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FLAX
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FLAX . The terms flax or See also:lint (Ger. Flachs, Fr. lin, See also:Lat. linum) are employed at once to denote the fibre so called, and the plant from which it is prepared. The flax plant (Linum usitatissimum) belongs to the natural See also:order Linaceae, and, like most See also:plants which have been See also:long under cultivation, it possesses numerous varieties, while its origin is doubtful. As cultivated it is an See also:annual with an erect stalk rising to a height of from 20 to 40 in., with alternate, sessile, narrowly See also:lance-shaped leaves, branching only at the See also:top, each See also:branch or branchlet ending in a See also:bright See also:blue See also:flower. The See also:flowers are See also:regular and symmetrical, having five sepals, tapering to a point and hairy on the margin, five petals which speedily fall, ten stamens, and a See also:pistil bearing five distinct styles. The See also:fruit or See also:boll is See also:round, containing five cells, each of which is again divided into two, thus forming ten divisions, each of which contains a single See also:seed. The seeds of the flax plant, well known as See also:linseed, are heavy, smooth, glossy and of a bright greenish-See also: The annual flax (L. usitatissimum) has been cultivated for at least four or five thousand years in See also:Mesopotamia, See also:Assyria and See also:Egypt, and is wild in the districts included between the See also:Persian Gulf, the See also:Caspian See also:Sea and the See also:Black Sea. This annual flax appears to have been introduced into the north of Europe by the Finns, afterwards into the west of Europe by the western See also:Aryans, and perhaps here and there by the Phoenicians; lastly, into Hindustan by the eastern Aryans after their separation from the See also:European Aryans. (De See also:Candolle, Origin of Cultivated Plants.)
The cultivation and preparation of flax are among the most See also:ancient of all textile See also:industries, very distinct traces of their
existence during the See also: 31). Further, numerous pictorial representations of flax culture and preparation exist to the present day on the walls of tombs and in Egypt. See also:Sir J. G. See also:Wilkinson in his description of ancient Egypt shows clearly the great antiquity of the See also:ordinary processes of preparing flax. " At Beni See also:Hassan," he says, " the mode of cultivating the plant, in the same square beds now met with throughout Egypt (much resembling our See also:salt pans), the See also:process of beating the stalks and making them into ropes, and the manufacture of a piece of See also:cloth are distinctly pointed out." The preparation of the fibre as conducted in Egypt is illustrated by See also:Pliny, who says: " The stalks themselves are immersed in See also:water, warmed by the See also:heat of the See also:sun, and are kept down by weights placed uponthem, for nothing is lighter than flax. The membrane, or rind, becoming loose is a sign of their being sufficiently macerated. They are then taken out and repeatedly turned over in the sun until perfectly dried, and afterwards beaten by mallets on stone slabs. That which is nearest the rind is called stupa [` See also:tow '], inferior to the inner See also:fibres, and See also:fit only for the wicks of lamps. It is combed out with See also:iron hooks until the rind is all removed. The inner See also:part is of a whiter and finer quality. Men are not ashamed to prepare it " (Pliny, N.H. xix. I). For many ages, even down to the early part of the 14th See also:century, See also:Egyptian flax occupied the foremost place in the commercial world, being sent into all regions with which open intercourse was maintained. Among Western nations it was, without any competitor, the most important of all See also:vegetable fibres till towards the See also:close of the 18th century, when, after a brief struggle, See also:cotton took its place as the supreme vegetable fibre of See also:commerce. Flax prospers most when grown upon See also:land of See also:firm texture resting upon a moist subsoil. It does well to succeed oats or potatoes, as it requires the See also:soil to be in fresh See also:condition without being too See also:rich. Lands newly broken up from pasture suit it well, as these are generally freer from weeds than those that have been long under tillage. It is usually inexpedient to apply manure directly to the flax See also:crop, as the tendency of this is to produce over-luxuriance, and thereby to See also:mar the quality of the fibre, on which its value chiefly depends. For the same See also:reason it must be thickly seeded, the effect of this being to produce tall, slender stems, See also:free from branches. The land, having been ploughed in autumn, is prepared for See also:sowing by working it with the grubber, See also:harrow and See also:roller, until a fine tilth is obtained. On the smooth See also:surface the seed is sown broadcast by See also:hand or .See also:machine, at the See also:rate of 3 bushels per See also:acre, and covered in the same manner as See also:clover seeds. It is advisable immediately to hand-See also:rake it with See also:common See also:hay-rakes, and thus to remove all stones and clods, and to secure a See also:uniform close See also:cover of plants. When these are about 2 to 3 in. long the crop must be carefully hand-weeded. This is a tedious and expensive process, and hence the importance of sowing the crop on land as free as possible from weeds of all kinds. The weeders, faces to the See also:wind, move slowly on hands and knees, and should remove every vestige of See also:weed in order that the flax plants may receive the full benefit of the land. When flax is cultivated primarily on See also:account of the fibre, the crop ought to be pulled before the capsules are quite ripe, when they are just beginning to See also:change from a See also:green to a See also:pale-brown colour, and when the stalks of the plant have become yellow throughout about two-thirds of their height.
