Flax-Farming in the Netherlands. 
431 
sary to force on the plant so as to get it out of the way of the 
hopping beetle, which attacks it in its young state, a top- 
<lressing of guano or nitrate of soda is applied. Such manures 
are found to increase the quantity of straw, but to injure its 
quality, and perhaps even to reduce the quantity of available 
fibre. 
Weedinf/. — In the Netherlands care is taken to preserve the 
seed as well as the straw, therefore the crop is left to ripen. It 
is harvested as usual, being pulled up by the roots, and the 
seed-pods are then removed by hand. Between seed-time 
and harvest the flax crop requires incessant weeding, at any 
rate so long as the hand-picking of weeds can be continued 
without injury to the growing crop. Therefore the " flax- 
farmers " send to the districts where they have hired land a 
number of men, women, and children, who go from farm to 
farm to weed the flax. They are paid by the flax-farmer, 
generally about Is. 8f/. per day for the men, and women and 
children in proportion. They sleep in the barns or out-houses, 
on hay, straw, or whatever they can find for the purpose, and 
the "flax-farmer" does not seem to trouble his head about 
them. When they are not wanted for flax-weeding, during the 
summer, they frequently get odd jobs from the farmers of the 
district. In the autumn they return to Ijsselmonde and are 
employed in the various operations by which the flax-fibre is 
prepared for market. 
Steeping or Retting. — The crop having been harvested, it is 
sent in barges to Ijsselmonde, where it is steeped in ditches. 
There are an infinity of details relating to this process, upon 
tlie success of which the quality of the fibre to a large extent 
depends. Possibly there may be something in the water of the 
Ijsselmonde ditches which accounts for the concentration of 
the industry' in that island ; but some growers in other districts 
say that water can be prepared to produce the same result. 
However, in Ijsselmonde they prefer what they call an " old 
ditch," that is to say, a ditch with an old bottom of mud ; then 
the number and age of the willows growing on the sides of the 
ditches have to be taken into account, as the willow roots are 
supposed to have a great influence. The age of the mud is of 
importance, because the straw is covered with it during the 
soaking process. The soaking takes place during September, 
but no rules can be laid down with regard to it, as every field 
of flax and every ditch of water renders some variation necessary 
to produce the best result. 
Drying. — The flax having been soaked, it is dried as com- 
pletely as possible in the open air, and the drying is finished 
by artificial means. Under the old system a fire is made by 
