An article we can illustrate, showing the hemp and flax growing in Russia and Italy, then all the business of pulling, steeping and Retting, drying and scutching.
"The Spinners"
Eden Phillpotts
If the water supply is deficient in the vicinity where the plants are grown, it may be advantageous to convey the fibrous layers to some other place provided with a better supply of water for the final washing and drying; imperfect Retting and cleaning are apt to create defects in the fibre, and to cause considerable trouble or difficulties in subsequent branches of the industry.
"The Jute Industry: From Seed to Finished Cloth"
T. Woodhouse and P. Kilgour