306 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. W. [April 2, 1908. 



Pulling. 



Everv\vhore the pulling of the straw is done l)y hand. The aiLjuinents for 

 this practice are always essentially the same, viz., (Ij that there is no machine 

 which will do the work well, and {'!) that it is wise to pull l)y hand, as all 

 weeds mav he diseai-dcd. and the ci'o]) may he sorted and thmwii into pniper 

 crades of straw. Some writers claim that there is much loss of libre if one 

 attempts to cut the crop, for the reason tliat-" the best fil)re is located in the 

 lower stem and root." There is little or no foundation for this belief. The 

 last 2 or 3 inches of stem is exceedini,dy woody, and contains but little libre, 

 and the root contains no tibic of xaliic i^tsomeof the large scutching mills 

 in Belgium, it was contended that the til)re from cut sti-aw is unsatisfactory 

 for spiiuiing purposes, for the reason that fibres with cut ends do not bind 

 together in the thread properly, that they slip, itc. There may be some basis 

 for this belief, but it .seems very doubtful that it (tan be a feature of any 

 great importance. The principal reasons for pulling instead of cutting flax 

 seem to be — (L) to avoid stain and injury, which would lesidt from soil 

 moisture soaking into the cut stems while curing in the shock ; (2) to secure 

 better curing of the straw and ripening of the seed ; (3) to secure straw of 

 full length. Pullerl tlax connnands a price of from .'^l to •S2 per ton more 

 than cut llax. 



Clean culture would elinnnate the weeds, and the seedd)ed which is best 

 suited to tlax culture is of so even and smooth a nature when properly prepared 

 that reaping machines could l)e set to run .so clo,se to the earth as to remove 

 practically every inch of valuable straw. T'here is no successful pulling 

 machine now in use, though its invention has been attempted. 



Thrashing, or Seed Removal. 



Tn European fibre work the seed is always removed by hand, or such simple 

 machinery is used that hand labour is the main element. The attempt is to save 

 the fibre in the small branches upon which the bolls are located. Much care 

 is given to the proper drying of the sti-aw and seed Ixjlls or capsules, so that 

 the work of seed removal may be as easily effected as possible. The crop is 

 sometimes left in small bundles or swaths as pulled, aiid then dried and 

 stacked. Sometimes it is kiln-dried, or often in peasant districts hung in 

 bunches upon fences or on racks put up for that purpose. 



European growers of fibre flax contend that the proper sa\ ing of the seed- 

 croj) should give sufficient seed to pay for all of the farming processes — 

 indeed, all of the steps in the culture of the cii^i up to and including the 

 process of retting. 



Retting. 



The process of freeing the fibre from the woody and gummy substances, so 

 that it can be easily removed by the processes of breaking and scutching, is 

 known as retting. The work may be done either Dy chemical means or by 

 the slower process of fermentation oi' rotting. The retting may be done in 

 water or by a weathering process through exposure to dew, rain, and sun. 



