. Elements of practical agriculture; comprehending the cultivation of plants, the husbandry of the domestic animals, and the economy of the farm. FLAX. 339 ture processes ; in the second the strength and texture of the fibres may be injured. When the flax is found to be sufficiently steeped, it is to be taken from the pool .sheaf by sheaf, and laid in heaps near the watering-place until the water has drained off. It is then to be carried away to a dry and airy grass plot. Here the sheaves are opened out, and spread thinly and evenly in rows upon the ground, the spreaders working backwards, and
. Elements of practical agriculture; comprehending the cultivation of plants, the husbandry of the domestic animals, and the economy of the farm. FLAX. 339 ture processes ; in the second the strength and texture of the fibres may be injured. When the flax is found to be sufficiently steeped, it is to be taken from the pool .sheaf by sheaf, and laid in heaps near the watering-place until the water has drained off. It is then to be carried away to a dry and airy grass plot. Here the sheaves are opened out, and spread thinly and evenly in rows upon the ground, the spreaders working backwards, and causing the but-ends of one row just to touch the tops of the next, so that the whole plot of ground shall be covered with a thin coating of flax. In this state the flax is allowed to lie for a time, determined by the state of the weather, generally 10 or 12 days, and some- times more. During the further process of rotting, or dew-rotting as it is termed, the dissolution of the soft part of the stem is still fur- ther promoted, and the whole becomes hard. When it has lain for a sufficient time, which is known by its being brittle when rubbed, and when it is at the time sufficiently dry, it is bound up again into sheaves, but larger than those made before the watering process. It is allowed to remain in these sheaves a little time to dry, after which it is carried home. The carrying home of the flax terminates the preparation, in so far as the mere grower is concerned. The remaining parts of the operation are properly the province of the manufacturer. But sometimes the manufacture proceeds on the farm itself to the extent of partially separating the fibrous part. The first process in this case is breaking the stems, which is usually done by an instrument Fig m called a break. This machine con- sists of three triangular planks, fixed together at both ends. Two triangular planks are fixed to an- other frame. The two frames are fixed together at one end by a hinge, and work the on
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