LINE^E. I. LINUM. 



455 



putrefaction necessary to separate the membrane from the fibre. 

 The practice adopted in some parts of Brittany seems, there- 

 fore, much more rational, which is to ripple the flax after it has 

 lain in the air two or three days, but even one day will be suffi- 

 cient if the weather is dry. 



The process of rippling is the next operation. A large 

 cloth should be spread on a convenient spot of ground, with a 

 ripple placed in the middle of it. In performing this operation, 

 the capsules are separated from the stalks by means of an iron 

 comb called a ripple, fixed on a beam of wood, on the ends of 

 which two persons sit, who, by pulling the seed ends of the 

 flax repeatedly through this comb, execute the operation in a 

 very complete manner. In Scotland the pods are generally 

 separated by the ripple, even when there is no intention of 

 saving them for seed, as it is found when the Jlax is put into 

 water without taking off the capsules, the water soon becomes 

 putrid, in consequence of which the flax is greatly injured. 



The management of the capsules and separating of the seed 

 is the next operation. The capsules should be spread in the 

 sun to dry, and those seeds which separate from the capsules 

 of their own accord, being the fullest and ripest, should be set 

 apart for sowing, in case the precaution of raising some flax 

 purposely for seed has not been attended to. The capsules are 

 then broken, either by treading or by threshing, in order to 

 get out the remaining seeds, the whole of which, as well as the 

 former, should be carefully sifted, winnowed, and cleaned. 

 When the seed is laid up, it must be frequently stirred or ven- 

 tilated to prevent its heating. Even this second seed affords a 

 considerable profit by the oil which it yields, and also by being 

 used when broken for fattening of cattle. 



To facilitate the separation of the fibre from the bark, it is 

 necessary to accelerate the process of decay or putrefaction. 

 This may be done in different ways, but the chief are those of 

 bleaching alone, or of steeping and bleaching. Bleaching is a 

 tedious and laborious operation, when it is intended as a sub- 

 stitute for steeping, but it is the most certain for not injuring 

 the fibre, and may be adopted on a small scale when steeping 

 places are not at hand. In Dorsetshire and some other places, 

 flax, instead of being steeped, is what is called dew-retted ; 

 that is, the stalks are allowed to lie on the grass until they arrive 

 at that state in which the harl or woody part separate easily 

 from the boon, reed, or fibre, by the action and influence of the 

 dew. This is nothing more than exposing the flax to the influence 

 of the weather for a longer period than is necessary, when the ope- 

 ration of watering has been previously performed, as in grassing. 

 Steeping, however, is the most universal practice both in Britain 

 and on the Continent. Of late an invention has been made by 

 Mr. Lee of Middlesex, by which, with the aid of soft soap and 

 machinery, the fibre is more completely separated than by steep- 

 ing, and uninjured by that process. When^aa: is to be separ- 

 ated by this new process, the cultivator has only to pull it in 

 handfulls, dry it, bind it into sheaves, and put it up in stacks 

 like corn, till wanted by the manufacturer. 



Steeping or watering, however, is and will be the general 

 practice, till flax-dressing machines come into general practice. 

 In performing this operation, tine flax, whether it has been dried 

 and rippled or pulled green, is loosely tied into small bundles, 

 the smaller the better, because it is then most equally watered. 

 , These sheaves ought to he built in the pool in a reclining upright 

 position, so that the weight placed above may keep the whole 

 firm down. The weights made use of are commonly stones 

 placed on planks or directly on the flax. The Flemish mode of 

 steeping flax, as described by Radcliff, is said to improve the 

 quality of the flax and greatly increase its whiteness. The mode 

 differs from the common practice in placing the bundles in the 

 steep vertically instead of horizontally, in immersing the flax 



by means of transverse sticks, with that degree of weight annexed, 

 which shall not push it down to the bottom, but leave it to descend 

 spontaneously towards the conclusion of the steepage ; and in 

 leaving at first a space of half a foot between the bottom and 

 the roots of the flax. The spontaneous descent of the flax is 

 an indication of its being sufficiently steeped, and the strength 

 and quality of the fibre are said to be much better preserved by 

 this mode, in which the temperature of the atmosphere acts with 

 most force on the upper part of the plant, which needs it most. 



The water most proper for steeping flax should be clear, soft, 

 and in standing pools. Compared with running water, pools 

 occasion thereto: to have a better colour, to be sooner ready for 

 the grass, and even to be of superior quality in every respect. 

 Where soft, clear, stagnating water cannot be obtained without 

 art, a pit or canal is commonly formed, adjoining a river or 

 stream, whence water can be easily brought. This pit or canal 

 is filled with water for some time (a week or two) before it be 

 proposed to pull the flax, by this means the water acquires a 

 greater degree of warmth than river water possesses, and which 

 contributes greatly to facilitate the object farmers have in 

 view in immersing green flax in water, namely, to make the 

 flaxing substance part easily and completely from the boon reed 

 or harl. 



The period that flax ought to remain in the mater depends on 

 various circumstances, as the state of ripeness in which it is 

 pulled, the quality and temperature of the water, &c. The 

 most certain rule to judge when flax is sufficiently watered is, 

 when the boon becomes brittle and the harl separates easily from 

 it. In warm weather ten days of the watering process is suffi- 

 cient ; but it is proper to examine the pools regularly after the 

 seventh day, lest the flax should putrefy or rot, which sometimes 

 happens in very warm weather. Twelve days will answer in 

 any sort of weather, though it may be remarked that it is better 

 to give too little of the water than too much, as any deficiency 

 may be easily made up by suffering it to be longer on the grass, 

 whereas an excess of water admits of no remedy (Brown). 



Grassing or bleaching flax is the next operation, the intention 

 of which is to rectify any defect in the watering process, and to 

 carry on the putrefying process to that point when the fibre 

 will separate from the bark, boon, reed, or harl with the greatest 

 ease. In performing this operation the flax is spread very thin 

 on the ground, and in regular rows, the one being made to over- 

 lap the other a few inches, with a view of preventing, as much 

 as possible, its being torn up and scattered by gales of wind. 

 Old grass-ground, where the herbage does not grow to -any 

 great height, is the best for the purpose, as when the grass or 

 weeds spring up so as to cover the flax, it is frequently rotted, 

 or at least greatly injured thereby. The time allowed for 

 grassing is regulated by the state of the flax, and seldom exceeds 

 ten or twelve days. During this time it is repeatedly examined, 

 and when it is found that the boon has become very brittle, so 

 that on being broken and rubbed between the hands, it easily 

 and freely parts from the harl, it is then taken up, a dry day 

 being chosen for the purpose, and being bound in sheaves is 

 either sent directly to the mill, which is the usual practice in the 

 northern districts, or broken and scutched by a machine or im- 

 plement for that purpose. 



Steeping of flax in hot water and soft soap, said to be the 

 invention of Lee, and for which he was granted by parliament 

 a secret or unenrolled patent, is said to separate the fibre from 

 the woody matter better than steeping in water, and this in the 

 short space of two or three hours, and either with green flax or 

 such as has been dried or stacked for months or years. 



The dressing of flax consists of various operations, such as 

 scutching, hacking, or breaking, by which the woody part is 

 broken, and heckling or combing, by which the fibre is separ- 



