PROJECTED REVIVAL OF THE FLAX INDUSTRY 621 



especially towards the end of the operation, when the straw is 

 examined several times each day. The usual time for steeping 

 is from ten to twelve nights and when the adjudged point has been 

 reached the straw is carefully removed from the pond and spread 

 over grass land or opened out and stood upon end to dry. 



When larger volumes of water are used or when the water is 

 allowed to flow slowly through the pond, the colour of the resultant 

 fibre is much paler ; and when retting is carried out at the shore 

 of a lake or river, the fibre obtained eventually is almost white. 



For the production of high-class fibre, the method known 

 as " double retting " stands before all others. It is practised 

 with greatest perfection in Belgium in the neighbourhood of 

 Courtrai, where since the middle of the last century flax has 

 been systematically double-retted in the River Lys. This 

 river is naturally adapted to retting inasmuch as the water is 

 very slow-moving and the river bank slopes gently down to 

 the water-edge. What probably is the cause of such successful 

 retting in this river in particular is the slow movement of the 

 water and the large amount of organic matter which it carries 

 from towns situated some distance above the portion of its 

 course devoted to retting. Bacterial development under these 

 circumstances, aided by the enormous quantity of flax which 

 is annually retted in the river, has resulted in the exception- 

 ally favourable conditions which obtain at the present day. 



The Lys retting period lasts from April 15 to October 15 and 

 during that time the river is practically closed to traffic. For 

 some twenty miles on either side of Courtrai a continuous row 

 of retting crates or " ballons " are to be seen packed close 

 together near to each bank of the river and remarkable acti- 

 vity prevails during the whole period. On the river bank the 

 straw is sorted into heaps of approximately equal length of 

 straw and the various heaps are made up into bundles which are 

 packed closely into the " ballons." Sacking is placed along 

 the open front, an ample covering of straw is spread over the 

 top and the " ballon " is then launched into the river and 

 weighted down by large stones so as to submerge the flax 

 straw. During the summer months the temperature of the 

 river water is about 20 to 25 C. and the first retting occupies 

 nearly a week. As fermentation proceeds the " ballon " rises 

 out of the water and therefore requires its weight of stones to 

 be adjusted from time to time. 



