498 [Senate 



STATEMENT OF GEO. W. BILLINGS. 



Questions answered hy Geo. W. Billings^ of Missouri ^ on the Culture 

 and Manufacture of Flax and Hemp. 



1st. What kind of soil shall I choose 1 and what manure % 



Where there is most lime. On our best prairie land we add twenty 

 bushels of lime to an acre ; the lime should first be slaked. Use also 

 good well decomposed manure. 



2d, When and how often, and how deep shall I plow it 1 



Plow as soon as the crop is off the field in the fall; plow deep, and 

 if necessary use the subsoil plow so as to plow 12 inches deep. Then 

 in the spring plow four or five inches deep. 



3d. When and how shall I sow the seed — broadcast or in drills — 

 and how many bushels to each acre 1 



As soon as the land is plowed in the spring, harrow it lightly, and 

 sow two and a half to three bushels of seed to each acre, then harrow 

 well. 



4th. How shall I keep the crop clean ? 



The crops keep clean of weeds by the close thick growth of flax. 



5th. How shall I gather the flax, and at what time i 



Cut the flax with a cradle, having a scythe from eighteen to twen- 

 ty-two inches in length. Cut as soon as the blossoms of the flax begin 

 to fall. 



6th. How shall I secure the crop when gathered 1 What quantity 

 in a bundle % 



Let the flax lie on the ground until it wilts. In fair weather it may 

 lie there thirty-six hours. Wet weather must be avoided at this time, 

 if possible. Bind up as much flax as a wisp of flax will bind in one 

 bundle. Shock it on the field so as to prevent wet from getting into 

 it. Do not stack it. Leave it in the shocks for five or six days. 

 When the weather is favorable and it is about as dry as you would 

 have your hay or oats, then house it. 



7th. How long can I keep it before it is sent to market % 



Fifty years ! The flax is improved by keeping it a year. The 

 gluten which is in it then dissolves more readily when you come to 

 rot it. 



8th. Is it worth my while to rot it on my own farm ? 



Noj you cannot make so good a profit by doing it 1 



