HARVESTING LINEN FLAX

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 72, Issue 1, 15 January 1946, Page 51

HARVESTING LINEN FLAX

Improvements In Handling Handling

By

L. EARL,

Fields Instructor, Timaru.

LINEN flax production has been a factor in the agricultural and industrial economy of certain South Island districts, especially South Canterbury, in recent years. Because of indifferent weather, pulling machinery prone to maladjustment, and a shortage of experienced operators, production of the crop in the field, particularly from the harvesting aspect, has not been straightforward. Moreover, measures taken to get the crop pulled,

stooked and stacked in the shortest possible time have caused much «to be roughly handled. These and other difficulties which this industry has had to combat are discussed in this article.

MUCH of the potential yield was lost through crops being roughly handled and despite the subsequent exacting handling in the mill, yield and grade remained much below the production estimated from the standing crop.

Bad Season The 1944-45 season was particularly bad at harvest time. Showery weather began in mid-January and continued throughout the harvest. A major flood late in February completely stopped operations and seriously affected much of the crop already stocked. Before this, however, the weather had caused severe deterioration in crops already pulled, and it became abundantly clear that unless some attempt were made to prevent further deterioration there

was a distinct likelihood of harvesting and delivering to the mills flax of a very inferior quality. The flood forced the issue. It prompted a method of harvesting which enabled flax to be delivered into stack or mill varying little in quality and colour from the standing crop. This minimised the effects of the weather, •always an uncontrollable factor in flax production.

The end of the war means that the industry faces the prospect of fibre production on a peacetime basis with fibre selling at competitive prices and with quality and grade the deciding factors. Flax fibre may have to be sold at considerably lower prices than those ruling during the past few years. To meet these changed conditions greater efficiency in handling the raw material will have to be achieved, and a greater net quantity of line fibre produced for every ton of raw flax. Reasons for the measures adopted to control the harvesting of the crop and so produce the maximum quality in the fibre are therefore apparent. Last season an experimental system of harvesting, known as “barting,”. was adopted at Fairlie. This. does away with the necessity for stocking and stacking the crop and can be operated as soon as the flax is stiff enough to stand — one to two days after pulling. The crop is then protected securely from the weather. Pulling the Crop It has always been recognised that a linen flax crop is never more attractive than when standing in the paddock ready to pull. The straw is undamaged and of approximately even

length. However, it was found that as soon as the puller had tied this into a sheaf, delivered it through the binder and expelled it on to the ground, the fibre had lost most of its value in a few seconds, through bruising and general twisting and damage incurred in this operation. For this reason the first problem to be tackled was that of improving the pulling technique so that the sheaf coming off the puller was straight and as evenly butted as possible, that the straw was undamaged, and that each

sheaf was separated from the next, and not one of three ■or four dragged along until separated from the machine by sheer weight of ' the preceding sheaves which had not been separated from each other. It was clearly seen that the flax pulling machine at present in use is very limited in the quality of work it performs.. As with most agricultural machinery, the effectiveness of its performance rests with the operator, A flax, puller in the hands of a careless operator, while often a danger to himself and others, is ruination to flax straw. It was found that the only satisfactory way to straighten the sheaf was to do it manually in either of two ways.

(a) On the machine:

By attaching a seat to the puller at the end of the table the man straightening the sheaf received it in his lap, pulled the “fanned” ends of the sheaf into the knot and so produced a rounded sheaf. Then, sliding the sheaf off his lap, he gave it a half roll, dragged it for an instant to straighten the butt,' then released it so that it lay straight on the ground with the knot downwards. This operation required very little skill, provided that the heads of the sheaves were separated from each other. This again required a manual operation. The puller operator was transferred from the usual position .at the rear of the machine and was placed in the front of it facing the table. It was found that he could separate the heads as the arms of the binder expelled

the sheaf which was then delivered cleanly to the lap of the straightener. By this method a man straightening on the machine can handle comfortably 1J tons per hour of 28in. fibre flax. One safeguard which must' be adopted is the covering in of the power shaft extending from the puller to the tractor. This is most important. On no account should a man be allowed to work on the front of the machine unless this has first been done.

