70 



€l)c iarmcr's illontl)lu llisUov. 



of the fuud, slime, &c., us-ed ns a covering for 

 the fornier layer. 



Id laying on the nnid, great care is taken to 

 l)Iaster it together, and so conihine it as to e.\- 

 chide the air and light completely from the flax.* 

 The entire qnantity heing thus placed in the 

 pool, nothing appears hut a surface of mud. The 

 next operation is to throw, from that part of the 

 trench not wanted, a snflicient quantity of water 

 to cover the entire mass to the depth of six or 

 eight inches. Although the mode of throwing 

 the water inlo the steoping-pool is done by a 

 simple contrivance, it is nevertheless worthy of 

 ohservalion, as it ahiidges labor and saves time — 

 points duly appreciated by the working classes 

 in land. This business is performed by means 

 of a triangle, made of slight poles, placed across 

 the trench near one of the banks. From the 

 centre of the triangle is suspended, by a slight 

 cord, a shute, or oblong box, capable of contain- 

 ing about five or six gallons, and which lies at a 

 small depth in the water. To the shute is at- 

 tached a long handle, with which the steeper 

 works it, and so throws the water in'o a cut made 

 in one corner of the cross-bank, by which it is 

 conveyed over the mud. When this is done, the 

 flax remains from six to thirteen days, according 

 to its quality and the temperature of the weather, 

 and, in some cases, the properties of the water 

 and mud; and I witnessed, myself, the taking 

 out of flax, grown in Holland and Zealand, some 

 of which had been steeped in seven days, while 

 others required fourteen to prepare it. It is here 

 necessary to observe, that the flax-growers in the 

 Netherlands carefully watch the flax during the 

 steeping process, particularly after the fifth day, 

 when they once in every twenty-tour hours take 

 out a sheaf with a fork and examine it. If not 

 sufliciently steeped, it is carefidly replaced and 

 covered. When the flax is found sufliciently 

 steeped, it is drawn out with great care, by forks, 

 beginning with the sheaves last laid in; one 

 sheaf only being taken out at a time, which is 

 turned over into the water, to disengage the mud 

 from it, when it is gently washed in the pool, and 

 left at the end of the cross-bank for that pur- 

 pose. After washing, it is laid in rows, by the 

 side of the pool, to drain ; from which it is spread 

 on the grass, where it remains until the cidtiva- 

 tor finds it ready for breaking. For this process 

 there is no defiiie<l time — every farmer judging 

 for himself when his flax should be raised ; hut 

 it is the uniform practice in those parts of France 

 and the Netherlands where 1 have been, to grass 

 all flax after steeping. No regard whatever is 

 paid to the situation of the steeping-pools as to 

 aspect Those which I saw, in various places, 

 lay in every direction ; nor did it appear to nje 

 to be of any moment, in conseciuence of the to- 

 tal exclusion of the light and air by the covering 

 of mud, &,c. When removing the flax from the 

 field to the barn or store, it is again made into 

 small sheaves, nearly of an equal size, twelve of 

 which are bound together siniilarly to what they 

 were when going to be steeped. 



DRVI.NG. 



Should the flax, which has been raised from 

 the ground, be found partially damp, which often 

 happens in Holland, it is dried, or rather aired, 

 on what is called a kiln, but which is merely a 

 brick building, in an open space, about twelve 

 feet long, with a slight brick wall in the centre, 

 and projecting walls at each end, about three and 

 a half feet deep. The fire pit, which runs the 

 whole length of the building, is from two to 

 three feet under ground ; the fuel used vi always 

 the shoves and other waste that drop in scutch- 

 ing, which is kept continually stirring, so as to 

 throw a regular and gentle heat to every part of 

 the plant, which lies across strong rods, that rest 

 on each end of the pinjecling walls. When the 

 flax can be cleaned without this process, it is 

 done ; but, when necessary, it is performed with 

 the greatest care. Itinnediatcly after the flax is 

 sufliciently aired, it is put into a small building, 

 air-tight, where it remains imtil it cools. 



Putting the flax into this building, after airing, 

 is, I believe, what gave rise to the idea of its 

 being stoved, in Holland, previous to cleaning; 

 as I could not learn, in the course of my inquir- 



* Only one set of layers of sheaves in depth is put in 

 each steeping pool at a time, it being found injurious to 

 the flax to let the-discharge of mucilage from one parcel 

 blend with another, .^bout one loot of water is in the 

 pool when the flax u laid in. 



ies on that subject, that such a practice had ever 

 existed. 



