THE LINSEED PLANT 



Chief 



Districts. 



Second Crop. 



Trade. 



LINUM 



USITATISSIMUM 



Linseed 



Gorakhpur, 60,331; Basti, 22,144; Allahabad, 8,803; Mirzapur, 22,581; 

 Hamirpur, 40,959 ; Banda, 2,457 ; Jalaun, 6,379 ; all other districts with 

 lesser areas. In Oudh Province : Gonda, 33,175; Bahraich, 17,120; Sitapur, 

 3,007 ; and Kheri, 2,299 ; all others much smaller areas. 



The system of cultivation pursued in these provinces, and the results ob- 

 tained, have been so fully dealt with in the Field and Garden Crops and in the 

 Dictionary, that it is hardly desirable to republish a general statement. The 

 remarks that follow may therefore be regarded as useful particulars gleaned 

 from various sources with a view to supplement what has already been said. 

 In the Gazetteer for Bareilly, linseed is described as one of the minor staples 

 that is always sown broadcast, and nearly always as the second (dosahi) crop 

 of the year. Of Moradabad it is said that when the rice is cut, advantage is 

 taken of any moisture left in the soil to scratch the ground hastily with the 

 plough and throw a mixture of gram, linseed and barley into it and leave these 

 to take their chance. These are, however, rather exceptional than typical districts 

 in linseed production. Mr. W. H. Moreland, the Director of Agriculture, in his 

 annual forecasts and final reports of the linseed and rape crops of these pro- 

 vinces has for some years past furnished a most useful review of the facts of 

 interest and value. In the report for 1903-4, he observes that linseed is gener- 

 ally sown after the autumn crop. Excessive moisture at the sowing season 

 would appear to be injurious, but rain in December and January is necessary, 

 and if delayed till February the crop is not much benefited. 



Trade with the United Provinces. The exports shown in the rail and river- 

 borne traffic of these provinces go almost exclusively to the port of Calcutta. 

 These, in fact, constitute about one-third of the total Calcutta supply, the re- 

 maining two-thirds coming almost entirely from Bengal. The total amount 

 of linseed shown in the returns of internal trade of India came in 19045 to 

 12,051,507 cwt., of which Calcutta took 6,915,008 and Bombay 4,561,058 cwt. 

 Hence the two towns named drain practically the entire amount of linseed 

 that is annually produced and in the proportions shown. But in 1906-7 the 

 quantity produced fell to 4,859,773, of which Calcutta took 2,666,604 and Bombay 

 1,936,053 cwt. 



4. BOMBAY AND SIND. In the Western Presidency linseed can hardly be 

 regarded as a very important crop. It, in fact, has hitherto held the fourth, 

 if not the fifth, position among the Indian provinces, with, in 1904-5, 523,968, 

 and in 1905-6, 139,623. That area was distributed as follows in 1905-6: 

 Nasik, 24,115; Bijapur, 44,662; Khandesh, 16,333; Sholapur, 21,727; 

 Dharwar, 14,013; and Ahmednagar, 12,645; all others with less than 5,000 

 acres. But the figures for the years 1903-4 and 1904-5 were in nearly every 

 instance double what might be called the normal area in the districts 

 named. The total for the Presidency, in other words, showed in 1903-4 an 

 expansion on the area during 1902-3 of 108 per cent., and on that of five years 

 previously of 149. Mollison (Textbook Ind. Agri., iii., 94-8) furnishes an account 

 of a practical nature regarding this crop in Western India. The following may 

 be given as an abstract of his views : When grown for linseed (as in India), 

 the seed rate is much lower than when grown (as in Europe) for fibre. In 

 India, a mature crop stands 18 to 24 niches high. The stems rise from the 

 ground some distance, and then branch freely. A linseed crop in flower is, 

 during December-January, a noticeable feature of the black-soil districts, 

 particularly in Khandesh the common variety with a rich mahogany-brown 

 coloured seed ; but a creamy- white variety is sparingly grown in the Bombay 

 Presidency, and to a considerable extent in the Central Provinces. The dry 

 crop rdbi areas under linseed, wheat, gram and juar are more or less inter- 

 changeable, depending on the character of the monsoon season, and particularly 

 on the late rainfall. 



From the district areas given above, it will be seen that the Bombay linseed 

 supply comes mainly from the Deccan and Karnatak, very little being grown 

 in Gujarat and none at all in the Konkan. It is raised in the rabi season only, 

 and on deep moisture-holding black soil, and on such land is rotated chiefly 

 with wheat, gram or safflower, and sometimes rabi juar. The best linseed 

 soil is probably the deep black-soil belt on each side of the Tapti in Khandesh. 

 Linseed is the sole crop of its year. The tillage should be completed by the 

 end of September, and the seed drilled in October at the rate of 10 to 12 Ib. to 

 the acre, in rows a foot apart. But the land should be so thoroughly harrowed 

 that weeding may not be necessary, since interculture is usually harmful. The 



728 



Bombay. 



Chief 

 Districts. 



Linseed 

 versus Flax. 



Dry Rabi. 



Deccan and 

 Karnatak. 



Best Linseed 

 Country. 



