FLA 



FLE 



I 



Flax is an excellent commodity, and the 

 cultivation of it a good piece of husband- 

 ry. It will thrive in any sound land, but 

 that which has lain long- fallow is best; 

 which being well ploughed, and laid flat 

 and even, the seeds must be sown in a 

 warm season, about the middle or end of 

 March, or at farthest the beginning of 

 April ; and if a wet season happen, weed- 

 ing will be necessary. The best seed is 

 that brought from the East country, which, 

 though dear, yet easily repays the charge : 

 this will last two or three crops, when it 

 is advisable to renew the seeds again. 

 Of the best seed, two bushels may serve 

 for an acre ; but more must be allowed of 

 home-seed, because it grows smaller. 

 When grown up it ought not to be ga- 

 thered before it be fully ripe ; for if pulled 

 before the blossom falls, it hackles away 

 almost to nothing; and, though in appear- 

 ance very fine, yet it has no substance, 

 and the yarn spun of it is weak and ouzy : 

 it not only wastes in the washing, but the 

 linen made of it grows extremely thin in 

 the bleaching. The pluckers should be 

 nimble, tie it up in handf'uls, set them up 

 till perfectly dry, and then house them. 

 Flax pulled in the bloom proves whiter 

 and stronger than if left standing till the 

 seed is ripe ; but then the seed will be 

 lost. 



FLAX, dressing of. When flax has been 

 watered, and twice swingled, it is then to 

 be hackled in a much finer hackle than 

 that used for hemp. Hold the strike of 

 flax stiff in your hand, and break it very 

 well upon the coarse hackle ; saving the 

 hurds to make harder cloth of. This done, 

 the strike is to be passed through a finer 

 hackle, and the hurds coming- from thence 

 saved for middling cloth, and the tare it- 

 self for the best linen. 



But to dress flax for the finest use of 

 all, after being handled as before, and lay- 

 ing three strikes together, plat them in a 

 plat of three rows, as hard and close to- 

 gether as you can ; joining one to the end 

 of another, till you have platted as much 

 as you think convenient : then begin ano- 

 ther plat, and add as many several ones as 

 you think will make a roll ; afterwards 

 wreathing them hard together, make up 

 the roll ; which done, put as many as you 

 judge convenient into a hemp-trough, and 

 beat them soundly, rather more than less 

 than you do hemp. Next open and unplat 

 them, dividing each strike very carefully 

 from each other ; and so strike it through 

 the finest hackle of all, whereof there are 

 three surts. Great care must be taken to 



VOL. V. 



do this gently and lightly, lest what is 

 hackled from thence should run to knots; 

 for if preserved soft like cotton, it will 

 make very good linen, each pound run- 

 ning at least two yards and an half. The 

 tare itself, or finest flax, will make a strong 

 and very fine holland, running at least 

 five yards in the pound. 



FLEA. See I'ULEX. 



FLEAM, in surgery and farriery, an in- 

 strument for letting a horse blood. A case 

 of fleams, as it is called by farriers, com- 

 prehends six sorts of instruments.; two 

 hooked ones, called drawers, and used for 

 cleansing wounds ; a pen-knife ; a sharp- 

 pointed lancet, for making incisions ; and 

 two fleams, one sharp and the other broad 

 pointed. These last are somewhat like 

 the point of a lancet, fixed in a flat han- 

 dle, only no longer than is just necessary 

 to open the vein. 



FLEECE, the covering of wool shorn 

 off the bodies of sheep See WOOL. 



FLEECY hosiery, a very useful kind of 

 manufacture, of late invention, in which 

 fine fleeces of wool are interwoven into a 

 cotton piece of the common stocking tex- 

 ture : the nature of the manufacture is thus 

 described : having in the common stocking 

 frame twisted silk, cotton-yarn, &c. begin 

 the work in the common way of making 

 hosiery, and having worked one or more 

 course or courses in the usul method, be- 

 gin to add a coating thus : draw the frame 

 over the arch, and then hang wool or jer- 

 sey, raw or unspun, upon the beards of 

 the needles, and slide the same off their 

 beards upon their stems, till it comes ex- 

 actly under the ribs of the sinkers; then 

 sink the j tcks and sinkers, and bring for- 

 ward the frame, till the wool or jersey is 

 drawn under the beards of the needles ; 

 and having done this, draw the frame over 

 the arch, and place a thread of spun ma- 

 terials upon the needles, and proceed in 

 finishing the course in the usual way of 

 manufacturing hosiery with spun materi- 

 als. Any thing manufactured in this way 

 has, on the one side, the appearance of 

 common hosiery, and on the other side 

 the appearance of raw wool. 



FLEET, commonly implies a company 

 of ships of war, belonging to any prince 

 or state : but sometimes it denotes any 

 number of trading ships, employed in any 

 particular branch of commerce. 



In sailing, a fleet of men of war is usually 

 divided into three squadrons ; the admi- 

 ral's, the vice-admir-l's, and the rear-ad- 

 miral's squadron ; all which, being distin- 

 guished bv their flags and pendants, are 



Y 



