The best fiber amounts to about 75 per cent of the stalk. To separate this valuable commercial product from the woody matter the stalks are first subjected to a process termed retting, which is steeping them in water until they are quite soft. Then follow the mechanical processes to further the production of the fiber and free it from all useless matter.
These are as follows:
1. Crushing or Beating. This consists of breaking the woody matter with the aid of mallets or in stamping mills.
2. Breaking. This is passing the stalks through a series of horizontal rollers to break further the woody matter and at the same time separate the greater part of it from the fiber.
3. Scutching. The object of this process is to remove completely the woody matter, and it is done by means of rapidly revolving wooden arms or blades, which beat the firmly held flax until it is sufficiently cleaned and separated.
4. Hackling. The scutched flax is drawn through iron combs which still further open the fiber. Fineness of fiber depends upon the number of times it is hackled, each time with a finer and finer instrument, which secures the different degrees of subdivision. Then the fibers are sorted and classified as to length and quality and laid in parallel forms ready for spinning and manufacture into linen.
PULLING FLAX IN MINNESOTA
Bleaching. Linen is bleached in the form of yarn, thread, and cloth. This is a difficult and long process owing to the large amount of natural impurities present in flax fiber, and the difficulty of removing or dissolving them. Bleaching is now done as a rule by chemical processes, and when chemicals are used great care must be taken about their strength and about the time the cloth is allowed to remain in them. In olden times sour buttermilk was applied to linen and rubbed in, and then bleaching was finished out of doors by sun and rain. “Unbleached” linen is treated in the same way as bleached, only the process is not carried to such an extent. In Ireland, famous for its bleaching, chemicals are used in the earlier stages of this process, and then fine linens are spread out on the grass to improve their color, and to purge them completely of any chemicals used. After bleaching, linen is washed, dried, starched, and put through heavy machines to give it a glossy finish, and it is then made up in pieces for sale.
Characteristics of Good Linen. Linen is noted for its smoothness of texture, its brilliancy—which laundering increases—its wearing qualities, and its exquisite freshness. The celebrated Irish linen is the most valuable staple in the market, and on account of its fineness and strength, and particularly its bright color, it attains an unapproachable excellence because the best processes are used throughout the entire manufacture. Linen is less elastic and pliable than cotton and bleaches and dyes readily.