The flax goes through many processes ere it becomes the snowy damask which adorns your dining-table, or the delicate fabric which, under the name of linen, ornaments your person. Even a towel—as you will see at Bessbrook—like Rome, was not made in a day; hence I may say the interior of the mill is more remarkable that its exterior, imposing and stately as that is. Outside you see the mere walls, the windows, the lofty chimney, and, at certain times, streams of men, women, and children, emerging from it, known in manufacturing districts as “hands.” Inside, you feel, directly you have passed the threshold, that you are in a magic scene of industry, with its long, long rooms, filled with wonderful machinery harmoniously working, requiring, in many cases, only the attendance of a child. By gaslight the scene is exhilarating. Far, far away is the power which sets all this machinery in motion, and on it works untiring and as if for ever. The flax, however, is not fit for spinning and weaving as it comes to Bessbrook. Even though it comes there in the scutched state, a great deal has to be done to sort it and purify it. It is no joke going into a scutching mill. The dust and noise are hideous. It is bad enough to see the men and boys hackling it at Bessbrook. This hackling consists of three processes—(1) _roughing_, performed by roughers, in which the flax is passed over a course hackle, merely to take out dirt and tow, and leave the fibres straight; (2) _machine hackling_, performed by machinery, attended to by boys of from thirteen to sixteen, in which the flax is further hackled or combed out; (3) _sorting_, performed by men, who are called sorters or hacklers, whose business it is to hackle the flax as it comes from the machine, and to sort it in the different qualities. It is now ready for spinning, and is placed in a store until required.
The next process is spinning the flax into yarn, which process consists of two parts: (1) _preparing_, which is done by girls, technically termed preparers, back-minders, and rovers; and (2) _spinning_, which is done by female spinners. The yarn, when spun, is sent up to the reeling room to be reeled into hanks. This work is performed by reelers, also girls. The yarn is now ready for the market, with the exception of drying and bunching, which are carried on elsewhere.