>I cannot recall a single mention of one VERY important pre-industrial
crop as a
>regular part of any culture: Flax.
>does anyone know who or where it's grown? In Glorantha that is.
There's actually a couple of references to flax in the DP flora and fauna essay I alluded to at
http://home.iprimus.com.au/pipnjim/questlines/florafauna.html:
'Flax is harvested, retted and scutched before being woven into linen. Even the poorest stickpicker will cultivate a small patch of flax for spinning and weaving. Thread preparation is laborious but far from difficult, much simpler than wool, and flax can be woven on a small loom.
The flax plant grows well in the cold and rain of the Far Place. It is 'pulled' before the seeds ripen. Stalks are then cleaned and 'retted'. Packed in boxes, they are soaked in running water till the fibres separate and soften. The stench of rotting flax can be detected from a considerable distance! The flax is then 'broken' either by beating it or pulling it between the jaws of a 'brake'. It is then 'scutched' or hackled to remove unwanted matter and reduce the flax to fine, smooth threads ready for spinning.
Hemp is also grown almost universally. It is similar in some ways to flax, but hardier, and is prepared in a similar manner. It yields a coarse thread, and if woven, a rough fabric. Only the very poor will wear hempen cloth. Hemp is chiefly used in making rope and packing cloth."
So I regard flax as a very mundane and almost universal plant cultivated at most steads. False Flax is also one of the main sources of vegetable oils. Hemp ditto - though most breeds (alas for the neophyte shaman) are profoundly lacking in 'medicinal' properties. Mushrooms, Uz fungi and hazia are more 'communicative'.
And Cotton? No idea, though the Holy Country or Prax would seem to have suitable climates.
John
Phone (02) 6125 8265
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