176 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [OCTOBER 
Dew retting was used by our forefathers in this country for 
preparing flax fiber for spinning. It represents the earliest method 
of preparing flax fiber. No special apparatus is needed, since the 
flax straw is merely spread on the ground in the fall and allowed to 
remain throughout the winter. Dew retting has been used for the 
preparation of most Russian flax fiber. Its greatest objection is the 
time required, but this may be reduced greatly by carrying the 
process out under conditions where the retting organisms may be 
made to work harder. 
Water retting was introduced undoubtedly to get away from 
certain of the distinct disadvantages of dew retting. It is carried 
out either in slow flowing rivers or in ponds and other inclosed 
bodies of water. The bundles of flax straw are packed into these 
basins and weighted down. The retting process starts with a gase- 
ous fermentation of the carbohydrate materials in the flax straw. 
If conditions are favorable, a little over ten days is necessary for 
the completion of the fermentation. The flax should be removed 
when all the pectic materials are dissolved, or over-retting will 
result. The bundles are removed, dried in sun and air, and are 
then ready for scutching. The river Lys in Belgium is famous for 
its flax retting. River retting has certain economic features which 
limit its wide application. As KUHNERT? has shown, the stream 
becomes putrescible, which is detrimental to fish life. It carries 
amounts of organic materials in the reduced conditions which may 
give off objectionable odors. Water retting has not had wide 
application in this country. 
Several attempts have been made to improve on the water 
retting. One of the earliest of these was proposed by SCHENCK in 
1846. ‘The flax straw was packed tightly into a tank and the water 
kept at a temperature of 75°-95° F. This warm environment was 
more favorable to the development of the bacteria concerned in 
this process, and a vigorous fermentation quickly established itself. 
The vats had all of the characteristics of a fermentation mixture. 
Others have proposed similar methods with a higher temperature. 
Scutching is the process by which the woody material is broken 
away from the cellulose fibers after they have been retted and 
? KUHNERT, Landw. Wochenbl. Schleswig-Holstein 70:540-543. 1920. 
