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Oa the Cultivation of Flax. 



to obtain early feed for his stock, the grass always shooting up 

 luxuriantly under the flax. 



Lifting. — If on rubbing the stalks a few times from top to 

 bottom in the hand the wood separates easily from the fibre, the 

 flax has been long enough on the grass ; but if there is any doubt 

 on the point, try it on the hand -break. When thus proved to be 

 ready, proceed to lift it, if perfectly dry, keeping the lengths 

 straight and the ends even, and tie it up into small beets or 

 bundles. 



If not perfectly dry, it will be advisable to lift the flax and set 

 it up in caps for a few hours, before it is tied in bundles ; and in 

 damp and fickle weather the beets should be put up in small 

 stacks, loosely built, so that the air may pass freely through them, 

 and thus prevent their heating. It is important that flax of the 

 same quality and colour should be kept together, and this ought 

 to be attended to in lifting. Select the best of every row in the 

 first instance, and place the bundles separate ; then gather up the 

 next best in like manner, and so on till the whole is arranged in 

 distinct lots, according to quality. A mixture of qualities always 

 lessens the value, and this should be guarded against in lifting. 



The colour of the flax will mainly depend upon the way in 

 which the steeping and grassing have been conducted, and its 

 value in the market will depend very much upon its colour, which 

 should be of a clear soft yellow, approaching to white ; but if it 

 is at all dull or dark in colour, as will be the case when steeped 

 improperly or in bad water, or if not well attended to whilst on 

 the grass, it will command a less price from the manufacturer. 



Breaking — is the act of bruising the stem of the flax, and break- 

 ing it into short lengths, so as to admit of its being easily separated 

 from the fibre in the process of scutching. Breaking is performed 

 either by the hand-break, or by machines, of which there are 

 several kinds. The hand-break is a very simple instrument, well 

 calculated for use in a small way. It consists of two pretty sub- 

 stantial frames, made of wood, and fixed on four legs; each frame 

 is about 3 feet long and a foot wide, and has four or five bars or 

 battens fixed lengthwise within it. The frames are connected by 

 a hinge at one end, and the upper one has a handle fixed at top, 

 by which it is worked up and down, whilst the operator with his 

 other hand draws a small quantity of the stalks slowly between. 

 The battens are so fixed in each frame as to form grooves of cor- 

 responding widths, fitting loosely into each other; and the upper 

 frame being forced down by successive rapid strokes upon the 

 lower, bruises and breaks the stem of the flax, and thus prepares 

 it for the scutcher. 