(b) On the ground: When a crop is being pulled at a rate upwards of 1| tons per hour, it is usually coming over the table too fast to be handled on the machine. This is particularly noticeable in tall crops yielding up to three tons per acre, or in heavily lodged crops. In these cases, it was found better to detach the seat from the straightener’s position and replace it with the usual tray. . The man then straightened the crop on the ground, by pulling the fanned-out straw into the centre at the knot and rolling the sheaf over on the knot to stiffen. This method is quite satisfactory, but requires two men to be kept with the puller. In very heavy or lodged crops, two men are also required on the pulling machine. At Fairlie much flax was harvested by this method, and an almost hopelessly lodged crop was salvaged when pulled and straightened by the foregoing methods.

Important Operation Straightening the sheaf ,is the most important operation in the harvest field. The results which have been achieved by treating the flax in this way are ample compensation for the time and trouble expended. Not only is the loss in processing greatly reduced as shown by the waste which comes off the deseeder, but less barrelfibre and tow comes off the scutcher which means, of course, that a greater *Barre fibre is that which has become discoloured and often weakened by weathering.

percentage of line fibre is obtained from the crop. From the farmer’s point of view, straightened flax which has been stocked not sooner than 1 to 2 days after pulling (when the sheaf has stiffened), has tne capacity to turn heavy rain and also to dry rapidly afterwards. An unstraightened sheaf which is stocked immediately after pulling and just dumped haphazardly, sags at the band and appears to absorb excessive moisture, which causes the flax to blacken and lose much of its value. This is reflected in the allotment of a low delivery Bonus. The cost of straightening is approximately 3/6 per ton. This is low considering that it has a most important bearing on the subsequent behaviour

of the crop in the mill, and entitles the .grower to a much larger delivery bonus for his trouble, should other factors such as excessive wind riot upset the work already done. Sheaf straightening, has been emphasised only because of its special importance in the operations necessary to harvest the crop safely. Even with a good sheaf delivered from the machine, there was no guarantee that this sheaf would be delivered to the mill in the same state. Measures had to be adopted to ensure that this could be done.

Bar ting the Crop The system of barting the crop has been used in Europe as the standard method of handling the sheaves in the field. The system was tried at Fairlie last season for the first ’time in New Zealand, and the results were highly encouraging. It has been recognised ever since flax was first grown in South Canterbury that the risk of bad weather is very great. It seems inevitable that the weather should be bad at harvest time, causing serious loss while growers stand by helpless to cope with the situation? It seemed illogical that great care should be exercised in growing the crop in the field and in carrying out . expert retting,, drying, scutching and processing of the crop in the mill, while the weather, over which there is no control, could seriously upset the most important process of all —the pulling and drying of the crop in the field. It was fotmd tnat many crops were greatly spoiled through being roughly pulled and stocked and then allowed to remain in stock for periods up to

six weeks in all weathers. The straw because of this was blackened and spoiled beyond recognition. Often the weather was responsible. Sometimes .growers were not able to devote further time to stacking through urgency of other harvest. Unfortunately, when this coincided with the handling of some of the best crops the loss was very noticeable. Now, however, by adopting the system of putting flax into “barts” shortly after it is pulled, the weather risk can be eliminated almost completely 'and a substantial advance in the direction of definitely controlling all processes vital to the production of the maximum quantity of line fibre can be made. 1

A bart is simply constructed. The art of building a bart is quickly learnt —it can be built in various dimensions but the system illustrated proved to be admirably suited to crops of up to 2 tons per acre. Longer barts can .be made for heavier crops. The construction is as follows: — 1. Base: Usually of six to eight rows wide according to the size of sheaves. The beginning of the base is actually an elongated stook at least 12 sheaves long or longer if desired. It was found at Fairlie in a crop of 2J tons per acre that eight rows of sheaves were wide •enough to permit pitching and thatching of the roof. The outer row on both sides must be perpendicular, so ■that any water from the eaves is thrown clear. It will be noted that .-standing the sheaves on their ends in this manner allows plenty of air to circulate. This is the whole secret of .■successful barting. 2. Long Piping: When the base is finished, a row of sheaves is placed along the outer edge (both sides) lengthwise on which rests the cross piping. In wide barts another row of long piping is laid along the centre as well, giving - support for cross piping. 3. Cross Piping: Sheaves are now laid across the base of the bart corresponding with the sheaves forming the base. This operation will require twelve or . more sheaves, depending on the length of the bart. In a bart of eight rows an extra row of long piping is required down the centre to support the cross piping in the centre. 4. Centre Piping: Sheaves are laid right down the centre of the bart (as illustrated) on top of the cross piping. As one row is scarcely sufficient in an eight-row bart another. is sometimes laid directly along on top of this again so that the centre piping is actually two sheaves high. It will be found that the sheaves remain in position quite securely.

