52 FLAX CULTURE 



try, as requiring less labor and trouble ; 

 but the latter process is used abroad, and 

 is the only process by which really good 

 flax can be made. The flax must be kept 

 entirely under water, and yet must not 

 rest on the bottom. Soft water is the 

 best, in ponds or slowly running streams. 

 Retting pools are constructed, twelve or 

 more feet long, six feet wide, and four feet 

 deep. The flax is laid carefully in rows, 

 with the roots all pointing one way. In 

 a short time fermentation sets in, and 

 bubbles of foul-smelling gases rise to the 

 surface. This process occupies from five 

 to ten days, according to the weather, 

 coarse fibre taking longer than fine. The 

 retting should be carefully watched, and 

 when thought to be completed, the flax 

 should be tested every few hours, as the 

 change for the worse is very rapid. If 

 the retting continues too long, the fibre is 

 rendered weak and cottony ; if not long 

 enough, it is dry and coarse, and much 

 of it is knocked away in the later pro- 

 cesses. The flax is then removed from 



