LINES. 
putrefaction necessary to separate the membrane from the fibre. 
The practice adopted in some parts of Brittany seems, there- 
fore, much more rational, which is to ripple the flax after it has 
lain in the air two or three days, but even one day will be suffi- 
cient if the weather is dry. 
The process of rippling is the next operation. A large 
cloth should be spread on a convenient spot of ground, with a 
ripple placed in the middle of it. In performing this operation, 
the capsules are separated from the stalks by means of an iron 
comb called a ripple, fixed on a beam of wood, on the ends of 
which two persons sit, who, by pulling the seed ends of the 
flax repeatedly through this comb, execute the operation in a 
very complete manner. In Scotland the pods are generally 
separated by the ripple, even when there is no intention of 
saving them for seed, as it is found when the flax is put into 
water without taking off the capsules, the water soon becomes 
putrid, in consequence of which the flax is greatly injured. 
_ The management of the capsules and separating of the seed 
is the next operation. The capsules should be spread in the 
sun to dry, and those seeds which separate from the capsules 
of their own accord, being the fullest and ripest, should be set 
apart for sowing, in case the precaution of raising some flax 
purposely for seed has not been attended to. The capsules are 
then broken, either by treading or by threshing, in order to 
get out the remaining ‘seeds, the whole of which, as well as the 
former, should be carefully sifted, winnowed, and cleaned. 
When the seed is laid up, it must be frequently stirred or ven- 
tilated to prevent its heating. Even this second seed affords a 
considerable profit by the oil which it yields, and also by being 
used when broken for fattening of cattle. 
To facilitate the separation of the fibre from the bark, it is 
necessary to accelerate the process of decay or putrefaction. 
This may be done in different ways, but the chief are those of 
bleaching alone, or of steeping and bleaching. Bleaching is a 
tedious and laborious operation, when it is intended as a sub- 
stitute for steeping, but it is the most certain for not injuring 
the fibre, and may be adopted on a small scale when steeping 
places are not at hand. In Dorsetshire and some other places, 
flax, instead of being steeped, is what is called dew-retted ; 
that is, the stalks are allowed to lie on the grass until they arrive 
at that state in which the harl or woody part separate easily 
from the boon, reed, or fibre, by the action and influence of the 
dew. This is nothing more than exposing the flax to the influence 
of the weather for a longer period than is necessary, when the ope- 
ration of watering has been previously performed, as in grassing. 
Steeping, however, is the most universal practice both in Britain 
and on the Continent. Of late an invention has been made by 
Mr. Lee of Middlesex, by which, with the aid of soft soap and 
machinery, the fibre is more completely separated than by steep- 
ing, and uninjured by that process. When flax is to be separ- 
ated by this new process, the cultivator has only to pull it in 
handfulls, dry it, bind it into sheaves, and put it up in stacks 
like corn, till wanted by the manufacturer. 
Steeping or watering, however, is and will be the general 
practice, till flax-dressing machines come into general practice. 
In performing this operation, the flaz, whether it has been dried 
and rippled or pulled green, is loosely tied into small bundles, 
the smaller the better, because it is then most equally watered. 
These sheaves ought to be built in the pool in a reclining upright 
position, so that the weight placed above may keep the whole 
firm down. The weights made use of are commonly stones 
placed on planks or directly on the fax. The Flemish mode of 
steeping flax, as described by Radcliff, is said to improve the 
quality of the flax and greatly increase its whiteness. The mode 
differs from the common practice in placing the bundles in the 
Steep vertically instead of horizontally, in immersing the flax 
I. Linum. 455 
by means of transverse sticks, with that degree of weight annexed, : 
which shall not push it down to the bottom, but leave it to descend 
spontaneously towards the conclusion of the steepage; and in 
leaving at first a space of half a foot between the bottom and 
the roots of the flax. The spontaneous descent of the flax is 
an indication of its being sufficiently steeped, and the strength 
and quality of the fibre are said to be much better preserved by 
this mode, in which the temperature of the atmosphere acts with 
most force on the upper part of the plant, which needs it most. 
The water most proper for steeping flax should be clear, soft, 
and in standing pools. Compared with running water, pools 
occasion the flax to have a better colour, to be sooner ready for 
the grass, and even to be of superior quality in every respect. 
Where soft, clear, stagnating water cannot be obtained without 
art, a pit or canal is commonly formed, adjoining a river or 
stream, whence water can be easily brought. ‘This pit or canal 
is filled with water for some time (a week or two) before it be 
proposed to pull the flax, by this means the water acquires a 
greater degree of warmth than river water possesses, and which 
contributes greatly to facilitate the object farmers have in 
view in immersing green flax in water, namely, to make the 
flaxing substance part easily and completely from the boon reed 
or harl. 
The period that flax ought to remain in the water depends on 
various circumstances, as the state of ripeness in which it is 
pulled, the quality and temperature of the water, &c. The 
most certain rule to judge when flax is sufficiently watered is, 
when the boon becomes brittle and the harl separates easily from 
it. Inwarm weather ten days of the watering process is suffi- 
cient; but it is proper to examine the pools regularly after the 
seventh day, lest the fax should putrefy or rot, which sometimes 
happens in very warm weather. Twelve days will answer in 
any sort of weather, though it may be remarked that it is better 
to give too little of the water than too much, as any deficiency 
may be easily made up by suffering it to be longer on the grass, 
whereas an excess of water admits of no remedy (Brown). 
Grassing or bleaching flax is the next operation, the intention 
of which is to rectify any defect in the watering process, and to 
carry on the putrefying process to that point when the fibre 
will separate from the bark, boon, reed, or harl with the greatest 
ease. In performing this operation the flaz is spread very thin 
on the ground, and in regular rows, the one being made to over- 
lap the other a few inches, with a view of preventing, as much 
as possible, its being torn up and scattered by gales of wind. 
Old grass-ground, where the herbage does not grow to any 
great height, is the best for the purpose, as when the grass or 
weeds spring up so as to cover the flax, it is frequently rotted, 
or at least greatly injured thereby. The time allowed for 
grassing is regulated by the state of the flax, and seldom exceeds 
ten or twelve days. During this time it is repeatedly examined, 
and when it is found that the boon has become very brittle, so 
that on being broken and rubbed between the hands, it easily 
and freely parts from the harl, it is then taken up, a dry day 
being chosen for the purpose, and being bound in sheaves is 
either sent directly to the mill, which is the usual practice in the 
northern districts, or broken and scutched by a machine or 1m- 
plement for that purpose. i 
Steeping of flax in hot water and soft soap, said to be the 
invention of Lee, and for which he was granted by parliament 
a secret or unenrolled patent, is said to separate the fibre from 
the woody matter better than steeping in water, and this in the 
short space of two or three hours, and either with green flax or 
such as has been dried or stacked for months or years. 
The dressing of flax consists of various operations, such as 
scutching, hacking, or breaking, by which the woody part is 
broken, and heckling or combing, by which the fibre is separ- 
