70
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

MEMORANDUM.

CONTENTS of the Case exhibited by C. Thorne, 16
Mark Lane, London, in the New South Wales
Department of the Australian Annexe, London
International Exhibition, 1873:—

The Salver manufactured by Messrs. Peterson and Co., Christ-
church, of Auckland Silver and Canterbury Gold. Presented
to C. Thorne by the Canterbury Flax Association. The box to
hold the Salver, manufactured from Native wood, forms the
stand.

Coarse Leaves of the Phormium plant, imported as dunnage
in the "Blue Jacket," from Canterbury, New Zealand.
Parts of Leaves, stripped by the Natives in New Zealand.
Fibre extracted from the coarse leaves and parts of leaves by
C. Thorne.
Fibre, Native-dressed. Fibre cleansed by Messrs. Chinnery
and Enson, New Zealand.
Fibre extracted by C. Thorne from Phormium leaves grown
on the estate of the Earl of Shannon, Castle Martyr, Ireland.

• Cloth adapted for the manufacture of Cornsacks or Wool-
  packs, entirely of Phormium fibre.

Hessian Cloth—pure Phormium. Sail Canvas—pure Phor-
mium.
Hessian Cloth—warp of Phormium, weft of Jute.
Coarse Twilled Sheeting, 1 Ps. bleached, 1 Ps. unbleached—
pure Phormium.
Twilled Cloth—1 Ps. bleached, 1 Ps. unbleached—pure
Phormium.

Light Sacking—pure Phormium : A Cornsack, a Wool-
pack—pure Phormium, made from the cloth exhibited.
Canvas—1 Ps. unbleached, 1 Ps. bleached—woven from a yarn
composed of 75 per cent. Riga flax and 25 per cent. Phormium.
Damask Table Cloth—pure Phormium*, Native-dressed, manu-
factured by Messrs. D. Lornie and Son, Pathhead Spinning
Mills, Kirkcaldy.

Dinner Napkins—the warp of linen, the weft of Phormium—
the Phormium Native-dressed, spun by hand, and the cloth
woven in Gavray, France.

Huckaback Towelling (1 Ps. bleached, 1 Ps. unbleached), and
Sheeting (1 Ps. bleached, 1 Ps. unbleached)—Linen warp,
Phormium weft; the Phormium spun by Messrs. Dunbar,
McMasters and Co., Gilford, Ireland; the cloth woven by
Messrs. R. and S. Beales, North Lopham, Norfolk.

Samples of Cloth woven in a silk loom—pure Phormium yarn,
and mixed Riga flax and Phormium yarn!

Huckaback Towelling—bleached; the yarn pure Phormium,
Native dressed, handspun by peasant women in Gavray, France;
the cloth woven by Geo. Rayner, North Lopham, Norfolk.

Damask Towelling, Coarse Linen, Scotch Twilled Sheeting,
Mail Bag—all manufactured from pure Phormium, Native-
dressed, by A. K. Forbes, Hatton Mill, Arbroath, for Dr.
Featherston, the Agent-General for New Zealand.

Dice Pattern Table Cloth and Damask Towelling
unbleached, manufactured by N. J. Lockhart, Bennochy
Works, Kirkcaldy, N.B.; the warp of Linen yarn, the weft of
pure Phormium, Native-dressed.

Stair Covering—unbleached, manufactured by N. J. Lockhart,
from the tow of pure Phormium, Native-dressed.

2 Samples of Cloth adapted for Ladies' Dresses, manufactured
by N. J. Lockhart; the warp in 1 Ps. of cotton thread, in the
other silk; both wefted with a yarn of pure Phormium, Native-
dressed.

Crash or Twilled Cloth—bleached, manufactured by N. J.
Lockhart: the warp of linen yarn, the weft pure Phormium,
Native-dressed.

These Goods manufactured for Dr. Featherston, the Agent-
General for New Zealand.

Stair Covering, manufactured by N. J. Lockhart from a warp
of linen yarn and a weft of Phormium yarn spun by A. K.
Forbes, Hatton Mill, Arbroath.

Stair Covering (Twilled), manufactured by Messrs. D. Lornie
and Son, Pathhead Spinning Mill, Kirkcaldy; the warp of linen
yarn, the weft of pure Phormium, Native-dressed.

