226 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



than palling may answer. Several inches of the best portion of the stem will he 

 lost and the square ends of the liber will not work into the "silver" as smoothly as 

 pulled rlax when the fiber is being manipulated in the first stages of manufacture. 

 A flax polling machine is a desideratum, and for the past two or three years inventors 

 have attempted to work out the problem. Where llax i- pulled by manual labor, the 

 cours< - iw the handful of straw out of the ground, and by striking tin- roots 



against the boot the earth is dislodged. The .straw is then laid in handfuls, crossing 

 each other, so as to be readily made into bundles. In Belgium the flax is laid in 

 handfuls upon the ground, a line of straw being tirst laid down, which serves to 

 bind these handfuls when a sufficient quantity has been pulled to tie. When put 

 into stooks to dry, the seed ends being tied together, the bottom ends are opened 

 out. giving " 3took the appearance of an A tent. See fig. 7*3. After drying in 

 the stook. the handfuls of straw are then tied into small bunches, or "beets." and 

 piled something as cordwood is piled in this country, two poles being first laid 

 upon the ground to prevent injury to the bottom layer by dampness, and two poles 

 driven at each end of the pile to keep the "hedges"' in form. 



In the matter of saving the seed the common American practice ha> been to drive 

 the straw through an ordinary thrashing machine, securing the seed, but rendering the 

 straw utterly worthless in its tangled and broken condition. Some attempts have 

 been made to save the straw even with the ordinary thrasher by opening the con- 

 cave. This is done so that the teeth will just come together: then with one man to 

 open and pass in the bundles, another takes them by the butt ends, and, spreading 

 them fan shape, presents the seed end to the machine. Tim straw is not released, 

 but is withdrawn as soon as the seed is torn off, when the bundles are again tied. 

 The operation is not fully satisfactory, and the nece<-ity of a rapid rlax thrasher 

 has stimulated invention, and several machines have been presented which will do 

 the work more or less effectually, though an absolutely successful machine for this 

 purpose is yet a desideratum. In the old days of flax cultivation in New York 

 whipping the seed capsules against a sharp rock set at an angle of 45 c was the 

 method resorted to. In foreign countries Various methods are resorted to from hand 

 thrashing to passing the bundles through powerful machines with iron cylindei - e 

 constructed that only the heads are crushed, the straw remaining in the hands of 

 the operator during the entire operation. 



Betting ihe straw. — Three natural modes of steeping, or retting, are recognized — 

 dew retting, pool retting, and retting in running water. There are also many proc- 

 — - for quick retting, where the temperature of the water is controlled, and also 

 when chemicals are nsed, but few of the>e have given good results, and the flax of 

 the world is largely retted by natural methods rather than by "processes." so called. 

 For dew retting a moist meadow is the proper place, the fiber being spread over the 

 ground in straight rows at the rate of a ton to an acre. It* laid about the 1st of 



ber, and the weather is good, a couple of weeks will suffice for the proper 



: ation of the fiber and woody matter. When the retting is progressing unevenly 

 the rows are opened with a fork or turned with a long pole. For pool retting the 



st water gives the best results, and where a natural pool is not available, such 

 as the "bog holes" in Ireland. ">teep pools" will have to be built. A pool 30 feet 

 pong, 10 feet wide, and 4 feet deep will suffice for an acre of rlax. >pring water 

 should be avoided, or, if used, the pool should be tilled some weeks before the flax i- 

 ready for it. in order to soften the water. It should be kept free from all mineral 

 or vegetable impurities. The sheaves are packed loosely in the pool, sloping so a- 

 to rest lightly on their butt end-, if at all. for it is considered best to keep the 

 shea*res entirely under water without allowing them to come in contact with the 

 bottom. Irish growers cover with long wheat straw or sods, grass side down, the 

 whole kept under water by means of stones ox other weights. Fermentation is 



d by the turbidity of the water and by bubbles of gas, and a- this g es on 

 more weights are required, tor the tlax Bwells and rises. If possible, the thick scum 

 which now forms on the surface should be removed by allowing a slight stream of 



