188 Cultivation and Proper Management of Flax. 



highly beneficial, as it insures a simultaneous " strike " of the 

 seed. 



Weeding. — Flax must be carefully tended from first to last. 

 Neglect at any stage will ruin the crop. All kinds of weeds 

 should be removed before the crop passes 6 inches in height. 

 After that the stem becomes hard and retains the bend or " set " 

 it may get from being trodden upon. Weeders should face the 

 Avind, and tread upon the plant with hare feet only ; and thus 

 treated it will soon rise again from the ground and show no sign 

 that a foot has been set upon its neck. Of all weeds 1 know of 

 none more injuricjus than " spurrev." With its merciless 

 tendrils it clasps every stalk, and chokes them almost to death. 

 Worse still, it bids defiance to all weeding. 



Pulli/ig and Rij)])ling. — The time to pull flax is before it is 

 absolutely and completely ripe. Some, however, act foolishly 

 in taking it up whilst it is yet green — thinking that the sample 

 of dressed llax is more silky and oily. By this they lose much 

 more in quantity than they gain in quality. It is well to allow 

 the under leaves of the stalk to ha withered, two-thirds of the 

 stalk to be yellowed and bare, and the caj)sules to be changed to 

 a light brown before pulling. Then the crop will be most 

 remunerative both in fibre and seed. Eight active hands will be 

 sufficient to pull a Cunningham acre (equal to 1^ imperial acre) 

 in a day. They should place the handfuls slightly across each 

 other, and separate in the sheaves, to make it the more easy to 

 handle them at the rippling. 



In several counties of the North of Ireland farmers ripple 

 none of their flax. They affirm that the process injures the 

 ends of the " strick," and renders the dressed flax dry and bristly. 

 In other counties, however, they ripple all, save vast quantities 

 of precious seed for crushing and feeding — and look upon their 

 flax after all as but little impaired. The climate of Ulster being 

 very damp and changeable, the farmers of that flax-growing 

 province have never upon a large scale attempted to rear flax-seed 

 for solving purposes. For a-usking and feeding only have they 

 taken off the bolls. By rippling the flax at the time of pulling, 

 the bolls can be conveniently had for these objects, and thus the 

 crop, without being stacked, is ready for the dam or rettory at 

 once. 



Where seed for sowing is not the object, the following details 

 as to the speediest and cheapest method of taking off the bolls 

 or capsules may not be uninteresting : — The best rippling-comb is 

 made of round iron \ of an inch in diameter. The teeth should 

 be at least 16 inches long, blunt in the point, \ of an inch 

 asunder, and set in a row 18 inches long. The following direc- 



