LINAGES 475 



boxes. A fine grade of paper (linen paper) is made from 

 linen rags. Linen paper treated with sulphuric acid gives a 

 parchment which takes the place of "sheep skin." 



Preparation of Flax Fiber.— Flax plants for fiber are pulled 

 by hand and tied into small bundles. The bundles are 

 shocked and permitted to cure. After the seed is thrashed 

 from the plants, they are spread out thinly on the ground 

 and exposed to the weather for several weeks. The exposure 

 brings about a partial separation of the bark and wood. 

 This process is known as retting. It is essentially a fermenta- 

 tion process. Retting is also carried on in stagnant water 

 and fresh running water. Most French and Belgium flax is 

 retted in running streams, while most Irish, flax is retted 

 in stagnant water. The bundles of straw are then pounded 

 by hand or bent by machinery, until the fiber is almost 

 entirely freed of other stem parts. The next treatment, 

 known as "scutching," consists in beating the fibers until any 

 fragments of bark or wood or course fibers, not removed in 

 the breaking process, are eliminated. Paddles, operated 

 by hand or by machinery, are used in the scutching process. 

 The fibers are sorted and baled, and kept in this form until 

 ready to be spun. 



Production of Flax.— Most of the flax for fiber is grown in 

 the European countries. The United States is one of the 

 largest seed-producing countries but raises a very small 

 amount of fiber. In 1914, Argentina produced 39,171,000 

 bushels of flax seed, British India 15,440,000 bushels, and 

 United States 13,749,000 bushels. The large flax seed-pro- 

 ducing States in 1914 were North Dakota, Minnesota, 

 Montana, South Dakota, and Kansas. 



