Soon after harvest, the flax straws arrive on the scutching line. The bales are unrolled, and the straw is placed in homogeneous layers. Flax is crushed, beaten, and stripped of its gangue of straw and wood. The remaining blond fibers are combed with ever finer combs to eliminate all the small pieces of straw left and separate the fibers between them. The scutching inaugurates a long process resulting in golden ribbons, thin as hair, which make the reputation of Normandy.