I20 ii.()\vi:us ()!• 'riii-, coRM-ii-:i.i)s 



the Ifm- wheel. I'lfltls in Wcstniorlaiul slill '^o hv the name nl I.iiii- 

 holmcs, IJiidale, Lii^iic^nanls. 



Liiillaw, Lintliill. in Berwickshire, and LinihauL;h. prolialdv derive 

 tlieir names h<»ni the nilli\',aii)n nl lint. i.iiu liclls, I .inl-hows. mean 

 die (lowers and seed pods of llax. 



l-'la.\ was worn as a talisman against witchcraft. One who spins 

 after tlie Twelfth Night is bewitched. The fairies' clothes are made of 

 fairy tla.x. On St. John's Eve men wearino- wheat, women tla.x, meet 

 around an historic stone and place wreaths on it, and if they are fresh 

 for st)me time the lovers they represent w ill he united, luit if they wither 

 love will die. 'i'he proverb, " Get thy spindle and thy distaff made, 

 and God will send the flax", enjoins faith. If the sun shines on New 

 Year's Eve in Westphalia the tlax will be straight. When Joseph and 

 Mary were fleeing into Egypt the flax bristled up. 



In Bohemia, if children dance in the flax the\ will grow up 

 iieaiiiilul. To spin on .Saturday in Germany is bad luck. They 

 ha\"e this legend: 



Two old women, good friends, were the most industrious spinners in their village, 

 Saturday finding them engrossed in their work as on other days of the week. At lengtli 

 one of them died, but on the Saturday evening following she appeared to the other, who 

 as usual was very busy at her wheel, and showing her burning hand, said: 



" See what I in hell have won, 

 Because on Saturday eve I spun ". 



In Thuringia, however, they consider tlax a lucky plant. When 

 a young woman gets married she places flax in her shoes as a charm 

 against povertv. It is supposed also to have health-giving properties. 

 In Germanv when an infant seems weakly and thrives slowly it is 

 placed naked u])on the turf on Midsummer Day, and flax seed is 

 sprinkled over it, the notion being that just as flax seed grows so 

 will the infant grow gradually stronger. If a person is dizzy in 

 Thuringia he is advised to run after sunset naked through a flax field 

 three times, and the flax will take upon itself the dizzines.s. 



Flax has been used since prehistoric times, and the inner fibrous 

 bark was used then as it is now. The fibres consist of bast, which is 

 very strong, and with cells 20-40 mm. long. The Egy[)tian mummy 

 clothes are made of flax. The tow was used by the ancients for wicks 

 for oil lamps, and linseed for oil. It is used in oil painting. 



-Seed is sown broadcast in pulverized sandy loam in April. It is 

 kept well weeded. When the seed is ripe it is pulled up by the roots, 

 and capsules are removed by the combs, the stalks are tied in bundles, 



