all over the leaf.

GUMMY PRODUCTS.

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 endeavouring
to produce a hign quality of fibre. What is ordinarily spoken of as the "gum," is, in reality, at least
three different products, viz. :-1. 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 I go on 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