The various operations through which the crop passes from this point till flax ready for the See also:market is produced are—(r) Pulling, (2) Rippling, (3) Retting, (4) Drying, (5) See also:Rolling, (6) Scutching.
Pulling and rippling may be dismissed very briefly. Flax is always pulled up by the See also:root, and under no circumstances is it cut or shorn like cereal crops. The pulling ought to be done in dry clear See also:weather; and care is to be taken in this, as in all the subsequent operations, to keep the root-ends even and the stalks parallel. At the same See also:time it is desirable to have, as far as possible, stalks of equal length together,—all these conditions having considerable See also:influence on the quality and See also:appearance of the finished See also:sample. As a general See also:rule the removal of the " bolls " or capsules by the process of rippling immediately follows the pulling, the operation being performed in the See also: It is unadvisable to ripple the flax so severely as to break or See also:tear the delicate fibres at the upper part of the See also:stem. The two valuable commercial products of the flax plant, the seeds and the stalk, are separated at this point. We have here to do with the latter only. Retting or rolling is an operation of the greatest importance, and one in connexion with which in See also:recent years numerous experiments have been made, and many projects and processes put forth, with the view of remedying the defects of the See also:primitive See also:system or altogether supplanting it. From the earliest times two leading processes of retting have been practised, termed respectively water-retting and See also:dew-retting; and as no method has yet been introduced which satisfactorily supersedes these operations, they will first be described. Water-retting.—For this—the process by which flax is generally prepared--pure soft water, free from iron and other materials which might colour the fibre, is essential. Any water much impregnated with See also:lime is also specially objectionable. The dams or ponds in which the operation is conducted are of variable See also:size, and usually between 4 and 5 ft. in See also:depth. The rippled stalks are tied in small bundles and packed, roots downwards, in the dams till they are quite full; over the top of the upper layer is placed a stratum of rushes and See also:straw, or sods with the grassy See also:side downwards, and above all stones of sufficient See also:weight to keep the flax submerged. Under favourable circumstances a process of See also:fermentation should immediately be set up, which soon makes itself See also:manifest by the See also:evolution of gaseous bubbles. After a few days the fermentation subsides; and generally in from ten days to two See also:weeks the process ought to be See also:complete. The exact time, however, depends upon the weather and upon. the particular kind of water in which the flax is immersed. The See also:immersion itself is a See also:simple See also:matter; the difficulty lies in deciding when the process is complete. If allowed to remain under water too long, the fibre is weakened by what is termed " over-retting," a condition which increases the amount of See also:codilla in the scutching process; whilst " under-retting " leaves part of the gummy or resinous matter in the material, which hinders the subsequent process of manufacture. As the steeping is such a See also:critical operation, it is essential that the stalks be frequently examined and tested as the process nears completion. When it is found that the fibre separates readily from the woody " shove " or core, the See also:beets or small bundles are ready for removing from the dams. It is drained, and then spread, evenly and equally, over a grassy meadow to dry. The drying, which takes from a See also:week to a fortnight, must be uniform, so that all the fibres may spin equally well. To secure this uniformity, it is necessary to turn the material over several times during the process. It is ready for gathering when the core cracks and separates easily from the fibre. At this point See also:advantage is taken of fine dry weather to gather up the flax, which is now ready for scutching, but the fibre is improved by stooking and stacking it for some time before it is taken to the scutching See also: Archangel flax is, however, peculiarly soft and silky in structure, although in all See also:probability water-retting would result in a fibre as See also:good or even better in quality.
The theory of retting, according to the investigations of J. Kolb, is that a See also:peculiar fermentation is set up under the influence of heat and moisture, resulting in a change of the intercellular substance—pectose or an analogue of that body—into pectin and pectic See also:acid. The former, being soluble, is See also:left in the water; but the latter, an insoluble See also:body, is in part attached to thefibres, from which it is only separated by changing into soluble metapectic acid under the See also:action of hot alkaline ley in the subsequent process of See also:bleaching.
