256 On the Agriculture of the Netherlands. 



the following is the common process : — A piece of water over which 

 alders grow is chosen in preference, as the leaves of that tree steeped in 

 the water give the flax a peculiar tint, which is thought desirable; or if 

 such a place is not at hand, alder-leaves are sometimes tied up in the 

 bundles of flax. It is thought that the alder-leaves also drive away in- 

 sects, which injure the fibres of the flax while steeping. The best and 

 most experienced steepers, however, disregard these notions, and prefer 

 the clear soft water of the river Lys, which they confine in long ponds 

 made for the purpose along the side of the river, of such a depth that the 

 flax may stand nearly upright in them without touching the bottom : this 

 requires a depth of 5 feet or more. If they cannot be made so deep, the 

 flax must be placed in a slanting position in the water, the root-end 

 lowermost, and the upper end a little under the surface of the water. It 

 is kept in this position by means of mats spread over it ; and poles with 

 stones placed on them keep the mats down and the whole under water. 

 If the steeping takes place in August the fibres will be sufficiently loosened 

 from the woody parts of the stem in a week. In October it will take 

 double that time, more or less according to the temperature : the warmer 

 the air is the sooner the flax will be steeped. In May it takes somewhat 

 less time than in October ; and the flax steeped then comes out of a 

 lighter colour than that which is steeped while green. 



" Some steepers tie the bundles together in pairs, the root-end of one 

 to the seed-end of the other, so that half the flax leans upwards in the 

 water and half downwards : but there seems no good reason for this 

 practice, for, as the root end is sooner steeped than the upper, it will be 

 unequally steeped, even if the flax be laid horizontally in the water, 

 which is not thought so good as placing it vertically or nearly so. But 

 as these men have great experience in the process, we must hesitate be- 

 fore we blame a practice of which we do not immediately see the ad- 

 vantage. Those who steep the flax in the Lys itself collect it in thick 

 bundles nearly a foot in diameter, and somewhat longer than the flax, by 

 laying several small bundles together, as described above. In these 

 large bundles the roots project at each end and the tops are inside : they 

 are tied round very tight in two places, about 6 inches from each end : 

 they are then placed upright and closely packed in a cage, or open frame, 

 made of w^ood and laths, 10 feet square and 4 feet deep: boards loaded 

 with stones are placed over the top so as to sink the whole a few inches 

 below the water of the river. Tims the water runs over and under the 

 frame, and is continually changed : the consequence of this is that the 

 flax becomes of a clean white colour, without the usual bluish tint, and 

 is therefore more valuable. The time of steeping is somewhat longer 

 than in stagnant water. It is pretended by those who do not adopt this 

 method that there is a considerable loss in the weight of flax steeped in 

 this way, which counterbalances the superior value. This is however 

 not clearly proved, and the quantity of flax which is brought from a great 

 distance to be thus steeped is a presumptive proof that this method is, 

 on the whole, the most profitable and the best. 



" The flax is frequently examined when it is nearly steeped enough : if 

 it be left a few hours too long in the water, the quality is injured ; and 

 if it be taken out too soon, the whole fibre will not be detached, but will 



