92 STATISTICAL SURVEY 



pletely filled, and the feed aflumes within a brown co- 

 lour, which encreafes until it has the fame hue as the 

 foreign , after this it {lands in flooks, until it is fuffi- 

 ciently dry to allow of its being flacked, which muft 

 be on hovels, to prevent the depredations of vermin, 

 that are very fond of the feed. In this fituation it re- 

 mains, until it is neceflary or convenient to free the 

 feed from its covering; which is performed, firfl, by 

 rippling or drawing |he flax through a row of fpikes, 



fixed in a plank clofe enough to draw off the boles, 



* r i 



which are then bruifed, by which operation the feed is 

 freed, and after w^ aed by winnowing. The 



flax produced r.ich flands until it is ripe, 



is reckoned n: (h and more coarfe than that, 



J) 



which is pulled green ; but this, I fliould fancy, was 

 more owing to ignorance in handling it, than from 

 any real defect; at leafl, fuch was the opinion of a 

 very fkilful hackkr, with whom I converted upon the 

 fubject. It is much to be wifhed, that we could favc 

 our own feed, and preferve the quality of our flax. 



The next flep towards fitting the flax for fpianing, 

 after it is pulled, is watering. This is performed by 

 finking it either in running or flagnant water, and 

 keeping it in its pofition, either by the weight of fods 

 or Hones, until the inner part of the plant is fo rotted, 

 that, in the future operations of breaking and fcotching, 

 the rind or outfide covering, which affords the ma- 

 terial for fpinning, may eafily be feparated from it j in 



the. 



