FLAX
591
FLAX
had belonged to Amasis, king of Egypt, each thread of which was composed of 360 strands or filaments. In length and in fineness of fibre no country could com- pete with the flax which produced the "fine linen of E "-ypt," and which made the Delta "the great linen market of the ancient world" (Kalisch). By annihi- lating this crop, the seventh plague inflicted a terrible calamity. It destroyed what, next to corn, formed the staple of the country, and would onl}- find its modern parallel in the visitation which should cut off a cotton harvest in America. That it was grown in Palestine even before the conquest of that country by the Israel- ites appears from Josh, ii, 6, the second of the two pas- sages mentioned above. There is, however, some dif- ference of opinion about the meaning of the words ySTt "^ri'ds (Sept. XivoKa\ai.i7j, Vulg. siipulcn lini, and so A.V. "stalks of flax") ; Josephus speaks of Xivov (lyKuXiSsg, armfuls or bundles of flax ; but Arab. Vers, "stalks of cotton.^' Gesenius, however, and Eosen- miiller are in favor of the rendering "stalks of flax." If this be correct, the place involves an allusion to the custom of drying tlie flax-stalks by exposing them to the heat of the sun upon the flat roofs of houses ; and so expressly in Josephus {Ant. v, i, 2). See Stalk.
Flax (Litmrn Usitatissimum) .
In later times this drying was done in ovens. There is a decided reference to the raw material in the Sept.
rendering of Lev. xiii, 47 (i/xariy arvTnrv'tvii)), and Judg. XV, 14 (ffTvirTriov ; comp. Isa. i, 31). In several other passages, as Lev. xiii, 48, 52, 59 ; Deut. xxii, 11 ; Jer. xiii, 1 ; Ezek. xl, 3 ; xliv, 17, 18, Ave find it men tioned as forming different articles of clothing, as gir. dies, cords, and bands. In Prov. xxxi, 13, the careful housewife "seeketh wool and flax, and worketh it willingly with her hands." The words of Isaiah (xiii, 3), "A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smok- ing flax shall he not quench," are evidently' referred to in Matt, xii, 20, where Xivov is used as the name of flax, and as the equivalent oipishtah. But there can be no doubt of this word being correctlj' understood, as it has been well investigated hy several authors. (Celsius, //iero6o<. ii, 283; Yates, Textrinum Antiquo- rum, p. 2oo). See Cottox.
Few plants are at once so lovelj' and so useful as the slender, upright herb, with taper leaves and large blue-purple flowers, from which are fashioned alike the coarsest canvas and the most ethereal cambric or lawn — the sail of the ship and the fairj'-looking scarf which can be packed into a filbert shell. It was of linen, in part at least, that the hangings of the taber- nacle were constructed, white, blue, and crimson, with cherubim inwoven ; and it was of linen that the vest- ments of Aaron were foshioned. When arrayed in all his glory, Solomon could put on nothing more costly than the finest linen of Egypt ; and describing " the marriage of the Lamb," the seer of Patmos represents the bride as " arrayed in fine linen, clean and white ; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." As to Egypt, we have proof in the mummj'-cloth being made of linen, and also in the representations of the flax cultivation in the paintings of the Grotto of El- Kab, which represent the Avhole process with the ut- most clearness ; and numerous testimonies miglit be adduced from ancient authors of the esteem in which the linen of Egypt was held (Wilkinson, A71C. Eg. iii, 139). From these pictures, preserved at Beni Hassan, it would seem that the Egyptian treatment of the flax- plant was essentially the same as that which was pur- sued till quite lately by ourselves, which even now is onl}' modified by machinery', and which is thus de- scribed by Pliny : "The stalks are immersed in water warmed by the heat of the sun, and are kept down by weights placed upon them, for nothing is lighter than flax. The membrane or rind becoming loose is a sign of their being sufficient!}' macerated. They ai-e then taken out, and repeatedly turned over in the sun until perfectly' dried, and afterwards beaten bj' mallets on stone slabs. The tow which is nearest the rind is in- ferior to the inner fibres, and is fit only for the wicks of lamps. It is combed out with iron hooks until all the rind is removed. The inner part is of a finer and
Ancient Egyptians preparing the Flax, beating it, and making it into Twine and Cloth.
a, steps lending up to the top of tbe pits, h h, where the flax was steeped ; c c, the flax taken hy fp. 3 to dry, previous to beatinfr ; d, the stalks fresh cut.
Fift. 1 brings water in earthen pots ; 2 pours it over the stalks; 4 and 5 are enpraged in beating them with mallets, f e ; 6, pounding the coarser parts; 7 and S, stri'*
ing the tow, after it is made into yarn, on a stone, ^; 9 and 10, twisting the yaru into a rope, A ; 11 and 12 show that a piece of cloth, i, has been made of the yarn