Samples of nearly all the yarns used in the manufacture of
the various fabrics.

String, Cord, and Fishing-line—all pure Phormium.

Specimens of Cloth dyed various colours, to prove how well
this fibre takes the dye.

Specimens of Crochet, and Tatting, &c., with Native-dressed
fibre, sent home by Mrs. Bird, of Canterbury, New Zealand.

The Rope, shown outside the case is part of that used in
taking in the complete cargoes of the "White Adder," the
"Black Adder," and the "Cutty Sark;" it is still in fair order;
it was made for C. Thorne by Messrs. Frost, Brothers, London.

On the top of the case were exhibited two plants of the
growing Phormium, obtained through the kind assistance of Mr.
Wilding from the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens, South
Kensington. Over the case some of the dry leaves grown in
Canterbury, New Zealand, were nailed up as a sort of trophy.

Unless otherwise stated, the Phormium fibre was prepared by
C. Thorne, and the yarn spun and goods manufactured by A. K.
Forbes, Hatton Mill, Arbroath, for C. Thorne.

The contents of the case of Phormium at Dundee, published
in the Dundee Advertiser of 5th November, 1873, and the
Catalogue of the Phormium Exhibits at the Vienna Exhibition,
give some slight idea of the number of articles which have been
manufactured from this useful fibre. In addition to these,
many samples of 1/2 yard and 1 yard in length have been sent to
New Zealand, Sydney, and also to Museums and Societies in
London.

16, Mark Lane, E.C., London,
26th November, 1873.
C. THORNE.

Extract from the Dundee Advertiser of Tuesday,
November 4, 1873.

DUNDEE ART EXHIBITION.

YESTERDAY a large number of persons visited this
Exhibition, and but one opinion seemed to be enter-
tained regarding the excellence of the specimens it
contains. The exact number of the visitors cannot
be stated, in consequence of the instrument by which
it is ascertained having gone wrong. It is expected
that a daily return will be available after this. We
append the following additional notes of the Exhibi-
tion:—

NEW ZEALAND FLAX GOODS IN THE EXHIBITION.

The case in the Industrial Department containing
specimens of the fibre got from the Phormium tenax
—popularly known as New Zealand flax—and the
yarn and cloths produced from the same, is certain
to prove a great attraction to all interested in manu-
factures. Alongside of this case stands one fitted
up by the Messrs. Cox Brothers, filled with Jute
manufactures, on which too much praise cannot be
bestowed; while opposite is a case of flax and hemp
yarns and cloth, from the Messrs. Baxter Brothers,
that could hardly be surpassed. There is thus the
means at hand of comparing the products from
Phormium tenax with splendid examples of linen and
jute goods. All things considered, the former shows
very favourably indeed. "New Zealand flax"—
like jute when first brought under notice—has not
hitherto been favourably regarded by manufacturers.
This is easily accounted for. The fibre, as originally
sent to this country, was quite unfit for the spinning
of yarns or the manufacture of fabrics. Its cost also
acted as a deterrant from experimenting on an
extensive scale. Although named "flax," the plant
belongs to the liliaceous order, and not the linaceæ,
to which the true flax belongs. There is considerable
dissimilarity in the fibre, and from this circumstance
it has been inferred that it would not prove suitable
for the same purposes as the flax (Linum usitatissimum)
with which we have hitherto been familiar. About
twenty years ago a series of careful experiments
were made on it in Dundee by the first house in the
linen trade. The result of these experiments is
thus described in a letter, dated 1st May, 1871, sent
by Mr. Sturrock, Secretary to the Chamber of Com-
merce, to the Secretary of the Board of Trade :—" It
was examined chemically, and was spun both into
yarns and manufactured into cloth, and the result
then arrived at was that it was quite unfit to compete
with or be suitable for such manufactures as are
produced from European flax." A few years ago
several public-spirited gentlemen in the Colony made
special efforts to prepare the fibre so as to make it
more acceptable to manufacturers in this country.
Its suitability for the manufacture of rope has been
long acknowledged; but what the Colonists aim at is
to demonstrate that it may also be profitably employed
in the manufacture of cloth. Attention has there-
fore been greatly directed to the dressing of the flax.
The great drawback in the way of the successful
preparation of the fibre on an extensive scale is the