VEGETABLE FIBERS. 589 



alone are being subjected to the pressure of the rollers. The whipping 

 process is thus described by Mr. Lowrey : 



Place a flat stone on the barn-floor, with one edge inclined to an angle of forty-five 

 degrees ; set another under it to block it up ; clasp the bundle with both hands near 

 the roots, raise it, and with a smart stroke bring it down across the stone. Repeat it 

 several times, until the seeds are mostly broken from the straw. Clean the seed with 

 a fanning-mill. 



The next process is the "retting," which is accomplished by two 

 methods — water-retting and dew-retting. The latter is most practiced 

 in this country, though the former gives the best results. The retting 

 is simply a process of fermentation by which the gluten holding together 

 the fibers in the stalk is dissolved and the woody core or " boon " is de- 

 composed, so that the flax when broken will be easily detached from the 

 waste matter called " shives." In dew-retting a ton of straw is spread 

 evenly over an acre of moist meadow, about the 1st of October, the bun- 

 dles a foot apart and in straight rows. They are turned occasionally by 

 inserting a pole under the straw and opened with a fork, if the retting 

 is found to be progressing unevenly. The time varies for the operation, 

 the condition of the straw and state of the weather having much to do 

 with it. One to two weeks in good weather is considered sufidcient, 

 though in dry weather a much longer time is required. Water-retting 

 requires from five to ten, and in some cases even twenty to thirty, days. 

 It should be carefully watched, and taken out of the water as soon as the 

 fiber begins to separate from the core or woody part and the harl or 

 cuticle will peel from the fiber. 



The softest water is unquestionably the best for steeping, and river 

 water is therefore preferable to spring water. It is thought that flax 

 is given a better color when retted in a slow-running stream than in 

 stagnant water, as all impurities are removed. Where access cannot 

 be had to rivers or to lakes or ponds, the farmer must construct 

 steeping pools. These pools are generally 12 to 18 feet long, 6 feet wide, 

 and 4 feet deep. It should be protected from the wash of surface water. 

 When a small running stream can be carried through the pool it will be 

 found quite advantageous ; more so than when spring water is used. If 

 spring water only be available, it is best to fill the pool some six weeks 

 before it is needed for use, in order that the influence of the sun and air 

 may soften the water. It should also be kept clean and free from min- 

 eral and vegetable impurities. A pool 38 feet long, 3| to 4 feet deep, 

 and 10 feet wide will serve to ret an acre of flax. A writer in the jour- 

 nal of the (British) agricultural society states that water which has 

 flowed over peat or has lain on peaty soil for some time is very good for 

 retting flax, the antiseptic properties of the peat correcting the usual 

 defects of stagnant water. In regard to the influence of the bottom of 

 the pit upon the color of the fiber, clay bottom is said to give a yellow- 

 ish-white tinge, alluvial soil a bluish shade, while peat often gives a very 

 pure white. 



In placing the flax in the pool the sheaves are packed loosely, a little 

 sloping, and resting on their butt ends. One layer in a pool is best, 

 though two are sometimes i>acked. Sometimes the work is done before 

 the water is let in, where there is a ready supi)ly, enabling the workmen 

 to place the flax more regularly. The Irish flax-growers say that flax 

 must be covered from the light by sods, with the grassy side underneath, 

 or with long wheaten straw, kept down with stones or heavy logs of 

 wood. The point is to keep the flax entirely undei" water, without com- 

 ing in contact with the bottom of the pond or pool. 



When fermentation begins to take place the water shows signs of tur- 