BREAKING AND SCUTCHING. 



In the Netherlanils, flax is always broken and 

 scutched by hand machines — for the most part, 

 with breakers and scutchers, similar to those 

 known in many parts of England, where flax is 

 much grown, and known, also, in sotne parts of 

 Irelanil. In one part of Flanders, a hand ma- 

 chine, similar to that described in page 0, is 

 used; and it appears to he very ajiplicable to 

 those districts where flax is grown in small quan- 

 tities, and does not arrive to that length and 

 strength of staple produced in the rich grounds 

 of many parts of Munster. In no instance, how- 

 ever, could I discover that any kind of machine- 

 ry, worked by moving power, was ever used in 

 Holland ; but it is worthy of remark, that, through- 

 out the Netherlands, the flax plant is so carefully 

 attended to, in every operation, that it breaks and 

 dresses with great facility and coni|)arative case, 

 and presents a more finished and better article 

 than is to be found in most other countries. 



While viewing the treatment of flax in the 

 Netherlands, I was not a little surprised at seeing 

 cattle of every kind grazing in the field where it 

 was steeping, and with free access to the steep- 

 ing-pools, the water of which, in Ireland, is con- 

 sidered to be highly injurious to every animal. 

 Having questioned a boeron this ntatter, he told 

 me he never knew an instance of cattle being 

 injured by flax water, nor is any precaution 

 whatever used to keep them from it. On ex- 

 an^ining the water in which the flax is steeped, I 

 found the color of it to differ much frotn that of 

 the flax pools in Ireland; and I am led to think, 

 on further consideration of the subject, that the 

 vegetable inatters which are blended with the 

 nuid, when spread over the flax, being decom- 

 posed in the fermentative process that takes 

 place, mingle with the mucilage of the plant, and 

 act as agents to neutralize its injurious qualities. 

 How far this may be the case, or whether the 

 plant, heing ripe before watering, and totally ex- 

 cluded from light and air in this process, may 

 produce effects different from those in Ireland, I 

 shall not pretend to say; but the fact is as I liave 

 described it. 



That the mode practised in Holland, Zealand, 

 Flanders, and France, of excluding light and air 

 in the steeping of flax, has a powerful eflfect on 

 the color of tlie plant, cannot be doubted; and 

 that the properties of the water and mud em- 

 ployed, have considerable influence in that point, 

 as well as on the texture of it, is equally certain, 

 and is fully exemplified in each of those conn- 

 tries, as will be seen by the following state- 

 ment: — 



In that part of Holland where flax, the growth 

 of that country and of Zealand, is steeped, and 

 where the soilis dark, and of a slimy natm-e, the 

 water soft and clear, and perfectly suited for culi- 

 nary, and other domestic uses, it is found that it 

 comes from the steeping pool, of a dark clay 

 color, varying only in shades, according to the 

 quality of the soil, or mud, with which it is cov- 

 ered ; but every parcel is imiformly of one color, 

 from each pool ; it is, likewise, of a soft and silky 

 nature. 



In Zealand, when flax is steeped, as in Hol- 

 land, with respect to the exclusion of the air and 

 lisht, it is always of a imiforui color; but, from 

 tlie quality of the water and soil, comes from the 

 pool of a light straw color, and is harder in its 

 nature than that steeped in Holland. This is 

 attributed to the brackishness of the water and 

 soil, which purges the plant in the steeping pools, 

 and deprives it of its extractive matter; so much 

 so, that it is calculated to lose, in steeping, in 

 Zealand, from 20 to 25 per cent, more than when 

 steeped in Holland. For this reason, the Dutch 

 flax boers bring the fl.ix that they grow in Zea- 

 land from the field, dried with the boles on it, to 

 be steeped, &c., at home', often fifty and sixty 

 miles distant. When flax, in Zealand, is not 

 steeped with the same care as in Holland, by ex- 

 cluding it from the air and light, with mud and 

 slime, it comes from the pool precisely as it does 

 in many parts of the south and west of Ireland, 

 of various colors and qualities, even in one strick 

 or bunch ; in con.sequence of which, it sells, at 

 all times, in the Rotterdam market, at an midcr 

 price, lor inferior work. This is a strong proof 

 of the effects produced by the exclusion of light 

 and air in the steeping [iroccss. 



