Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/796

* FLAX. but since this tangles and breaks the fibre, it must not be used if the fibre is to be saved. Dressing. The process first gone through after pulling is rippling, which consists in tearing off the seeds by pulling the stalks through a flax- comb, which consists of a series of iron teeth 18 inches long, placed within a distance of half an inch of each other. These are fastened in a block of wood, which is placed at the end of a plank or long stool, on which the operator sits. Often the seeds are separated from the stalk by threshing or hammering, but this process, as already stated, is objectionable, as it soils and breaks the stalk. The next process is to obtain the flaxen fibre or lint, free from the woody core or boon of the stem. This is effected by steeping the bundles in either stag- nant or running water till the boon begins to rot, in which state it is readily separated from the fibre. The operation is called rotting, or retting, and requires to be managed with great care, as by continuing it too long decomposition might extend to the fibre, and render it useless; while by discontinuing it too soon the separation could not be effected with sufficient ease. The time is generally determined by the nature and temperature of the water and the ripeness of the flax, decomposition taking place more rapidly in soft, stagnant water than in running streams, in which the retting is sometimes conducted. Three natural modes of steeping, or retting, the straw are recognized — dew-retting, pool-retting, and retting in running water. There are also many processes for quick retting, where the temperature of the water is controlled, and also where cereals are used ; but the flax of the world is largely retted by natural methods rather than by 'processes.' For dew-retting a moist meadow is the proper place, the fibre being spread over the ground in straight rows at the rate of a ton to an acre. For pool-retting the softest water gives the best results, and where a natural pool is not available, such as the 'bog-holes' in Ire- land, 'steep holes' are made. The sheaves are kept entirely under water, but without touching the bottom. The fibres sink when decomposition has been carried to the proper point. If the woody portion or core pulls out easily, leaving the fibre intact, it is ready to come out. The opera- tion usually requires from five to ten days. Dew- rctting is the safest and least offensive method, but it requires much longer time, and in a coun- try where land is valuable would become very expensive. On the whole, the mixed method of retting is preferable — that is, to steep till de- composition of the boon is well advanced, and then to complete the process on the grass. It has been attempted to separate the fibre by ma- chinery, without subjecting the flax to retting; but the article so produced has hitherto been re- jected as inferior in quality. Attempts to hasten the process of retting by placing the flax in tanks and using warn water or steam instead <>f cold water or dew have been more successful. According to the process intro- duced by Schenk, the Bax is placed in vats, in which it is kept down by means of strong frame- work. Water is allowed to pass into the vats, to become absorbed by the flax; steam is next ad- mitted, till the temperature of the water is raised to. and maintained at, about 00°. Acetous fer- mentation ensues in :i few hours, and after being maintained for about 00 hours, the decomposition 712 FLAX. of the gummy or resinous matter in the stalk is completed. The mucilage water is next with- drawn from the vat, and the flax taken out, sepa- rated, and dried, either in the open air or in desiccating-rooms, according to circumstances. Retting in water is usually followed by bleaching on the grass, to secure an even color. This is often accomplished in a few days, but may re- quire several weeks. The whole process of retting is a typical fer- mentation. A disagreeable odor arises from the fermenting flax, and the liquid, after the fer- mentation, is filled with products which make valuable manure. The bacillus which produces the retting has been identified, and it has been shown that the retting is a process of decompo- sition of the pectin cement. No method of sepa- rating the linen fibres in the flax from the wood fibres has yet been devised which dispenses with the aid of bacteria. ( See Conn, Story of Germ Life, New York, 1900.) In chemical retting, however, dilute sulphuric or hydrochloric acid is used which completes the process in a few days. The flax is now ready to be freed completely of its woody particles. This is effected by scutch- ing. Previous to this, however, the flax is passed through a brake, or revolving rollers, in order thoroughly to crack the boon. The brake, worked by manual labor, consists of a frame, on the upper side of which are a number of grooves ; a mov- able piece is hinged at one end, and provided with a similar grooved piece on its lower side, but so placed that the projections pass into the hollows of the lower. The flax, placed between these, and struck by bringing down the hinged part, is brok- en, but the fibre remains uninjured. In the flax-breaking machine the flax is passed through a series of horizontal fluted rollers ; the flutes do not touch, thus preserving the fibre while breaking the boon. In Austria and other European countries a more primitive, but, it is claimed, less injurious method of breaking is pursued, in which the fibre is opened with a 'bott-hammer' (batting-hammer), which is made of wood ridged like a cook's implement for pounding steak. In Continental countries scutch- ing is almost invariably performed by hand, the flax being held in a groove made in an upright stand, and struck by a flat blade. Machine scutching is much more certain and expeditious than hand scutching, and is, in consequence, fast superseding it in Great Britain. After passing through the breaking-machine, the flax is sub- jected to the action of a series of knives attached to the arms of a vertical wheel; these knives strike the flax in the direction of its length. The process is gone through three times before the flax is ready for the market. Although ma- chine scutching is expeditious, it is not capable of that pliant adaptation to the varying nature of the flax to be operated upon, which is obtained in hand scutching. The effect of machine scutch- ing is to produce fineness by reducing and im- parting rather than sustaining the character of the fibre — namely, the length and fineness of its 'staple' or fibre. In the chapter on "The Present Status of Flax Culture." in the Year Book of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1897, it is stated thai a practical machine scutch- er is a desideratum, "for the fact remains that notwithstanding the many inventions of such ma ehines that have been brought to public notice.