OTHER FARM CROPS 125 



Flax raised for seed makes about ten to fifteen bushels per 

 acre. The seed is used mostly for making linseed oil. The 

 seed is ground and the oil removed by pressing with heavy 

 presses. This oil is used for paints, linoleum, oil cloth and 

 many other things. The pressed cake is ground up and used 

 to feed cattle and is called oil-cake or linseed meal. 



Hemp. — Hemp is another fibre crop. The fibre in the 

 plant is found just under the skin of the stem as in flax. 

 The fibre is obtained by retting just as in case of flax. The 

 fibre is used mostly for making ropes and coarse cloth. 

 Hemp is raised extensively in many parts of the Old World. 

 Kentucky produces three-fourths of all the hemp raised in 

 the United States. A good hemp soil must be deep, loose and 

 well drained. The left-over fertility from crops previously 

 well-manured is better than fresh fertilizer. 



The seed is sown with a drill about the same time that 

 oats are sown. About one bushel of seed to the acre is used. 

 It is desirable to get an even stand of plants so that they will 

 all grow up uniformly. The plants are harvested at from 

 eighty to one hundred and forty days after sowing. After 

 cutting they are allowed to dry a few days, then bound or 

 raked into bundles and stacked. Hemp will keep in stacks 

 for two or three years. 



Cotton. — Probably the most important fibre plant is cot- 

 ton. The fibre from the plant consists of the long, fine fibres 

 attached to the seeds and from which so many different useful 

 articles are made. Three-fourths of the world's supply of 

 cotton is raised in twelve states of the United States. Cotton 

 is the chief farm crop in ten of our southern states. One-half 

 of the value of our agricultural exports is made up of cotton. 

 To raise it successfully requires a long growing season, 



