266 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



and the heaviest and plumpest used for sowing or crushing. The 

 light seeds and chaff form most wholesome and nutritious feeding 

 for cattle. Flax ought not to be allowed to stand in the field, if 

 possible, even the second day ; it should be rippled as soon as 

 pulled. 



The Courtrai System. 



This mode of preparation requires to be very carefully execu- 

 ted, as inattention will reduce the value of the straw, and yield 

 inferior fibre. When made up for drying in large sheaves, the 

 straw is much injured, the outside stalks being much discolored 

 by the heat of the sun before the inside of the sheaf is dry. The 

 flax stems should be put together in bunches, about one-half 

 larger than a man can grasp in one hand, spread a little, and 

 laid on the ground in rows after each puller ; the bunches laid 

 with tops and roots alternately, Avhich prevents the seed-bolls 

 from sticking to each other in lifting. It should be stooked as 

 soon after pulling as possible, and never allowed to remain over 

 night unstooked, except in settled weather. The stooking should 

 go on at the same time as the pulling, as, if flax is allowed to get 

 rain while on the ground, its color is injured. A well-trained 

 stooker will put up the produce of a statute acre or more, in good 

 order, in a day, with two boys or girls to hand him the bunches. 

 The flax should be handed with the tops to the stooker. The 

 handfuls, as pulled, are set up, resting against each other—the 

 root ends spread well out, and the tops joining like the letter A. 

 The stooks are" made eight to ten feet long, and a short strap 

 keeps the ends firm. The stooks should be very narrow on the 

 top, and thinly put up, so that they may get the full benefit of 

 the weather. In six or eight days, at most, after being pulled, 

 the flax should be ready for tying up in sheaves of the size of 

 corn sheaves. It is then ricked, and allowed to stand in the field 

 until the seed is dry enough for stacking. To build the rick, lay 

 two poles parallel on the ground, about a foot asunder, with a 

 strong upright pole at each end. The flax is then built, the 

 length of a sheaf in thickness or breadth. The bottom poles 

 should be laid north and south, so that the sun shall get at both 

 sides of the rick during the day. In building, the sheaves should 

 be laid tops and roots alternately, built seven to eight feet high, 

 and on the top a single row of sheaves lengthwise, or across the 

 others, and then another row as before, but with the tops all the 

 same way, which gives a slope to throw off rain; finish by putting 



