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XVI. — Flax- Cultivation in the County of Suffolk Bj H. Wells. 



There is no doubt that, with few exceptions, tlie heavy clay- 

 lands of Suffolk, when clean and in good condition, are capable 

 of growing crops of flax of a very good and strong fibre, such as 

 are remunerative but not exhausting to the land ; but the bad 

 farmer, whose farm is not well up to the mark, will do himself 

 no good by the attempt, since the preparation of the land is of as 

 much importance as its character. 



Soil. — The soil best adapted for flax is of a loamy nature, of 

 good staple, and rather adhesive than otherwise, but not too 

 strong ; lands calculated to produce a redundancy of straw in 

 white-straw crt)j)s, such as newly broken pastures after they are 

 well cultivated and in good tilth, are particularly well suited for 

 its growth, as you need not be afraid of getting the flax-crop too 

 stout ; it is, therefore, the most certain crop on all lands of this 

 description, particularlv in wet seasons, which frequently prove 

 most injurious to cereal crops. Nearly all soils, however, that 

 will produce good beans and good wheat, will unquestionablv 

 grow good flax if properly prepared for it ; light and sandy 

 lands, or any soil not calculated to yield a gcxjd crop of straw, 

 must be avoided. 



Course (if Cropping. — Our experience has taught us that, 

 taking an average of seasons, flax can be grown to a greater 

 profit after clover-land wheat, which had been well manured for 

 the wheat-crop, than in any other course. The land then has 

 the chance of being well cultivated as soon as the wheat-crop is 

 harvested, or at the first convenient moment, and since the flax- 

 crop rarely remains on the land more than four months, every 

 chance is afforded for a second cultivation at the season best 

 suited for cleansing and enriching the soil. It is an indisputable 

 fact that flax is the best possible preparation for barley, which 

 Avill thus vield not only a larger quantity, but a superior quality 

 also ; whilst by tliis arrangement the farm is not deprived of a 

 crop of straw. Flax grown in this course pays the farmer so 

 well, that he can afford to lay out a fair share of the returns in 

 the purchase of artificial food for feeding cattle, or use the flax- 

 seed to such an extent as to keep the land in first-rate condition. 

 Good flax can also be grown after barley or oats in lieu of a bean- 

 crop, and it is a good preparation for wheat, since the flax gene- 

 rally leaves the land in good tilth ; care must then be taken not 

 to sow so much seed-wheat per acre as you would usually do. 

 No one should attempt to grow an over-large breadth of flax, 

 neither should it be grown on the same land more than once in 

 eight vears ; if it be grown on the fallow-shift, as a general rule 



