FLAX 189 



then cut up and ground to powder, and mixed with resin and 

 kauri gum. Powdered cork is added, and colouring matter, 

 and the whole mixture spread on to a sheet of jute, and rolled 

 to the required thickness. Kirkcaldy manufactures linoleum. 



History. Linen is one of the oldest materials known to us. 

 The quotation from the Book of Exodus refers to the plague 

 of hail, which ' smote every herb of the field ' in Egypt, when 

 Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites depart from his land. 

 This happened about 1491 B.C. There are many other refer- 

 ences to flax in the Old Testament ; the Egyptians were very 

 skilful in weaving it, and we are told that their mummy - 

 cloths are made of linen as fine as any that is woven nowadays. 



As time went on, the cultivation of flax spread to the north 

 of Europe, to France, Flanders, Britain, and other countries. 

 The famous Bayeux Tapestry was worked on linen. In 

 Henry Ill's reign many Flemish weavers settled in England 

 and improved our methods of spinning and weaving. Later 

 on, in Edward Ill's reign, some Scots settled in the north- 

 east of Ireland and grew flax and manufactured linen. The 

 province of Ulster is now the principal seat of the linen 

 industry in the British Isles. Belfast is the chief manufactur- 

 ing town. 



In Scotland the eastern counties have long been famous 

 for their linen ; Dundee, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy are the chief 

 towns. 



Our home-grown supplies, however, long ago ceased to be 

 sufficient for our needs, and we imported most of our flax 

 from Russia, and also a considerable amount from Belgium 

 and Holland. Since the war, we are growing more flax in our 

 own country, and at present Essex, Somerset, and Yorkshire 

 have considerable areas under this crop. 



Flax grows equally well in temperate and in hot climates, 

 and though hitherto the amount of fibre grown within the 

 empire has not been great, there is no reason why this should 

 continue to be the case . 



Canada. Flax for seed has long been grown in Canada, but 



