58 TLA.X. 



but, to make it ready for breaking and scutching, ex- 

 posure t the sun should be sufficient ; but if the wea- 

 ther be damp, the flax tough, and it must be wrought off, 

 then it must be fire-dried. Such drying is always more 

 or less injurious ; the flax is absolutely burned before it 

 is dry. All who can afford it should keep such flax over 

 till the ensuing spring or summer, putting it dry in stack, 

 then it will work freely withozit fire-heat." 



Eor inexperienced hands, the great difficulty in steeping 

 is to determine beforehand the time necessary for the 

 flax to remain in the water ; for its progress will depend 

 upon the quality of the water, on the more or less rapid 

 rate at which it is renewed, and upon the state of the 

 atmosphere. The only certain way of proceeding, is to 

 watch the effect of the operation on the flax itself. For 

 this purpose, samples should be drawn from time to time 

 from the middle of the mass, when it will be seen whether 

 the fibre easily separates from the wood ; but unless the 

 operator has great experience, the best way is to test the 

 state of the flax upon a few stalks that have been pre- 

 viously dried, namely, upon materials in exactly the same 

 condition as they will have to be when worked by the 

 scutchers. The fibre, in fact, always separates more 

 readily from wet stalks than from dry ones. By way of 

 test, crack the stalk across near the root, without break- 

 ing the fibre, and draw the latter towards the head of the 

 stem, stripping it upwards. The fibre ought to come 

 away easily, and should, moreover, hold together in 

 ribbons ; narrow and separate fibres would indicate the 

 steeping to have gone too far. 



Having thus detailed the most approved Belgian and 

 Irish plans of steeping, we will now describe the simple 

 and easy method which we have personally witnessed in 

 successful operation. The flax being tied up in the cylindri- 

 cal sheaves or bunches which we have described, is carried 

 to the water, and simply thrown into it. JSTo crates, nor 

 anything of the kind, are made use of. The water must 

 not be a running stream, but a ditch or pond, in which 

 the water is soft, pure, clear, and not charged with 



