AND USE IN UNITED STATES. 51 



the ground, but must be at once gathered 

 into sheaves, and stacked, as the fibre may 

 be injured by the heat of the sun, or the 

 seed by dampness. When the seed is dry, 

 the next process is " rippling," or remov- 

 ing the seed. This can be done by hand 

 or by machine, care being taken to keep 

 the stalks straight. This, of course, pre- 

 vents the use of the threshing-machine, 

 and consequently the small farmer must 

 do it by hand. 



The next process, which is termed " ret- 

 ting " or rotting, is the one by which the 

 fibre is so loosened from the wood, as to 

 be easily removable. 1 The process requires 

 great skill and experience, and, if unskil- 

 fully done, will injure or entirely ruin the 

 fibre. The retting is a fermentation of 

 the gummy substance that binds the fibre 

 to the wood, and is accomplished by ex- 

 posure of the flax to the dew in the fields, 

 or by immersing it in water. The former 

 process is the most common in this coun- 



1 See Rep. Dept. Ag. 1879, PP- 5^9~59O, for a more detailed 

 account of this process. 



