The act or process of preparing flax for use by soaking, maceration, and kindred processes; -- also called rotting. See Ret.
A place where flax is retted; a rettery.
The Subjection Of Crop Or Deseeded Straw To Chemical Or Biological Treatment To Make Fibre Bundles More Easily Separable From The Woody Part Of The Stem. Flax Is Described As Water-retted, Dew-retted Or Chemically-retted, Etc., According To The Process Employed.
A biological process that removes gums and stem tissue from soft fibers, in the processing of natural fibers. It is carried out in water, dew, or snow through the action of certain groups of bacteria and fungi.
term applied to the process of soaking flax in water to rot the hard stems to ease the process of beating into fibres. The process can also be applied to rags. See fermentation.
The process of separating the fibre from the wood in flax. This is done either chemically or biologically (rotting down of the crop). A messy process.
the subjection of a crop of flax or deseeded flax straw to chemical or biological treatment in order to make fibre bundles more easily separable from the woody part of the stem. (See also decortication.)
Retting is a stage in the manufacturing of vegetable fibers, especially the bast fibers. It is the process of submerging plant stems such as flax, jute, hemp or kenaf in water, and soaking them for a period of time to loosen the fibers from the other components of the stem. Retting can also be done by letting the cut crop stand in the fields in the wet Fall, called "dew retting".