AGRICULTURAL TEXT-BOOK. 275 



after-process, when fibre is wanted, must be learnt by expe 

 rience. 



608. The crop of fibre in the United States is said to aver 

 age 200 Ibs. per acre, if the plant is allowed to seed ; but 400 

 Ibs. if it is harvested when in blossom. The quantity of seed 

 is from 8 to 1 5 bushels per acre ; and about 2 gallons of oil are 

 expressed from one bushel. But we find premium crops in 

 New York of 28J-, and 20 bushels of clean seed, and 567 Ibs. 

 of dressed flax per acre. 



609. Cost of cultivating 1.54100 acres of Flax in Rensselaer coun 

 ty, ft . Y., in 1851. The soil was a heavy loam, on upland , the crop 

 next preceding was oats ; and the crop preceding that was corn ; on 

 land many years in pasture. No manure was used. 



1? days plowing, ... 3 00 



Y* &quot; harrowing and sowing, - - i .00 



pulling Flax at one dollar per day, - . 600 



&quot; thrashing and cleaning seed at one dollar per day, 2.00 



1 day spreading and taking up, . - 1.00 



1 &quot; drawing in, and drawing to milL - - 2 00 



1 K bushels seed at *1. 50, - . - . 2.25 



Paid for dressing and marking flax, - 15.90 



Interest on laud, - . . . 10 50 



43.J1 

 OROT-* 



By 23 bushels clean seed at Sl.fcO, - - $?5.50 



By 798 Ibs. dressed fiax at 10 cents, - - 79 80 115.30 



Net profit, . . 71.59 



(See, also, another account in New York Transactions of Agricultural Society, 

 vol. v, p. 338.) 



610. An interesting account is given, in 1846, of the grow 

 ing of Barley and Flax together, in the town of Earlville, N. Y. 

 An acre of land was prepared for barley ; after sowing two bush 

 els of this, one bushel of flax-seed was also sown, and the whole 

 harvested together. They were harvested in the usual manner, 

 threshed with a rcachine, and cleaned ; it is supposed that tho 

 seeds were separated by the different sized screens in the fan 

 ning mill. The sale of the crop was : 



30 bushels of barley at 50 cents, - $15 00 



15 &quot; flax-seed at $1, - 15 00 



$30 00 



