What is this stuff?

I was totally baffled by the surprise package left on the shady front porch yesterday afternoon.  Of course, it had to be my sister Betty who would even think to send me something like this.  Betty spent the last ten days in Germany with our cousin scouring antique warehouses and flea markets for treasures.   This bundle of light brown fiber was discovered in a warehouse for antiques waiting to be packed on a shipping container.    She is always sending me pictures of beautiful rugs, tapestries, and interesting old stuff.  

So, what is it?  The fiber is FLAX!  for spinning into a useable yarn for weaving.  Checking it out on the internet provided me with a lot of answers - and many more questions.  So, I will be doing more extensive research to figure out the proper way to process it to be ready for weaving.  Thanks Betty!