To a large extent retting continues to be conducted in the primitive fashions above described, although numerous and persistent attempts have been made to improve upon it, or to avoid the process altogether. The uniform result of all experiments has only been to demonstrate the scientific soundness of the ordinary process of water-retting, and all the proposed improvements of recent times seek to obviate the tediousness, difficulties and uncertainties of the process as carried on in the open air. In the early part of the 19th century much attention was bestowed, especially in See also:Ireland, on a process invented by Mr See also: The only modification of water-retting which has hitherto endured the test of prolonged experiment, and taken a firm position as a distinct improvement, is the warm-water retting patented in England in 1846 by an See also:American, See also:Robert B. Schenck. For open pools and dams Schenck substitutes large wooden vats under cover, into which the flax is tightly packed in an upright position. The water admitted into the tanks is raised to and maintained at a temperature of from 750 to 95° F. during the whole time the flax is in steep. In a See also:short time a brisk fermentation is set up, gases at first of pleasant odour, but subsequently becoming very repulsive, being evolved, and producing a frothy scum over the surface of the water. The whole process occupies only from 5o to 6o hours. A still further improvement, due to Mr See also:Pownall, comes into operation at this point, which consists of immediately passing the stalks as they are taken out of the vats between heavy rollers over which a stream of pure water is kept flowing. By this means, not only is all the slimy glutinous adherent matter thoroughly separated, but the subsequent processes of breaking and scutching are much facilitated. A process of retting by See also:steam was introduced by W. See also:Watt of See also:Glasgow in 1852, and subsequently modified and improved by J. See also:Buchanan. The system possessed the advantages of rapidity, being completed in about ten hours, and freedom from any noxious odour; but it yielded only a harsh, See also:ill-See also:spinning fibre, and consequently failed to meet the sanguine expectations of its promoters. In connexion with improvements in retting, Mr See also:Michael See also:Andrews, secretary of the See also:Belfast Flax See also:Supply Association, made some suggestions and experiments which deserve close attention. In a See also:paper contributed to the See also:International Flax See also:Congress at See also:Vienna in 1873 he entered into details regarding an experimental rettery he had formed, with the view of imitating by artificial means the best results obtained by the ordinary methods. In brief, Mr Andrews' method consists in introducing water at the proper temperature into the retting vat, and maintaining that temperature by keeping the air of the chamber at a proper degree of heat. By this means the flax is kept at a uniform temperature with great certainty, since even should the heat of the air vary considerably through neglect, the water in the vat only by slow degrees follows such fluctuations. " It may be remarked," says Mr Andrews, " that the superiority claimed for this method of retting flax over what is known as the `hot-water steeping' is uniformity of temperature; in fact the experiments have demonstrated that an See also:absolute See also:control can be exercised over the means adopted to produce the artificial See also:climate in which the vats containing the flax are situated." Several other attempts have been made with a view of obtaining a See also:quick and See also:practical method of retting flax, The one by Messrs See also:Doumer and Deswarte appears to have been well received in See also:France, but in Ireland the invention of Messrs Loppens and Deswarte has recently received the most attention. The apparatus consists of a tank with two See also:chambers, the See also:partition being perforated. The flax is placed in the upper chamber and covered by two sets of rods or beams at right angles to each other. Fresh water is allowed to enter the See also:lower chamber immediately under the perforated partition. As the tank fills, the water enters the upper chamber and carries with it the flax and the beams, the latter being prevented from rising too high. The soluble substances are dissolved by the water, and the liquid thus formed being heavier than water, sinks to the bottom of the tank where it is allowed to See also:escape through an outlet. By this arrangement the flax is almost continually immersed in fresh water, a condition which hastens the retting. The flow of the liquids, in and out, can be so arranged that the See also:motion is very slow, and hence the liquids of different densities do not mix. When the operation is completed, the whole of the water is run off, and the flax remains on the perforated See also:floor, where it drains thoroughly before being removed to dry. The See also:Department of See also:Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, and the Belfast Flax Supply Association, have jointly made some experiments with this method, and the following See also:extract from the Association's See also:report for 1905 shows the success which attended their efforts: " By See also:desire of the department (which has taken up the position of an impartial critic of the experiment) a quantity of flax straw was divided into two equal lots. One part was retted at Millisle by the patent-system of Loppens and Deswarte; the other was sent to Courtrai and steeped in the Lys. Both lots when retted and scutched were examined by an inspector of the department and by several flax spinners. That which was retted at Millisle was pronounced See also:superior to the other " . . " To summarise results up to date '. It has been proved that flax can be thoroughly dried in the field in Ireland. 