LINEN, a cloth of very extensive use, made of flax, and differing from cloths made of hemp only in fineness. Hemp is in part now used in manufacturing cloths which are called linen. The flax from which linen is made is put through a number of processes previous to manufacture; rippling, the separation of the seed from the plant by means of beaters; setting, the elimination of resinous matter in the plant by steeping the stems in water and allowing fermentation to take place; grassing, in order to dry the flax stems; scotching, the removal of the woody portions of the stem from the fibrous; and heckling, the separation of the best of the flax. In common linen the warp and woof cross each other at right angles; if figures are woven in it is called damask (q.v.). The species of goods which come under the denomination of linen are table cloths, plain and damasked, cambric, lawn, shirting, sheeting, towels, etc. Linen cloth, or cloth woven of combinations of cotton or other textile fabrics with linen, is printed in the same manner as calico. Fancy cloths are also made by weaving with yarns dyed of various colors, and sometimes with printed yarns. Linen is extensively manufactured in England, Scotland and Ireland. It is also a staple in various parts of Europe.
The beauty of linen consists in the evenness of the thread, its fineness and density. The last of these qualities is sometimes produced by subjecting it to rolling; hence linen with a round thread is preferred to that with st flat thread. The warp or woof is not unfrequently made of cotton yarn, which renders such stuff, called union cloth, less durable; and this is sold in many shops as linen.
Cotton is the chief adulterant, and it is somewhat difficult to distinguish. Wetting with the finger and moistening the material is a popular method tried to detect adulteration: if the moisture absorbs quickly it is linen ; but owing to the various weights of linen, it is not an infallible test. An infallible way is to boil a sample to wash out all the dressing and then put it in a 50 per cent solution of caustic soda. The cotton will take on a light yellow
color and the linen becomes almost brown. Irish linen is whiter and generally wears best; but the Scottish product for a medium-priced article is greatly in demand. The fragility of French linen confines this beautiful fabric to the wealthier classes. The best Irish and Scottish are sun- and grass-bleached. Sun-bleached linens are the best; artificial bleaching oxidizes and destroys the natural gum which binds the fibres together. The moist and mild climate of Ireland is admirably adapted for the growing of flax and for its manufacture up to bleaching. With a view to protecting the handloom weaver, the British Parliament passed in 1910 the Handloom Weavers Protection Act, under which the words •hand woven') are worked into the selvage of the hand product. From a historical view linen is interesting from its use by several nations in their religious ceremonies. Linen is mentioned Genesis as in use for robing the royal princes of Egypt; and throughout the Bible it is a symbol of purity and excellence. Linen of 5,000 years ago has been found in Egyptian tombs. The Egyptian and Jewish priests wore it at all their religious ceremonies, hence the former are styled by Ovid and Juvenal, °linen weanng." Linen was an article of export from Egypt in the time of Herodotus. From Egypt the use and manufacture of linen probably passed to the Greeks and Romans, but the use of linen did not become common at Rome till late in the history of the republic. The Roman priests wore linen garments at that time. Among the Greeks a linen tunic was a regular part of the male costume as early as the Homer period. Linen was also used as a material for writing, as shown by the Roman libri lintel, irlinen books." The mummy bandages, covered with hieroglyphics, are also proofs of this use of linen. In the Middle Ages linen and woolen cloth formed the chief materials for dress, and fine linen was held in very high estimation. Germany and Brabant then carried linen manu factures to the greatest perfection.