supply a set of all the technical implements used in the Belgium 

 method of flax culture. Third — to establish experimental farms 

 suitable for flax culture. This appropriation lasted for seven 

 years, when it passed into other hands of private parties. The 

 government adopted the system of hot water retting as practiced 

 by Watt, Schenk and the Americans. 



SCUTCHING MILL IN MARIENBERG. 



This mill is in the possession of H. C. MuUer in Herschfeld, 

 and may be called a model establishment. It is a one-story 

 building with warehouse built on to it, also a retting house and 

 scutch mill joined together with covered way passage. Behind 

 the building is a large bleaching and drying green with wagon 

 tracks to the retting warehouse, in retting house 12 cement 

 tanks 3.6 metres, 4.5 metres long (177 inches), 1 1-4 

 metres deep, (49 inches), and have at the depth of 1 

 metre (36 inches) a perforated false bottom. The flax 

 straw is tied in loose bundles of 21 inches, covered 

 with straw at a temperature of 30 degrees Celcius. Each 

 tank holds 5 metacentners of flax straw hauled to dry- 

 ing ground and opened and spread to dry and set up as shooks 

 to dry according to the weather. The water from the tanks 

 running irrigation ditches, runs into Carp ponds, as it is found 

 to be absolutely uninjurious to fish. The working of the flax 

 is done in the scutching house room where steam from the boilers 

 is conducted to warm and dry the flax before going to the ma- 

 chine where it is put through the breaker. This breaker is 

 made of 20 fluted rollers set in pairs, the first or those nearest 

 the feed end are coarse and are gradually finer as the flax straw 

 is drawn through. The flax is fed by putting the butts or root 

 end of the straw to the rollers, which carries it through the 

 series. The machine requires two attendants (one to feed and 

 the other to carry off the broken straw). Twelve horsepower 

 is required for the whole establishment. The scutchii>g machine 

 consists of 20 stocks, in sets of 10, each turning towards the 

 other. These consist of cast iron wheels on which are fastened 

 8 knives of elm wood, projecting 2 or 3 inches beyond the peri- 

 phery of the wheel. The broken flax is held through a slot in 

 the scutching board and beaten by the knives on the scutching 

 wheel which is made to revolve 170 to 180 times a minute. It 

 requires practice in the operatives to do this work quickly and 

 without any considerable loss of fiber. An ordinary days work 

 of 11 hours for two men is 35 Kilos, (77 pounds), at 1 mark 

 and 80 pfennings per day (25 cents). It is considered it costs 15 

 marks for preparing 50 kilos (110 pounds) of scutched flax. 

 This establishment is not a profitable one. Owing to local con- 

 ditions the hot water being found to produce an inferior grade 

 of fiber, unsuited to the spinners requirements, and the hot water 

 has been abandoned. 



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