5. Roof: The roof is now formed by laying sheaves along the bart from the apex of the centre piping to the long piping on the outside edge at the eaves. 6. Thatching: Eight or so sheaves are laid open and thatch is laid, beginning with a band along the eaves, and then there is a further layer above that, reaching down from the ridge. Except for tying down, which is just a matter of running twine lengthwise along the thatch to hold it in a wind, the bart is then complete. A Few Points It was found better to face the bart end on to the prevailing wind. At Fairlie the barts illustrated withstood three very heavy north-westerly gales. The more open a bart is built, the more successful it will be, both from the aspects of conditioning the flax and withstanding ,wind. In practice, it was found that plenty of air space was left automatically. Flax can be treated in this manner as soon as the straw becomes stiff, usually one or two days after pulling. An eight-row bart. twelve sheaves long holds approximately Bcwt. of crop. This can be built by three men in twenty minutes. It may take longer until the team becomes skilled, but a third to half-an-acre an hour is estimated to be reasonable' time for barting with three skilled men in a 2-ton per acre crop. Thatching and tying down appeared to take the longest time as reasonable care had to be exercised to spread the

thatch evenly. The thatch did not show the deterioration expected, and, in fact, was included in the line fibre eventually. There was no loss of weight in the barted straw, although the harts were in the paddock for six weeks with heavy rain and windy weather. The portion stacked had no weather in stook, and was stacked within a fortnight. ' Barted fibre sold at' one grade higher, and produced very much less barre flax which, usually a stained fibre, is separated from the line fibre. The flax retained its colour and was not blackened 'or bleached or unduly dried out as would have happened had it been left in stook. Carting out of the stook in north-westerly winds dried out the flax, and it appeared to weigh in much lighter than estimatedin some cases as much as i a ton lighter per acre. Losses were not so apparent in flax carted from barts. A comparison of results of the two treatments is as follows: — Barted. Stocked & Stacked. Crop weight 21 tons .18 tons Treated as possible barre 14cwt. 2qrs. 2 tons 12cwt. 3qrs. (3.4%) (14.7%) .. Deseeded loss 12.9% 15.9% Line fibre .. 11.5% 11.1% Grade .. .. DD CD Ratio line fibre to tow .. 100 : 38 100 : 47 Grade tow ..2 3 As the . portion treated as barre during processing was graded CD it was included in the stocked and stacked portion, so in actual fact no

barre was graded from the whole crop. This was highly. creditable considering that 21 tons had stood in barts during six weeks of variable weather. ; On the foregoing figures, the results indicate that the barted flax was worth approximately £1 10s. to £2 per ton more to the mill than the stocked portion. This should be emphasised since in the future crops will be bought on yield and grading.

Returns to the Grower

The delivery bonus on this crop was 25/- per ton, the maximum it could attain, which brought the final return of £lO per ton. The expenditure of approximately 10/- per ton for straightening on the puller (1 ton per man per hour), and for barting (say J ton per man per hour with wages at 3/- per hour) was well warranted. In succeeding years, with payment according to fibre yield and grade, this crop would have been worth approximately £l5 per ton delivered at the mill. The small amount of “extra* labour involved ~is * patently well worth while, because no further plant, such as is required for stacking, is needed. Conclusion It' should not be necessary to bart the whole crop in any flax growing district so long as the weather remains fine and the material in stock maintains its quality. But crops valued at £7 10s. per ton provisional valuation should be barted if there is any risk of their having to run the gauntlet of time and weather. This may demand a special team to follow the

pullers for the work, but it would be well'worth while. This not only ensures maximum care of the crop but also uniformity in raw material which is the essence of the . economic management of a processing concern such as the linen flax mill. Much work remains to be done in the direction of good handling of flax, but from the experience gained last year at Fairlie it is felt that by straightening and barting at least the best of the crop good progess will have been made towards the establishment in rural areas of a stable industry capable of paying its way. The flax industry, worth approximately £25,000

per annum to the farmers and working men in each district, provides also work and amenities for some 50 employees.

Acknowledgments The writer is indebted to Messrs. J. P. O’Neill, W. H. Collins, and W. H. Campbell, on whose properties these operations were carried out, to Mr. J. W. Hadfield, Director of the Linen Flax Section, and to Mr. R. C. Shaw, manager of the Fairlie Mill, for assistance in organising the work and providing information.