TO THE AUTHOR. 



Ill 



the cost of growing the flax in England would most likely be 

 different. 



The best system of retting abroad is practised at Courtrai, 

 in Belgium. There the flax, after pulling, is set up to dry on 

 the field in long stooks ; when thoroughly dried, it is either 

 stacked or put away in a barn during the winter. In spring, 

 the seed is taken off, and the flax retted in the river Lys. In 

 retting, the flax is tied up in bundles of about 12 lbs. each ; 

 then packed up in a crate or large wooden frame, which, when 

 full, is launched into the river, and sunk with stones below the 

 surface, but not touching the bottom ; the retting takes from 

 five to seven days. The flax is then taken out, dried, and if of 

 good quahty, laid by till the following spring, when it is spread 

 on the grass to bleach. This flax does not come to market 

 till the second year after it was grown — but this is only the 

 case with the finest flax. In general, the bleaching imme- 

 diately follows the retting ; but keeping the flax-straw either 

 before or after retting decidedly improves the quality. 



The effect of retting in running water is to produce flax of 

 a light yellow colour. This always fetches a higher price in 

 the market ; but the same eff'ect is produced in large ponds or 

 lakes of fresh water. If there are such in your neighbour- 

 hood, we should recommend your adopting this mode of 

 retting. 



The other mode of retting more usually followed is in ditches 

 of stagnant water, and the result is flax of a dark grey colour. 

 The bundles are laid in one row, overlapping the next, and 

 then weighted with sods, stones, &c. 



The chief difficulty in retting the flax is to decide the exact 

 time when it should be taken out of the water : this is a very 

 nice point — as by leaving it in the water a few hours too long, 

 it may be over-retted ; therefore we should recommend you in 

 the first instance to follow the example of the Irish Society, 

 either to send one or more young men to study the retting pro- 

 cess abroad, or to engage a Belgian to superintend this stage 

 of the preparation of the flax. 



Marshall & Co. 



Leeds, Yorkshire, 1842. 



