54 CORDAGE FIBRES 



immediately removed from the water, as delay is most 

 injurious. Although the subsidence of the flax in the dam 

 may be taken as a general sign that fermentation is over, the 

 precise moment for lifting it from the water is more difficult 

 to determine. Among several tests employed by farmers we 

 may cite the following : (i) Double up the straw, and if suffi- 

 ciently retted the core or heart will break and not bend, as in 

 the green state. (2) Take a few stalks in both hands, hold 

 one hand steady and move the other a little backwards and 

 forwards, and the woody part will separate from the fibre if 

 retting is sufficiently advanced. (3) Attempt to draw some 

 inches of the shove from the fibre without breaking it ; if retted 

 this can readily be done. (4) Catch the straw in both hands 

 and twist smartly, and the fibre will become detached from 

 the core. (5) Pull the straw over the forefinger, under the 

 thumbnail, and observe whether the glutinous or slimy sub- 

 stance of the green flax may be freely squeezed out. When 

 these various trials indicate that the flax is not quite ready for 

 lifting, the farmer examines it three or four times a day until 

 the right moment arrives, and then acts promptly. When 

 satisfied that all is ready, the beets are lifted separately from 

 the dam, being given a gentle plunge or shake in the water 

 to remove any dregs which may have settled upon them, and 

 left to drain upon the bank of the dam. Although disagreeable, 

 the safest way of lifting it is by standing in the water. 



After the beets are drained for a short time they are re- 

 moved to a convenient place for the next operation, called 

 spreading or grassing. Clean, short pasture land, or meadow 

 recently cut, is the most suitable. The beets are carefully laid 

 down in rows along or across the field, the bands removed, and 

 each beet spread out thinly and regularly, the root ends being 

 kept as even as possible. Turning on the grass is sometimes 

 resorted to, and has some advantages, the chief being that 

 the flax is more evenly acted upon by the sun and air. The 

 danger is, however, that at the time of year this takes place 



