234 ALCOHOL, VINEGAR, SAUER KRAUT, TOBACCO, SILAGE, FLAX. 
is packed in trenches in the ground, pressed by heavy weights, 
and left to ferment. It undergoes a fermentation that converts 
it into an acceptable food for cattle. Its value lies in the fact that 
it is a means of utilizing what would otherwise be a waste product. 
It is of little significance in this country. 
THE RETTING OF FLAX AND HEMP. 
Linen is made from the long tough fibers that are found beneath 
the bark of the flax plant. In the plant they are firmly bound 
together, and with the wood and bark make 'a solid mass, glued 
together by a substance called pectin. To remove these fibers so 
that they may be woven into linen, this pectin must be disposed of 
in some way. The method by which this has been' accomplished 
from time immemorial is by "retting." The flax is tied up in 
bundles and immersed in the water of a stream or in vats. Here 
it remains until the water bacteria have pretty thoroughly rotted 
or "retted" it. By the decomposing action of these bacteria, 
the pectin is dissolved and the fibers in the flax stem are loosened 
from their connection with the other parts of the plant. A little 
combing over properly constructed teeth separates the fibers from 
each other, and gives the desired product for spinning and weaving. 
The separation of the flax fibers has practically always been done 
in this way. The bacteria concerned have been isolated from the 
retting flax and obtained in pure cultures, and it is found that they 
are able to produce the result when inoculated upon flax in pure 
culture. Hitherto no substitute for this bacterial action has been 
found that will satisfactorily replace the natural retting. It is 
quite possible that some chemical means may be found that 
will replace the bacterial process. Indeed, certain secret processes 
are now in use that are based upon chemical methods and are 
claimed to give uniform results in a much shorter time than the 
ordinary retting. How soon these may replace the agency of bacteria 
in the linen industries cannot be predicted. 
Hemp is prepared from the hemp plant by a means essentially 
similar to the retting of flax. 
