Summary: Flax Harvest
Key dates:
The growing demand for flax from the linen industry encouraged more Ulster farmers to grow the crop. After the sheaves of flax had been pulled they were laid out in dams of stagnant water and weighted down with boulders. This can be clearly seen in the photograph. The rotting flax stems produced a very unpleasant smell which was familiar in the flax growing parts of the province. This process was known as retting.
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