VEGETABLE FIBERS. 587 



A busliel to a busliel and a half of seed is tlie average for E'ew York 

 and other States iwoducing fiber, though for tine fiber it is recommended 

 to sow two bushels. In Belgium and Russia, where the finest linens are 

 produced, the average is two to four bushels. Of course, it is well un- 

 derstood that with thick sowing there is less branching, and the fewer 

 and higher the branches are upon the stalk the better will be the fiber. 

 When i^lanted for seed, the reverse of this practice is observed, as the 

 thinner the seed is sown the more branching will be the plants, and, in 

 turn, more seed will be formed. Western farmers, growing for seed 

 alone, sow only half a busliel, or three pecks at the limit ; but Eastern 

 farmers, desiring both fiber and seed, sow usually five pecks, and it is 

 stated that the yield of seed is larger than that obtained by the Western 

 farmer. Mr. Proctor advises sowing not less than two bushels of seed 

 per acre, where a good fiber and i^rofitable yield are desired. " Finer 

 fiber is obtained from early-sown flax. Good results, however, can be 

 obtained by sowing whenever conditions are right, from March to latter 

 part of May." The sowing should be as eveu as possible, and the ground 

 may be leveled with a roller, if it is designed to cut with a reaper. This 

 plan of harvesting is hardly to be advocated, however, except where 

 the plant is grown for seed alone. As the seed is very smooth and slip- 

 pery, it requires considerable practice to distribute it evenly. In broad- 

 cast sowing, plants should stand about one inch apart over the field. 

 Sowing by means of machineiy has been suggested, though probably 

 hand-sowing is the best metbod to pursue. 



After the seed has been distributed as evenly as possible, a brush 

 harrow, or harrow of short teeth, should be used, and even a roller is 

 advocated in some cases to compress the earth and insure early vegeta- 

 tion. Objection is made by some to the introduction of horses upon 

 the land after its final preparation and sowing. Mr. Todd, author of a 

 prize essay on flax culture,* prefers a light brush harrow, made by bor- 

 ing holes into a piece of scantling, into which bushy twigs two feet 

 long are fastened. If more brush is required, additional pieces may be 

 nailed to the scantling. A man or boy can drag the machine over the 

 field by means of a light pair of shafts. An inch is a sufficient depth 

 to cover the seed. 



After the' plants are up they should be kept as free from weeds as pos- 

 sible, and the work should be performed while the plants are about five 

 or six inches high. It is exceedingly doubtful, however, if hand weed- 

 ing will be practiced to any great extent in this country as is done in 

 Europe, and the greater care, therefore, is to be exerced in freeing the 

 soil ftom weeds beforehand, and in the careful selection of clean seed. 

 Women and children perform this work in Belgium, creeping over the 

 field upon hands and knees, always working towards the wind, so that 

 the young plants may be blown into an upright position again by the 

 current of air corning from an opposite direction to that in which they 

 have been pressed down. 



The proper time to harvest is when the leaves begin to foil and the. 

 stalks to as.sume a yellowish tinge. The plan usually adopted abroad is 

 to pull the flax, though much of it is harvested in this country with the 

 reaper. The obj ectio us to the latter m ode of h arvesting are the loss of fiber 

 and iujury to its working qualities, and the gathering of weeds with the 

 flax. A writer in a former report says that by cutting low, the ground 

 having been previously rolled and kept free from weeds, the objections 

 disappear. However, pulling undoubtedly gives the best results, where 



^American Agriculturist. 



