420 FLAX 



employ tho hot plan, believing that thoy have thus a larger yield than when the cold 

 pressure is first used. See LINSEED On.. 



In England, the cold pressure is little, it 1 at all, practised, tho seed being almost in- 

 variably warmed before pressure. The system of crushing, formerly universal hero, 

 had some resemblance to tho Flemish method above detailed, tho chief difference 

 being in tho modo of preparing tho seed, prior to its being put in the press. Tho 

 lirst process is to pass slowly from a hopper the whole seeds into a pair of smooth 

 or fluted metal rollers, which, in turning on each other, crack tho seeds. II' -aw 

 edged stones then grind them into a meal, a little water being added during the OIH-IM"- 

 tion, which facilitates tho comminution of tho seed. Tho meal is then put in tho 

 kettle before described, and while heated and stirred in it, the water mixed with 

 it is evaporated. It is thou bagged and put in the press, where tho stampers, falling 

 on tho wedges, effect tho desired results. Tho most recent improvement in the mode 

 of pressure, and ono now largely adopted, is tho hydraulic press, and it is generally 

 considered that a larger yield of oil can bo obtained by its use than by tho wodgo and 

 stamper-beam method. Blundell's (of Hull) patent is that most generally emploj'ed, 

 and Messrs. Samuelson of that place are distinguished as makers of it, having them- 

 selves introduced some modifications and improvements. The oil obtained from flax- 

 seeds or linseed, as it is generally termed, is of very extensive use in the arts, and is 

 the chief vehicle for paints. To suit it for this purpose, and to make it dry quickly, 

 it is mostly boiled in an iron pan, and during the operation a quantity of litharge is 

 dissolved in it. The cake is a very favourite article with stock-feeders, being com- 

 bined, as containing much nutriment in small bulk, with roots or other vegetable 

 food, having large bulk with small nutriment. So extensively is it consumed in 

 Great Britain, that besides the very large quantity made from imported seed, fully 

 80,000 tons of foreign cake are annually imported. On tho Continent inferior qualities 

 of cako aro ground to a coarse powder, and either applied to tho soil as a top- 

 divssing, or steeped in a liquid manure, and the mass spread out on the land in that state. 



Scutched flax fibre appears in the market made up iu different ways. Russian is 

 in large bales or bundles ; Dutch and Flemish in bales weighing 2 cwts., the fibre being 

 tied in ' heads/ each of which is about as much as tho hand will grasp. Irish is 

 made up in bundles termed ' stones,' the weight of which is either 16 Ibs. or 24. i Ibs. 

 In this state it is piled in the stores of the spinner, care being taken that it bo placed 

 on a ground-floor, flagged or tiled, and not in a boarded loft, as the humid atmo- 

 sphere of the former is conducive to the preservation of the suppleness and ' spinning 

 quality ' of the fibre, whereas it deteriorates considerably when exposed to a drier air. 



The first operation which it undergoes in tho spinning factory is hackling. 



This process is required to comb and straighten the fibres, to get rid of any knots, 

 and to lessen and equalise the size of the filaments. The action of tho hackles 

 necessarily divides the scutched flax into two portions, the long, straight ones, which 

 remain after the flax has passed through the operation, being termed ' lino,' and the 

 woolly- or cottony-looking mass which remains, being designated ' tow.' Both of 

 these are spun, but the line produces tho finer and better qualities of yarn, and is 

 consequently much more valuable than tho tow. Tho great object, therefore, is to 

 obtain the largest possible quantity of tho former from a given weight of scutched 

 flax, and the yield of lino varies considerably according to the nature of tho season. 

 Spinners, therefore, arc anxious, as each now crop of flax is brought to a marketable 

 state, to test the yield of line, so as to guide them in their purchases. Tlu-y aro thus 

 enabled to ascertain more clearly the suitability of tho samples for ' warp' or ' \\cil 1 

 yarns, .and for thread-twisting. Warp-yarns, being those which constitute tho long 

 threads of a linen fabric, requiro to be harder and stronger than weft-yarns, which 

 form the cross or short threads. 



Tho yield of line, as well as the general economy of tho operation, is, of course, 

 greatly dependent on tho nature of tho hackling-machine employed, and great scope 

 for Giro and ingenuity is thus given to tho machine-makers. A great number of 

 hackling-machines have, from time to time, been brought out, employed in the 

 factories, and subsequently abandoned, when others, having greater merit, have been 

 invented. 



In the early period of tho linen manufacture, when spinning was done exclusively 

 by hand, no hackling-machines were employed. Tho process was exclusively i-ff. cted 

 by hand-hackles. Even after the introduction of machine-spinning, they were, for a 

 long period, the sole means of hackling. Of late years, the machine has been more 

 and more brought into use, and, although hand-hackling still exists to a considerable 

 extent, tho other method is by far the more extensively employed. 



For hand-hackling, tho too'ls used consist of a surface stu ded more or less thickly 

 with metal points, called hacklc-teoth, through which teeth tho flax is drawn by tho 

 operator, 



