CHAPTER X 



DESEEDING METHODS 



79. Elimination of Flax Seed or Bolls. 80. The Ripple. 81. 

 "Ripple" Machinary. 82. "Rippling" Operation. 83. Rotary 

 Ripple. 84. Tho Hand " Morston " 85. Conveyer Belts and 

 Oscillating Coml. 86. Two or Three Rollers. 87. Two single 

 Pairs of Rollers. 88. Multiple Pairs of Rollers. 89. Greeve's 

 Reels. 90. Separation of Flax Seed into Different Weights. 



79. Elimination of Flax Seed or Bolls. The flax seed, or 

 seed bolls, may be removed from the flax straw in one of several 

 ways. If the seed bolls are removed whole it is preferable to 

 delay as long as possible, the operation of crushing the bolls 

 and cleaning the seed. When this policy is adopted, the 

 vitality and high percentage of seed germination is generally 

 best retained. 



The particular form of deseeding is influenced to a con- 

 siderable extent by the condition of the flax straw at the 

 proposed time, e.g., whether green or partially or wholly dry. 



80. The Ripple. The operation of rippling the seed bolls 

 by hand is performed by drawing the flax stems freely and 

 quickly through the teeth of a coarse, upright, steel comb. 

 The method is old, useful, and most satisfactory for removing 

 the bolls from green or partially dried straw. The hand 

 ripple is still preferred by many large and most small flax 

 growers for deseeding the dry straw from the stack. 



It is interesting to note that in the whole range of inventions 

 of textile machinery, those machines which were eventually 

 standardized were always of the type which most nearly 

 accomplished the work in the way it had been hitherto per- 

 formed by hand, and even for this reason alone each essential 

 movement in hand rippling should be carefully observed. 



In hand rippling the weeds, largely charlock and red shank, 



