42 G On the Modes of Culture and Preparation of Flax, 
trust ; but the large proportion of indifferently handled flax 
which is produced in many flax-growing countries should cause 
any practical and efficient artificial method to be a great advan- 
tage to those engaged in the industry which depends upon flax 
as the raw material. 
Some years since the idea occurred to me that a system most: 
likely to be successful would be one that would as closely as 
possible imitate the best results attained by the ordinary methods 
under the most favourable circumstances ; that is, to ret the flax 
at a suitable temperature of a uniform and permanent character. 
Under Schenck's and Watts' process this desired condition was 
absent, as in dealing with steam at a considerable pressure the 
flax would be liable to the danger of overheating, so long as. 
steam, as a heating medium, was introduced directly into the 
vats in which the flax was placed. The method adopted to 
ensure safety is to place the flax in vats contained in chambers 
heated by steam-pipes, the water being introduced into the vats 
at the required temperature, and this temperature maintained by 
heating the surrounding atmosphere of the chamber — in other 
words, simply by creating an artificial climate. By this arrange- 
ment it was considered that uniformity of temperature of any 
degree could be attained, as the vat containing the flax would 
be slow in sympathising with the fluctuations which might 
accidentally occur in the temperature of the chamber. 
For the purpose of testing this theory, a miniature rettory 
was constructed, and fitted up with the necessary appliances. 
The chamber in which the vat was situated was 14 feet long by 
10 feet wide and 8 feet high ; the vat was of a capacity sufficient 
to contain 150 lbs. to 160 lbs. of flax-straw in a dry condition. 
The chamber was heated by pipes supplied with steam ; the 
water available was suitable, having about 7° of hardness ; it was 
used in the vat for retting and for washing the flax after it had 
been retted. The flax-straw was placed in the vat in a perpen- 
dicular position, being tied in beets loosely, the butts and tops 
being: reversed in each row. The beets were confined in the vat 
with boards fastened down with iron bars. The steam which 
supplied the pipes for heating the chamber was under control 
by means of a stop-cock. These arrangements in practice proved 
very efficacious, and the facility of maintaining a uniform tem- 
perature in the vat was accomplished. When the temperature 
of the chamber rose very much beyond that of the vat, the latter, 
for a considerable time, was but slightly affected, owing to the 
tardiness of the temperature of the vat in responding to that of the 
air in the chamber. On the other hand, when the temperature 
of the chamber fell considerably below that of the vat, the latter 
