12 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



piece of wood, so that their bases nearly touch each 

 other. This being firmly fixed on a beam of wood, 

 two persons sit, one at each end, and taking up the 

 handfuls of flax draw them repeatedly through the 

 ripple ; in a very short time each handful is by this 

 means entirely divested of all its leaves and pods. 



If the seed of the plants under operation is to be 

 preserved, a large cloth is spread on the ground to 

 receive the pods as they fall ; these are then spread 

 out in the sun, and when dry and hard the seeds are 

 carefully sifted and winnowed from the husk. Those 

 which separate spontaneously are reserved for sowing. 

 The second and inferior sort is extensively used in 

 the arts, and is known under the name of lintseed or 

 linseed. The manner of obtaining the oil will be 

 noticed in another part of this volume. 



The delicate fibres of flax intended for cambric 

 would be injured by the use of the ripple, and 

 therefore the stalks are in that case divested of their 

 seed, pods, and leaves, either by beating them with a 

 wooden mallet, or by cutting them off with a 

 wooden knife. 



The flax, after being rippled, is placed in water to 

 dissolve the gummy sap, by which the bark adheres 

 to the ligneous stalk ; to cause maceration by pro- 

 moting a slight fermentation of those parts which 

 are not fibrous, and consequently to promote the 

 more easy disengagement of the useful from the 

 useless portion. This is called water-retting. A. 

 difference of opinion exists as to the superior efficacy 

 of a running stream or a standing pool for the pur- 

 pose. It is said that a running stream wastes the 

 flax, while on the other hand it gives to it a greater 

 degree of whiteness. 



Hemp and flax impart somewhat of a poisonous 

 quality to the water in which they are immersed. It 

 was for a long time asserted that if there were any 



