16 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



The person who is to perform the operation of 

 breaking takes a quantity in his left hand, while 

 with his right hand he holds the handle of the upper 

 jaw of the break. The flax being put between the 

 upper and under part, the former is raised up and let 

 down several times with all the force of the operator; 

 this breaks the reed without injuring the fibres which 

 surround it, and at the same time effectually sepa- 

 rates these from the cellular texture which united 

 them, arid which together with them formed the 

 bark. By putting the flax between the two jaws 

 the bruised refuse is partially separated from the 

 fibres. 



Some of the smaller particles still remain entangled 

 among the flax ; to get rid of these, another opera- 

 tion is required which is called scutching. The 

 scutch, the instrument used for this purpose, is 

 merely a kind of long wooden bat, and the scutching- 

 frame is an upright board fastened to a horizontal 

 piece, which latter forms the foot-board. In the 

 upright piece a semicircular incision is made, on 

 which the workman places the flax which he holds 

 in one hand, while with the other he strikes it with 

 the scutch; after .giving it several strokes, he shakes 

 it, replaces it on the board, and continues striking till 

 it is sufficiently clean, and the fibres appear tolerably 

 straight. The qualification of a good scutcher is to 

 make as little waste as possible, while he perfectly 

 cleanses the flax. 



This manner of breaking and scutching the flax is 

 very tedious and laborious. About seventy years 

 ago a more expeditious method was invented in 

 Scotland, and it has been found so advantageous 

 that the hand-break and scutcher are now seldom 

 used in this country. The invention consists of a 

 mill, having three indented cylinders placed in con- 

 tact, and one above the other. The middle cylinder, 



