PROJECTED REVIVAL OF THE FLAX INDUSTRY 605 



ten weeks and of this time the early stages are the most critical. 

 When once started the plant grows rapidly, especially during 

 the month of June, when an increase of i£ to ih in. occurs 

 during a period of twenty-four hours. Unless the soil is able 

 to retain a good supply of moisture or frequent light rain falls, 

 this rapid growth receives a check and this causes the fibre to 

 become coarse and irregular instead of increasing in length. 



Quite a cool, temperate climate is best suited for the pro- 

 duction of a good fibre crop. It is noticeable how generally 

 flax-growing areas are situated near the sea coast, where the 

 crop benefits by the moist wind and the generally uniform 

 climate. Flax is grown extensively in Normandy, Brittany 

 and Picardy, in France ; in the northern part of Ireland ; over 

 an area extending about 50 miles inland from the Belgian 

 coast ; in Zeeland and the islands of South Holland, as well 

 as along the coast of Friesland and Groningen in North 

 Holland ; and extensively in the Baltic Provinces of Russia. 

 All these districts enjoy similar climatic conditions during the 

 growing period — namely, a rather low, even temperature, rather 

 high humidity and nearly equal rainfall. 



Fibre grown in cool, moist regions is fine, silky and possesses 

 good spinning quality ; that produced in a district where the 

 summer is hot and dry is short, harsh and dry. This influence 

 of climate on the quality of the fibre was markedly shown in 

 the French and Belgian crops of 1910 and 1911: the former 

 year being wet and the latter unusually dry. Generally 

 speaking, the fibre from the 19 10 crop was long, firm, silky 

 and moist, whilst the fibre from the 191 1 crop was shorter, 

 stronger and somewhat harsh and dry. It may be said that 

 1910 gave a weft flax and 191 1 a warp flax. 



It has been stated frequently that flax is an exhausting crop 

 for the land. All crops are exhausting, but in this case it is 

 intended to imply that flax removes more from the land than do 

 other crops. This opinion dates from very early times : flax 

 being stigmatised as a hurtful and exhausting crop by Greek 

 and Roman writers. At the present day, this belief finds 

 expression in some land agreements, wherein the tenant is 

 specifically prohibited from growing flax or is forbidden to 

 remove both the seed and the straw from the farm. Although 

 this belief has been contradicted from time to time, the evidence 

 refuting it has not received due credence because the fact 



