2. It is difficult to separate the flax or linen fiber from the woody part of the stem. The process is called retting, which is really rotting by soaking the stem in water.
3. Before the fibers are entirely free from the woody part of the plant they undergo the processes of beating, breaking, scutching, hackling, etc.
4. Read the account of each process. See Textiles, pages [194], [195].
5. Measure and record the length of two linen fibers.
6. Test the strength by trying to break the fiber.
7. Test for elasticity.
8. What is the appearance of the linen fiber when held to the light?
9. What is the color of the fiber? What is the process called by which linen is whitened? (Bleaching.)
10. Examine the flax fibers under the microscope. Observe that the fibers look like long cylindrical tubes. Describe the appearance of linen fibers under the microscope.
11. The best flax is grown in Belgium and Ireland.