t 305 3 



with difficulty, and with lofs of fubftance to the 

 yarn. Why fhould not the longitudinal fibres of 

 the flax, before they are fpun into yarn, be made 

 not only as fine, but as clean as pofTible? Upoa 

 the new fyftenn propofed, the a6l of bleaching 

 would begin imnnediately after the ripling of the 

 flax; and a little done then might, perhaps, fave 

 much of what is generally done after the fpinning 

 and weaving. To fpin dirty flax with a view of 

 cleaning it afterwards, appears to be the fame 

 impropriety as though we were to referve part of 

 the drefling given to leather till after it is made 

 into a glave. 



Should the plunging the flax into the boiling 

 water not fuffice to make the boon brittle enough, 

 as I am inclined to think it would not, tben the 

 common watering might be added; but in thaC 

 cafe, probably, half the time ufually given to this 

 watering would fuffice, and the flax might then be 

 laid in clear rivulets without any apprehenfion of 

 its infe6bing the water and poiioning the fifh, or of 

 being difcoloured itfclf ; for the boiling water into 

 w-hich it had been previoufly put, would have, ex- 

 tracted all the poifonous vegetative fap, which I 

 prefume is what chiefly difcolours the flax, and 

 kills the fiflik 



Vol. V. X Oi^ 



