British Pathe

British Instructional Films presentation.

A field of flax. C/U of flax flowers. C/U of buds. Two men on a tractor harvest the flax. C/U of flax being cut. Flax is stacked in bundles then lifted on to a cart which is towed by a tractor. The flax is then sent via an elevator to the top of a...

British Instructional Films presentation.

A field of flax. C/U of flax flowers. C/U of buds. Two men on a tractor harvest the flax. C/U of flax being cut. Flax is stacked in bundles then lifted on to a cart which is towed by a tractor. The flax is then sent via an elevator to the top of a large pile of flax. In the factory the flax is sent up another elevator then dropped on to the factory floor. Men unwrap the flax then feed it into a machine. Women take bundles of flax which are bound in a machine. "Retting" - the flax bundles are stacked in a pile inside a large tank. Graphic illustration of how the bundles are stacked. Hot air is then pumped into the tank, as is water. Hot water then rises through the flax. We see the hot water bubbling. A man reaches down through a hole in the top of the tank to test a piece of flax. He checks the temperature of the water on a thermometer. The flax remains in the tank for 70 hours.

Graphic animation of water draining from tank. Bundles of flax are taken out of the tank. The men stack them again. They are then spread out and steam passes through them. Another graphic animation of hot air being passed through a machine. Flax is put into a frame then bound with string. Flax is stored outside in rows. Men then load into barns with pitchforks. "Scutching" is process where flax is fed into a machine which separates the fibres. Graphic animation of this process. The flax is crushed and rolled to extract water (?) Women collects the flax which emerges from the other end of the machine. She makes the flax into rolls. Several women work at spreading out the fibres. C/U of rolls of flax. A woman opens trap doors in the floor and passes down the bundles of flax. On the floor below bundles are loaded on to a trolley then stacked. Bundles are loaded into sacks. Panning shot of large number of sacks.

Note: multiple prints exist - check for best quality.