April 2, 190S.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S. IF. 305 



by their extra foliage great difficulty in properly drying and curing the seed- 

 bolls for thrashing. The greatest difficulty is also experienced in atteaipting 

 to grade weed seed from flax seed ; and whether the seed is being purchased 

 for oil or for sowing pur|joses, there must be a loss to the grower on account 

 of the low price obtainable for such inferior seed. 



Harvesting the Seed. 



Whether the seerl is to be used for sowing purposes or for oil, great care is 

 necessary in the harvesting process in order to hold the quality of the seed. 

 The essentials are that the seed sliould be allowed to mature, be harvested dry, 



Flax seed cleaner and separator. 



and be kept in a dr\^ condition. Since there are no gro\vers who practise 

 growing fibre flax for seed purposes, it is easy to account for the fact that 

 even the best which is to be had is of very uneven grade. In Russia the seed 

 is sown so thick that only two or three of the topmost bolls are able to 

 mature. When the crop is pulled the other bolls furnish weak, half mature, 

 scaly seeds. No Russian peasant grows any great quantity of seed, and 

 before it reaches a seedsman many different lots are mingled. 



