Studies on Flax Retting. 



Tadokoro, N^jakmhi. 



Introduction. 



The cultivation of flax in Japan is chiefly confined to Hokkaido and ite 

 fiber manufacture is performed solely by a joint-stock company, Teikoku 

 Seima Kabushiki Kaisha at Sapporo. 



The quality of the product depends largely upon the proper management 

 of the retting process, though other mechanical treatments bear an important 

 relation to it. The retting method followed in Japan at present is a cold 



An opportunity was gn 



the said compi 



examine this m.-tiiMp sm ut thoroughly and the necessary mi 

 at our disposal for the present study. 



Investigations concerning the nature of the changes inv 



here. The conditions and the methods of retting under wl 

 yestigations have been made, differ naturally from those i: 

 the investigations already made seem to us to be of a par 

 nature. All of the reported microscopical investigations i 

 fiber bundles and their cementing materials. Such is 

 chemical studies. So far as we can find, no study has 



stages of retting. 



