December 11, 1852
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmGreat Improvement in the Treatment of Flax
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A great improvement in the early preparation of flax has been discovered in Ireland by a Mr. Watt. By it the flax is prepared for scratching without fermentation in 24 hours. The coarse flax is steamed along with some lime water, or high pressure steam itself will answer, lor five hours in a close tight vessel, it is then taken out, run between heavy fluted rollers, and dried when it is fit for scratching. By this process the woody matter is rendered easy of separation from the fibrous ; in scratching, very little tow is made. It is s plan highly spoken of by the Royal Flax Society.
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