76 FLAX CULTURE AND PREPARATION 



The operation of the mechanism and pulling is as follows : 

 As the machine is moved forward towards the standing flax 

 the arrow heads 5 of the supporting bars 4, together with the 

 tapered ends 22 of the cover plates 20, enter into and separate 

 the flax plants into approximately equivalent groups and so 

 guide them to the nip of the respective pairs of puller belts 

 where they are continuously gripped, raised, and carried 

 rearwards from the soil by the combined action of the con- 

 tinuous forward movement of the machine and the equivalent 

 rearward surface traverse of the puller belts. The flax plants 

 are gripped by the contiguous pairs of belts in their approxi- 

 mately upright positions, but at slightly different distances 

 from the roots ; they are evenly " butted " as they are pulled 

 from the soil and conveyed rearwards in these conditions by 

 the belts to transfer chains and from these to the " bite " of 

 the binder mechanism. 



