t 146 ] 



iate the weeds must not be suffered to get head of the flax, for a 

 they do, it will become stunted in its growth, and get to no 

 height. 



When the plant is arrived at its growth, and is in full blossom, 

 which in common seasons will be about the beginning of July, it 

 is fit to be pulled, if the grower has a greater regard to the produce 

 of the stalk, than to the seed. However, it is a common practice 

 to injure the whole crop, for the sake of the seed ; and to let it re- 

 main till the seed begins to ripen, so as to have both flax and seed. 

 In this case the land suffers greatly ; for flax seeded is a great im- 

 poverisher, but if pulled whilst in blossom, is an excellent prepa- 

 rative for turnips, which should always follow a flax crop, instead 

 of wheat. The great reason why the Irish, and indeed most fo- 

 reign flax is finer than the English, is, because they pull it early, 

 and sow particular spots purposely for the seed ; and perhaps it 

 would be politic in Government to grant a bounty on all foreign 

 flax seed sown in this kingdom, so as to reduce the price of foreign 

 seed nearly to a level with our own ; by this, the growth of flax 

 (and with it the linen trade) would be encouraged, which has of 

 late suffered considerable diminution by the restrictions to its cul- 

 tivation imposed by land owners, under the idea of great injury 

 done to the land by the culture of this plant. 



After the flax, there are two methods of working it ; the first 

 is called rating of it, that is, steeping it in water, in order to loosen 

 the rind, and separate it from the stalk ; and the other is called 

 denv ripening, which is the spreading it on grass land, and by rain 

 and dew producing the same effect. The early flax is mostly wa- 

 tered, which is done by laying the bundles in a pond or reservoir 

 of soft water, and keeping them down by stones, or any other heavy 

 bodies. In the course of seven or eight days the rind will be suf- 

 ficiently loosened, and they must be taken out of the water, spread 

 abroad, and dried. In this part of the operation, great skill and 

 attention are necessary ; for if it be left in the water too long, the 

 threads become rotten, and useless to the manufacturer ; it is there- 

 fore more adviseable to take it out too soon, than to leave it too long 

 in the pits. Those who raise flax for the seed and stalk both, go 

 through an operation called ripling; this is separating the seed from 

 the stalk, by passing the flax through a kind of coomb before it is 



watered, 



