626 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



described already, various other methods of separating the fibre 

 have been advocated from time to time. Although it is not 

 exactly clear why they always fell into disuse, there seems 

 to be good evidence for concluding that it was owing to the 

 dry condition of the fibre obtained, to the removal of the 

 oily and strengthening matters from the fibre which give to it 

 a valuable spinning quality and also to the opposition offered by 

 the manufacturers and the trade generally to a new article. 



Cost of Production 



It is now so long since flax was grown as a field crop in 

 this country that little importance can be attached to the 

 recorded cost of production. Fifteen years ago the estimated 

 cost of this crop in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Suffolk 

 was said to be about £5 per acre ; in Yorkshire a trifle less and 

 in the south of England a trifle more. It is probable that these 

 figures would not represent the cost at the present day owing to 

 the general increase in the cost of production that has taken 

 place during the last decade. 



With regard to the preparation of the fibre the same argu- 

 ment applies ; moreover, the cost of retting is very variable : 

 frequently in two districts not far removed from one another, 

 the cost of retting in the one may be double that in the other. 

 Scutching is variously estimated to cost about £2 10s. per acre of 

 straw grown but as this depends upon the skill of the scutchers 

 and the extent to which the straw has been retted, the cost of 

 this operation may vary considerably. The most trustworthy 

 information would be obtained from a central rettery where proper 

 records were kept and where the value of the product is recorded. 

 Unfortunately such data are not to be obtained from the few 

 depots in operation. The only indication of success upon which 

 reliance can be placed is the general appearance of the establish- 

 ment and the fact that some of them have been in operation for 

 about ten years, during which time modest profits have been made. 



It has been mentioned already that during the past year 

 (1912) flax was grown in Bedfordshire as a fibre crop. Certain 

 experiments were made there with a view to getting practical 

 information regarding the successful handling of the crop both 

 in the field and during the after-processes. The field experiments 

 were made to include trials of varieties of seed procured in 



