4G 
Report on the Agriculture of Behjiam. 
To this we may add tlie following- extracts from a Report by 
Mr. T. Percy Ffrench, annexed to the one previously quoted : — 
The best system of " roiiissagc " (steeping) practised luitil lately in Belgium 
is on the hanks of the River Lys, but it has many drawbacks: firstly, that of 
vitiating the atmosi)here and corrupting the water, and this to such a degree 
that numerous petitions have been presented to the Chamber of Representatives 
in order to obtain the abolition of a practice so productive of fever and other 
diseases. Moreover, this system is subject to many other inconveniences — 
from atmospheric irregularities, &c. Quantities of flax are annually destroyed 
by storms, or even by the influence of an imjiending storm. 
M. Alkan, a celebrated French engineer, Professor of the Conservatoire des 
Arts et Metiers, (Src, remarks, in a Report on the treatment of flax, that ' the 
intelligent flax-growers of the banks of the Lys have learnt by experience how 
impossible it is for them to obtain satisfactory results from a single process of 
steeping — that, notwithstanding the loss of time and money, they are obliged 
to make two operations of it, with an interval of a year between each ; and 
that, owing to the impurity of the water, the chemical state, colonr, quality, 
and appearance of the filament, the ulterior manipulation of it which is indis- 
pensable, this system of steeping is very imperfect, and the filament is never 
properly divested of its gummy element. 
It is on account of these defects, so inherent to the preparation of flax in the 
open air, without any sj'stem of control or regularity beyond those of sight and 
touch more or less exercised, that every effort and research have been made in 
order to arrive at the suppression of the rural system of steeping ('' rouissage 
rural"), which, if performed in stagnant pools, is a source of infection and ill- 
health, and if in running water, adds a considerable loss of time to the above- 
mentioned drawback. 
***** 
There are two systems of steeping at present followed in Uelgium, one in 
the open air, called "rural steeping," and the other in covered barns, called 
" manufactnrier," or American. 
The'rural system is subdivided into steeping by dew and steeping in rivers. 
The first-named, principally practised in the provinces of Hainant and 
Namur, and the cantons of Grammont and Ninove, consists in spreading the 
flax over a field of grass or clover late in the autumn, or in the months of 
January and Februar^^ The winter steeping gives the best and whitest 
flax. 
In France, before spreading, it is customary to wet it with a solution of 
alkali, and in Holland with sea-water, to prevent its being stained. 
This process of steeping occupies about a month. 
The expense of this process is on an average 59 francs 50 centimes per 
hectare. 
This system gives a grey or blueish filament, and is only resorted to in 
places where water is scarce. 
Steepiinj in stagnant pooh. — The water shonld be as clear as possible, and 
devoid of chalk iiroperties, which affect the colour and qualities of the flax. 
In the province of Waiis two sorts of "routoirs" (steeping pools) are 
employed — the " l outoir blcii argentin," which owes its colour to the natural 
sediment of the soil, and the " routoir jaune," also owing its colour to the 
same natural causes. Alder leaves and poppy-heads are supposed to improve 
the colour of the flax. The flax plants are made into bundles, jilaced in the 
])ool, and covered with planks and stones, to keep them under water, and arc 
left to soak for ten or twelve days. 
This process costs fi'om 60 to 65 francs per hectare. 
steeping in rivers. — The flax must be a year old, and the stream limpid so 
