and tied and rolled out. If the farmer is near enough to the mill 

 to haul the flax in his own wagon, this baling will not be needed, 

 but if required to ship by train or boat the baling will be indis- 

 pensible. In any case, the extra trouble in making neat beets 

 will amply be repaid by the more ready sale and better price 

 obtained. 



The Seed Ripple and Cleaner. 



RETTING. 



This is the most important manipulation in the flax indus- 

 try, and if attempted by parties unskilled in the work may utterly 

 ruin the value of the flax crop. In Ireland, the farmer does his 

 own retting, and stores the dry retted straw, in stacks, which 

 are carefully thatched with straw, or rushes in which condi- 

 tion it will keep indefinitely if properly dried out before stacking. 

 He generally takes it to the neighboring scutch mill, to have it 

 scutched, and sells it to the brokers, who travel around the coun- 

 try, or to the spinning mill, if one happens to be in His vicinity. 

 The Irish farmer generally paying the scutch mill, one shilling 

 per stone, (2.5 cents per 14 pounds) for dressing it, leaving the 

 tow with the miller. This is objectionable, as the small mills 

 can, and do frequently allow an undue quantity of waste, to go 

 over the scutching arms, which they work up afterwards for the 

 mill's benefit, and great loss of the farmer. 



In Holland and Belgium, the farmer frequently grows the 

 crop and then sells the crop to the broker while growing. The 

 broker sending his own men to do the pulling and attends to the 

 retting himself. It is proluible that this will be the best plan 

 adapted to the north I'acific Coast, it will consist of the formation 



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