In Flanders, where the soil is lighter in quan- 

 tity and color, and the water clearer and fresher, 

 than in Holland, the flax is some shades brighter 

 than that steeped in Holland; but not of the t 

 straw color, or harsh description of that steeped 

 in Zealand; it is, however, unifririiily of one 

 shade from every steeeping pool, doubtless in 

 consequence of the exclusion of li^ht and air. 



in France, where the soil is still lighter than 

 in Flanders, the flax is of a lighter color than in 

 that comitry or Holland, and is between a straw 

 and clay color, neither so hard as the Zealand 

 fla.x, nor so soft as that steeped in Holland ; it is, 

 however, like all the others, wlum excluded from 

 the light and air, of one color from every pool ; ■> 

 nor did I see, in the course of my examination 

 of flax, in the several countries I visited, any of j, 

 that article striped in color, or of different quali- 

 ties, in one head or strick, but that grown in a 

 part of Zealand, w here the cultivation may he 

 said to be in its infancy, as compared to other 

 places. 



On the whole, it appears to me, from every in- 

 formation I have received, and from the best 

 consideration I have given the subject, according 

 to my humble judgment, that the exclusion of 

 the light and air from the flax, in the steeping 

 process, as practised in the Netherlands and 

 France, form the most important iioints in the 

 treatment of that plant; and I am of opinion, 

 that a due attention to the mode practised in these 

 countries, would eventually lead to the cultiva- 

 tion of flax in Ireland, on a scale that would be 

 of the utmost importance to the landlords, tenan- 

 try, and peasantry of the comilry. 



With respect to the regulations in those coun- 

 tries for tlividing the flax into different sorts, or 

 numbers, according to its fineness or coarseness, 

 there is no law or public examination, as in Pe- 

 tersburg and Riga — nor does there seem to be 

 the smallest necessity for such a measure: the 

 flax growers thefiiselves being sensible of the 

 advantages derived from a regular system, care- 

 fully assort each quality before they offer it tor 

 sale, and set a price on it accordingly. On this 

 point, the merchants are equally piirticular; as 

 they se|>arale, with great care, every quality they 

 pui'chase. In making up for a foreign market, 

 there is no rule as to the size of the bundle, or 

 pack, the merchant being governed by the orders 

 of his correspondents, who, for the most part, 

 differ in respect to the size of them, some di- 

 recting them to be made up in bales of one cwt., 

 while others order them in bales of four and six 

 cwt. 



On a recent examination, by Mr. Bander, of 

 Kew, of the material which covers the Egyptian 

 rtiummies, it was found to be made from fla.v, 

 some of it plain linen, and some of it from twist- 

 ed yarn, sinular to sowing thread, varying in the 

 quality of the texture, according (as it is suppos- 

 ed) to the rank of the deceased. In making this 

 discovery, Mr. Bander ascertained that the fibres 

 of the flax plant are cylindrical tubes, the surface 

 presenting a spiral appearance. 



The fact of the fibre of the flax being a lube, 

 appears to me to elucidate, most clearly, the 

 cause of the slowness in the fermentative process 

 of the finer plants, compared with the coarser' 

 (2) being an equal portion in circumference of 

 the fine, contains a greater number of fibres or 

 cylinders, of more minute dimensions than the 

 coarse, and do not, therefore, discharge the air 

 and mucilage (3) so rapidly as the latter, u hich is 

 composed of considerable quantities of wood, 

 and less fibre than the fine; it likewise demon- 

 strates the necessity for dejiriving the plant, be- 

 tbre steeping, of the bole or capsule, iiliich may 

 be said to act as a stopper to the fibres or cylin- 

 ders, and actually seals them at the tops, thereby 

 preventing the necesscry discharge mail the bole 

 separates from the plant, which it always does ir 

 with great uncertainty ; thus occasioning portions 

 of it to be over-steeped, and other parts not suf- 

 ficiently done, w hich causes the variety of colors, 

 and inequality of texture, so ol'ten found in Irisli 

 flax. 



In Russia, and in every other \y.\n of the con- 

 tinent, flax is deprived of the hole befoje sleep- 

 ing, and it is a fact well known, that flax grown 

 in Ireland, generally speaking, is the most irreg- 

 ularly prepared for market of any in Europe, 

 though the soil of the country is at least equally 

 fertile, atid the climate as congenial as that of 



I. 



