As regards the actual number of spindles and power-looms engaged in linen manufacture, the following particulars are taken from the report of the Flax Supply Association for 1905:—
| Country. | Year. | Number of Spindles for Flax Spinning. | Year. | Number of Power-looms for Linen Weaving. |
| Austria-Hungary | 1903 | 280,414 | 1895 | 3357 |
| Belgium | 1902 | 280,000 | 1900 | 3400 |
| England and Wales | 1905 | 49,941 | 1905 | 4424 |
| France | 1902 | 455,838 | 1891 | 18,083 |
| Germany | 1902 | 295,796 | 1895 | 7557 |
| Holland | 1896 | 8000 | 1891 | 1200 |
| Ireland | 1905 | 851,388 | 1905 | 34,498 |
| Italy | 1902 | 77,000 | 1902 | 3500 |
| Norway | .. | .. | 1880 | 120 |
| Russia | 1902 | 300,000 | 1889 | 7312 |
| Scotland | 1905 | 160,085 | 1905 | 17,185 |
| Spain | .. | .. | 1876 | 1000 |
| Sweden | .. | .. | 1884 | 286 |
British Exports of Linen Yarn and Cloth.
| 1891. | 1896. | 1901. | 1906. | |
| Weight of linen yarn in pounds | 14,859,900 | 18,462,300 | 12,971,100 | 14,978,200 |
| Length in yards of linen piece goods, plain, | ||||
| bleached or unbleached | 144,416,700 | 150,849,300 | 137,521,000 | 173,334,200 |
| Length in yards of linen piece goods, checked, | ||||
| dyed or printed, also damask and diaper | 11,807,600 | 17,986,100 | 8,007,600 | 13,372,100 |
| Length in yards of sail-cloth | 3,233,400 | 5,372,600 | 4,686,700 | 4,251,400 |
| Total length in yards of all kinds of linen cloth | 159,457,700 | 174,208,000 | 150,215,300 | 190,957,700 |
| Weight in pounds of linen thread for sewing | 2,474,100 | 2,240,300 | 1,721,000 | 2,181,100 |
Authorities.—History of the trade, &c.: Warden’s Linen Trade, Ancient and Modern. Spinning: Peter Sharp, Flax, Tow and Jute Spinning (Dundee); H. R. Carter, Spinning and Twisting of Long Vegetable Fibres (London). Weaving: Woodhouse and Milne, Jute and Linen Weaving, part i., Mechanism, part ii., Calculations and Cloth Structure (Manchester); and Woodhouse and Milne, Textile Design: Pure and Applied (London).
(T. Wo.)
[1] See Sir Arthur Mitchell’s The Past in the Present (Edinburgh, 1880).
[2] The preparation of tow for spinning differs in essential features from the processes above described. Tow from different sources, such as scutching tow, hackle tow, &c. differs considerably in quality and value, some being very impure, filled with woody shives &c., while other kinds are comparatively open and clean. A preliminary opening and cleaning is necessary for the dirty much-matted tows, and in general thereafter they are passed through two carding engines called respectively the breaker and the finisher cards till the slivers from their processes are ready for the drawing and roving frames. In the case of fine clean tows, on the other hand, passing through a single carding engine may be sufficient. The processes which follow the carding do not differ materially from those followed in the preparation of rove from line flax.
