92 -FLAX. 



tached to the axle would answer the same purpose, were 

 the material strong enough. 



The course, then, of the thread, from its origin between 

 the spinner's fingers to the place where it is deposited 

 by being wound round the bobbin, is as follows : the 

 spinner has a light slim distaff (quenouille) , eight or nine 

 and twenty inches long. Bound the head (which is pur- 

 posely split, and kept open by the insertion of a circular 

 piece of wood) is wrapped a small quantity of combed 

 flax. She sticks the lower end of the distaff into her 

 waistband or apron-string, on the left side, in a slightly 

 slanting position, so that the head of the distaff is con- 

 veniently placed for her right hand to reach it. The 

 spinner pulls a few fibres from her distaff, twists them 

 into an imperfect thread, passes it through the perforated 

 axle, and fastens it to it. She next touches the wheel 

 with her finger, and keeps it going with her foot, till 

 about half a yard of thread is thus spun. The end of the 

 thread is then unfastened from the head of the axle and 

 fastened to the bobbin, after being passed through the 

 hole in it, and round one of the hooks on the horse-shoe. 

 That is the commencement of every bobbin of thread. 

 The first yard of thread thus once begun, the spinner 

 has only to keep the wheel at work, which makes the 

 axle and horseshoe and bobbin revolve together. By 

 these the thread is both twisted and at the same time 

 wound round the bobbin ; and the spinner supplies the 

 fresh demand for thread-material by pulling the flax in a 

 continued streamlet from the head of her distaff. Tow 

 is spun in exactly the same way, except that it is more 

 difficult to make an even thread of it, and is never so 

 fine. When the flax on the distaff is all spun off, the 

 spinner stoops on one side, and reaches a skein of ready- 

 combed flax, opens it lightly, pulls it about a little, and 

 then winds it loosely round the head of her distaff, which 

 she covers with a sort of pasteboard extinguisher, some- 

 thing like a miniature paper lamp-shade. The lower end 

 of the distaff is stuck into her girdle, and spinning re- 

 commences again. Her toes press the "pedal" of the 



