A flax dam isn't actually a dam, but a muddy patch of earth that's soaked to soften the flax. During this process, things get pretty stinky. The plant basically rots as it softens, letting off an unpleasant smell.
What is flax dam used for?
What is flax dam? Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell. As it turns out, preparing flax for cleaning and spinning into yarn involves soaking the bundled stems in a flax dam or lint hole, an artificial pond where the bundles (called “beets”) are kept submerged for weeks with clods of earth or large stones. Click to see full answer.
What does the first line of the flax dam mean?
Heaney is making use of both definitions in this first line. He literally means that all year the flax dam rots, but because the line ends with "heart" he can play around with the second definition, too (as in: the flax dam is like a rotting wound). Either way you look at it, it's a gnarly way to open a poem.
What is a flax-dam?
This hole or ‘flax-dam’ contained the flax which had been harvested and was now being soaked in a man-made hole in the corner of the flax-field in August.
What are the characteristics of the poem flax dam?
The poem is extremely sensual and evokes the senses of sight and sound and smell to perfection. Indeed, the poem invites the reader to read it aloud such are the myriad examples of assonance and alliteration scattered throughout. The flax-dam or flax hole came into its own each August when the flax crop was ready for harvest.
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Description
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History
The earliest evidence of humans using wild flax as a textile comes from the present-day Republic of Georgia, where spun, dyed, and knotted wild flax fibers found in Dzudzuana Cave date to the Upper Paleolithic, 30,000 years ago. Humans first domesticated flax in the Fertile Crescent region.
Uses
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Nutrition
One study of research published between 1990 and 2008 showed that consuming flax seed or its derivatives may reduce total and LDL-cholesterol in the blood, with greater benefits in women and those with high cholesterol.
Cultivation
The soils most suitable for flax, besides the alluvial kind, are deep loams containing a large proportion of organic matter. Flax is often found growing just above the waterline in cranberry bogs. Heavy clays are unsuitable, as are soils of a gravelly or dry sandy nature. Farming flax requires few fertilizers or pesticides.
Production
In 2018, world production of flax (linseed) was 3.2 million tonnes, led by Kazakhstan with 29% of the total. Other major producers were Canada, Russia, and China (table).
Harvesting
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Line 1
First of all, let's get some vocab out of the way. Flax is a type of plant that grows annually (once a year). It grows from a seed, it's edible (get your Omega-3 on), and has blue flowers. In addition to being edible, flax is often grown for its fiber, which can be used to make fabric.
Lines 2–3
Of the townland; green and heavy headed Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.
Lines 4–5
The dam's rotting is helped along by the hot sun. Think of garbage piled up in a city street—it's much smellier in the hot months than in the winter.
Lines 6–7
Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell. There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,
Lines 8–9
Science lesson: frogspawn is how frogs reproduce. It's jelly-like and fed by the sun, and turns into tadpoles (then eventually frogs). Gross and fascinating, right?
Overview
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, Linum usitatissimum, in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in Western countries as linen and are traditionally used for bed sheets, underclothes, and table linen. Its oil is known as linseed oil. In addition to referr…
Description
Several other species in the genus Linum are similar in appearance to L. usitatissimum, cultivated flax, including some that have similar blue flowers, and others with white, yellow, or red flowers. Some of these are perennial plants, unlike L. usitatissimum, which is an annual plant.
Cultivated flax plants grow to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall, with slender stems. The lea…
History
The earliest evidence of humans using wild flax as a textile comes from the present-day Republic of Georgia, where spun, dyed, and knotted wild flax fibers found in Dzudzuana Cave date to the Upper Paleolithic, 30,000 years ago. Humans first domesticated flax in the Fertile Crescent region. Evidence exists of a domesticated oilseed flax with increased seed-size from Tell Ramad in Syria and flax fabric fragments from Çatalhöyük in Turkey by circa 9,000 years ago. Use of the crop stea…
Uses
Flax is grown for its seeds, which can be ground into a meal or turned into linseed oil, a product used as a nutritional supplement and as an ingredient in many wood-finishing products. Flax is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens. Moreover, flax fibers are used to make linen. The specific epithet in its species name, usitatissimum, means "most useful".
Nutrition
Flax seeds are 7% water, 18% protein, 29% carbohydrates, and 42% fat (table). In 100 grams (3.5 oz) as a reference amount, flax seeds provide 534 kilocalories and contain high levels (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, several B vitamins, and dietary minerals. Flax seeds are especially rich in thiamine, magnesium, and phosphorus (DVs above 90%) (table).
As a percentage of total fat, flax seeds contain 54% omega-3 fatty acids (mostly ALA), 18% omeg…
Cultivation
The soils most suitable for flax, besides the alluvial kind, are deep loams containing a large proportion of organic matter. Flax is often found growing just above the waterline in cranberry bogs. Heavy clays are unsuitable, as are soils of a gravelly or dry sandy nature. Farming flax requires few fertilizers or pesticides. Within eight weeks of sowing, the plant can reach 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) in height, reaching 70–80 cm (28–31 in) within 50 days.
Harvesting
Flax is harvested for fiber production after about 100 days, or a month after the plants flower and two weeks after the seed capsules form. The bases of the plants begin to turn yellow. If the plants are still green, the seed will not be useful, and the fiber will be underdeveloped. The fiber degrades once the plants turn brown.
Processing
Threshing is the process of removing the seeds from the rest of the plant. Separating the usable flax fibers from other components requires pulling the stems through a hackle and/or beating the plants to break them.
Flax processing is divided into two parts: the first part is generally done by the farmer, to bring the flax fiber into a fit state for general or common purposes. …