portion of the straw is broken, either by hand or by passing through rollers, followed by the scutching operation, which removes the broken woody pieces (shives) by beating or scraping. Some machines combine breaking and scutching operations. Waste material from the first scutching, consisting of shives and short fibres, is usually treated a second time. The short fibre or tow thus obtained is frequently used in paper manufacture, and the shives may serve as fuel to heat the retting water or may be made into wallboard and to make rope. See also Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution Timeline of clothing and textiles technology Cottonization References External links Video footage of the Low House retting pond Textile arts Hemp