THE FLAX PLANT AND FIBRE 



Kolb defines green flax as containing a substance of a gummy 

 nature to which the name pectose has been given. During 

 the retting process this substance splits up into two definite 

 compounds to which the names pectine and pectic acid 

 have been given. The pectic acid is insoluble in water 

 and remains attached to the plant until modified or removed 



by the bleaching 

 operation. Pectine is 

 soluble in water and 

 is washed from the flax 

 during retting. 



Fig. 5 illustrates in 

 diagrammatic form 

 the continuous bun- 

 dles of overlapping 

 fibres as they lie ad- 

 hesively contiguous in 

 their natural and 

 commercial form. 



Fig. 6 is a sketch 

 of the actual fibre as 

 seen under the micro- 

 scope. 



F IG 4 The length of the 



SCUTCHED FLAX ultimate fibre varies 



from 1J to If in. or 



30 to 45 mm. The diameter of the same averages gorr to 

 ToW in. The fibre from the finest sorts of specially selected 

 crops exceeds this fineness and averages about TTCTO in. 



The physical or mechanical structure of the flax fibre is 

 multicellular as compared with the cotton fibre which is 

 unicellular. In the series of operations subsequently de- 

 scribed which prepare the flax for the market, the pith is rolled, 

 dried, and broken into small particles of dust, leaving behind 

 the long fibrous tissues of scutched flax in the hands of the 

 scutcher. All the subsequent operations of roughing, hackling, 