2. That the seed can be saved, and is of first quality. 3. That the system of retting (Loppens and Deswarte's patent) is at least equal to the Lys, as to quality and yield of fibre produced." Since these results appear to be satisfactory, it is natural to expect further attempts with the same See also:object of supplanting the ordinary steeping. A really good chemical, mechanical or other method would probably be the means of reviving the flax See also:industry in the remote parts of the See also:British Isles. Scutching is the process by which the fibre is freed from its woody core and rendered fit for the market. For ordinary waterretted flax two operations are required, first breaking and then scutching, and these are done either by hand labour or by means of small scutching or lint See also:mills, driven either by water or steam See also:power. Hand labour, aided by simple implements, is still much used in See also:continental countries; also in some parts of Ireland where labour is cheap or when very fine material is desired; but the use of scutching mills is now very general, these being more economical. The breaking is done by passing the stalks between grooved or fluted rollers of different pitches; these rollers, of which there may be from 5 to 7 pairs, are sometimes arranged to work alternately forwards and backwards in order to thoroughly break the woody material or " boon " of the straw, while the broken " shoves " are beaten out by suspending the fibre in a machine fitted with a See also:series of revolving See also:blades, which, striking violently against the flax, shake out the bruised and broken woody cores. A great many modified scutching machinesand processes have been proposed and introduced with the view of promoting See also:economy of labour and improving the turn-out of fibre, both in respect of cleanness and in producing the least proportion of codilla or scutching taw. The celebrated Courtrai flax of See also:Belgium is the most valuable See also:staple in the market, on account of its fineness, strength and particularly bright colour. There the flax is dried in the field, and housed or stacked during the See also:winter succeeding its growth, and in the spring of the following year it is retted in See also:crates sunk in the sluggish See also:waters of the See also:river Lys. After the process has proceeded a certain length, the crates are withdrawn, and the sheaves taken out and stooked. It is thereafter once more tied up, placed in the crates, and sunk in the river to complete the retting process; but this See also:double steeping is not invariably practised. When finally taken out, it is unloosed and put up in cones, instead of being grassed, and when quite dry it is stored for some time previous to undergoing the operation of scutching. In all operations the greatest care is taken, and the cultivators being peculiarly favoured as to soil, climate and water, Courtrai flax is a staple of unapproached excellence. An experiment made by See also:Professor Hodges of Belfast on 7770 lb of air-dried flax yielded the following results. By rippling he separated 1946 lb of bolls which yielded 910 lb of seed. The 5824 1b (52 cwt.) of flax straw remaining lost in steeping 13 cwt., leaving 39 cwt. of retted stalks, and from that 6 cwt. i qr. 2 lb (702. fib) of finished flax was procured. Thus the weight of the fibre was equal to about 9 % of the dried flax with the bolls, 12 % of the boiled straw, and over 16% of the retted straw. One See also:hundred tons treated by Schenck's method gave 33 tons bolls, with 27.50 tons of loss in steeping; 32.13 tons were separated in scutching, leaving 5.90 tons of finished fibre, with 1.47 tons of tow and pluckings. The following See also:analysis of two varieties of heckled Belgian flax is by Dr See also:Hugo See also: The same practice obtained and still largely prevails in other countries. Thus the flax industry was long kept away from the most powerful motives to apply to it labour-saving devices, and apart from the influence of scientific inquiry for the improvement of methods and processes. As cotton came to the front, just at the time when machine-spinning and power-See also:loom See also:weaving were being introduced, the result was that in many localities where flax crops had been grown for ages, the culture gradually drooped and ultimately ceased. The linen manufacture by degrees ceased to be a domestic industry, and began to centre in and become the characteristic factory employment of See also:special localities, which depended, however, for their supply of raw material primarily on the operations of small growers, working, for the most part, on the poorer districts of remote thinly populated countries. The cultivation of the plant, and the preparation of the fibre have therefore, even at the iresent day, not come under the influence (except in certain favoured localities) of scientific knowledge and experience.
Cultivation.—The approximate number of acres (1905) under cultivation in the . See also:principal flax-growing countries is as follows:—
See also:Russia 3,500,000 acres.
See also:Caucasia 450,000 „
See also:Austria 175,000
See also:Italy 120,000
See also:Poland .. 95,000
See also:Rumania 80,000
See also:Germany 75,000
France 65,000
Belgium 53,000
See also:Hungary 50,000
Ireland 46,000
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See also: H „ See also:Light and represents a rise of about £1
P ,, Picked „ „ , £3
G ,, See also:Grey „ £3
S „ Superior „ ,, £4 W „ See also: Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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