Scutching Wheel or Handles

Bale Blades, Tapered - A turbine scutching machine in which the scutching blades are tapered in width in the first third of each compartment in contradistinction to the usual parallel sided blades. Blades, Tapered and Coned - A turbine scutching machine in which the blades are tapered and at the same time the first third of each scutching rotor is coned. Bunch - The aggregate of pieces which is tied up with two or more ties preparatory to baling. Conditioning - The operation of adding moisture to or abstracting moisture from straw to put it in the optimum condition for scutching. Decortication - The term sometimes applied to the scutching of unretted straw in contradistinction to retted straw. Handles - See Scutching Wheel or Handles. Piece - The small handful which is the unit of scutched flax. Scutching - The mechanical operation of separating the fibre from the woody part of the de-seeded or retted flax straw. Scutching, Automatic - See Scutching, machine or turbine or automatic. Scutching, Hand - The operation of scutching as carried out on a Belgian or Irish scutching wheel. Scutching, Machine, or Turbine, or Automatic - The operation of scutching flax entirely mechanically. Scutching Machine, Monoblade - Similar in principle to a turbine machine, but each compartment has a single steel blade on one shaft in place of multiple blades on two shafts. Scutching Machine, Turbine - A scutching outfit consisting generally of (a) prebreaking rollers to crimp the centre of the straw (b) a set of fluted breaking rollers to crimp the ends of the straw (c) a conveyor to hold the straw during processing; (d) a root end compartment where intersecting steel blades scutch the root end and middle of the flax; (e) a top end compartment where similar blades scutch the middle and top end of the flax; (f) a delivery bar where the scutched flax is piled up for removal. Scutching Wheel, or Handles - The machine on which hand scutching is done. It consists of an upright wooden or metal stock in a notch of which the broken flax straw is held and is there operated on by a number of wooden blades mounted equidistantly on a central shaft. Scutching Wheel, Belgian - A scutch wheel which usually has 12 light blades of walnut. Scutching Wheel Irish - A scutch wheel which usually has 6 blades, much heavier than those in the Belgian wheel. Strick (v.) - To divide straw from the breakers into suitable pieces and to level the ends before hand scutching.

Tow Rollers Tow Rollers and Beaters - A set of tow rollers fitted with intermediate beater blades. Tow Scutching Machine - A machine specially designed for scutching rug into tow. Tow Shaker, High Speed - A machine with rapidly vibrating steel pins for shaking out tow after the tow rollers, or tow scutching machine. Tow Shaker, Slow Speed - A machine for shaking out shives from scutching rug. Tow Wheels, or Handles - A form of scutching wheel specially set for scutching rug into tow.

Flax, Broken - Scutched flax which is less than 20-in. long and therefore unfit for hackling in the spinning mill. Flax, C.D. and T. - Graders' marks which denote the type of scutched flax: c (chaine) to represent warps, D (demi) to represent medium warps, and T (trame) to represent wefts. Flax, Green, or Natural - Scutched flax produced from de-seeded straw without any intermediate treatment such as retting. Flax, Line - The hackled flax produced by a hackling machine or hand hackling. A term sometimes erroneously applied to scutched flax. Flax, Retted - Scutched flax produced from straw which has been retted. Usually divided into three main classes, namely, water retted flax, dew retted flax, and chemically retted flax. Flax, Scutched - The product from the delivery end of a scutching machine or from scutching flax straw on a wheel. It consists of the long fibre strands in a parallel condition and substantially free from wood and other extraneous material. The yield of scutched flax is commonly expressed as stones (14-lb.) per acre, but in Ireland it is sometimes expressed as stones per peck of seed sown. The average yield per acre of scutched flax has varied according to year from about 20 stones per acre to 40 stones per acre, with occasional exceptional yields of 80 and 90 stones per acre. Grader, Flax - The man who places the scutched flaxes in their appropriate grades of quality by eye judgment and feel. Grades, Flax - Tank retted flaxes are graded from A through the alphabet in ascending order of value. Dam retted flaxes are graded from 1-7 in descending order of value. Dew retted flaxes are graded 0-6 in descending order of value. Grades, Tow - Green tow is graded 1-8 and then 9a, 9b, Z, Z₂, and beater tow in descending order of value. Tank retted tow is graded I, II, III, 1, 2, 3, 3X, 3XXX, in descending order, whilst dam and dew retted tows are I, II, II, 1, 2, 3. Pluckings - The short, clean fibre produced at the end of the scutching machine where the operatives dress and square the pieces of flax ready for selection. In grading pluckings are classed as tow (q.v.). Root Ends, Straw - The broken-off roots which fall from the straw under the breaking rollers. Rug, Scutching - All the detritus which falls below the two compartments of the scutching machine after the shives have been shaken out of it, or the waste made when producing scutched flax on a wheel. It consists of partly scutched short straws, broken straws, weeds, and beater tow. It is classed as root end rug or top end rug, according to which end of the flax it comes from. Selection - The preliminary sorting of the scutched flax into main grades at the delivery end of the scutching machine. Shives - The short pieces of woody waste beaten from the straw during scutching. Tow - Any substantially clean but tossed and tangled flax fibre of less than scutched flax length. Tow Baling - The operation of making-up tow into bales. Tow, Beater - Short, fine, clean fibres which fall from the last third of the compartments during scutching. Tow, Inferior low grade (Green) - Green tow of a grade lower than 9a. Tow, Inferior low grade (Retted) - Retted tow of a grade lower than 3XXX. Tow, Machine, or Cast - Tow produced by the hackling machine. Tow, Rejected - Tow unsuitable for spinning on flax tow machinery. Tow, Rescutched - Two scutched on tow handles or a tow scutching machine. Tow, Rolled - The product from passing scutching rug through tow rollers and highspeed shaker. Tow, Rolled and Beaten - The product from passing scutching rug through tow rollers and beaters, and a high-speed shaker. The principal flax markets of the world are at Courtrai, Bruges, Ghent, Lokeren and Zele in Belgium; Rotterdam in Holland; Riga in Latvia; Leningrad, Pernau and Witebek in Russia; Douai and Flines in France; Newry, Rathfriland, Strabane, Ballymoney, Lisnaskea, Ballybay and Armagh in Ireland. Courtrai flax is the finest produced. It is uniform in fibre, strong, clean and of a good colour. Yarns up to 200's lea are spun from it. Irish flax comes next in spinning qualities from 90's to 120's lea are produced. As a warp yarn it is much preferred as the strength is greater than other types. Flemish flax is dark in colour, dryer than others, strong, and can be spun up to 120's lea. Dutch flax is clean, good colour and spins into yams up to 90's lea. Russian flax is coarser than the above types and is usually spun up to about 70's lea.