When the flax was pulled,it was bound into sheaves and then soaked in water in a pond for about a week to ten days. The pond was then drained and the half rotted flax was taken out and spread in rows to dry. When dried it was then rebound into sheaves and stacked until it was ready to be taken to the mill for scutching.
The job of removing the flax from the pond was one of the filthiest imaginable and the workers stank to high heaven. In addition the water was often allowed to drain into the nearby rivers whch poisoned hundreds of fish.