248 



FIELD CROPS 



crop accounts for its failure to find favor with American 

 farmers. For the profitable production of fiber flax, an 

 abundance of cheap labor is necessary. The plants are 

 pulled by hand and tied into small bundles, and are then 

 put into shocks for curing. The reason for pulling the 

 plants instead of cutting them off by machinery is that 

 weathering and contact with the soil injure the fiber at the 

 cut ends of the plant. 



306. The Handling of Fiber Flax. While the production 

 of flax for fiber may never become important in America, 



Fig. 82. Samples of flax: at the left, the fiber type; at the right, flax grown 

 for seed production. 



the various steps in its handling are of interest. The seed 

 is thrashed out of the bundle after it has cured for two or 

 three weeks in the shock, either by rubbing or by holding the 

 heads between revolving rollers while the straw is held in the 

 hands. The straw is then bound into bundles for the next 

 process, which is known as retting. This is the preparation 

 of the straw for the removal of the outer layers from the 

 stalk, by spreading it thinly on the ground and exposing it to 

 the weather for three or four weeks. After this time, the 

 various layers separate easily and the wood and bark are 



