VARIOUS OTHER CROPS. 69 



pulled by hand, dried, and tied in bundles. The seed is 

 separated by what is known as " rippling " or combing out. 

 Then the straw is partly rotted, either on the grass or by 

 steeping in vats of water. This process rots the coarse woody 

 part of the stem, and separates the fine fibre from it. It is 

 then dried and "scutched," either by hand or by machine. 

 This process of scutching simply rubs or beats away the loose 

 woody parts from the long fibres. The fibre is now ready for 

 use, to be made into twine or thread or linen cloth. To grow 

 good crops of flax, rich, clean, well-drained, well-cultivated soil 

 is needed. It requires a moist climate, moderately warm. The 

 plant is very rich in nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid, and 

 therefore we may conclude that it takes a good deal of nourish- 

 ment out of the soil ; but these constituents are found almost 

 wholly in the seed and straw and not in the fibre, so that if the 

 straw is returned to the soil, and the seed fed on the farm, 

 there will be little loss in growing flax for the sale of fibre only. 



THE HOP is a member of the nettle family. It is a perennial 

 plant. It is started by cuttings, in hills about six feet apart. 

 The plants are not woody enough to support themselves, and 

 therefore climb up to the air and sunshine by twining. The 

 hop blossoms are picked by hand when just ripe (a condition 

 learned only by experience), and dried in a kiln or drying 

 house (called an oast house in Kent, England), when they are 

 packed and sold for use in brewing. The value of the hop is 

 greatly influenced by the climate. Hop vines always twine in 

 the same direction to the right. Bindweed and morning glory 

 twine to the left. How do the grape vine and Virginia creeper 

 climb and support themselves ? How do peas and tares ? 



We have already learned that the two important parts of a 

 blossom are the pistils and stamens, that perfect blossoms 

 have both, but that in some plants there are blossoms having 

 pistils but no stamens ; and in other plants there are blossoms 

 having stamens but no pistils. The former blossoms are 



