GROWING FLAX 



229 



common among farmers that flax is "hard on the land," but 

 the failure of the crop when it is grown for several successive 

 years on the same field is due more to diseases than to the 

 removal of soil fertility. The general practice of growing 

 flax only on new land makes the use of fertilizers and manures 

 practically unnecessary. 



Table XIII. Average annual acreage, production, and farm value 

 of the flax crop of the United States and of the four leading states 

 during the ten years from 1908 to 1917, inclusive. 



288. Preparation of the Land. The usual method of 

 preparing sod land for flax is to flat break it in the fall or early 

 in the spring, running the plow j ust deep enough to turn the 

 sod over. It may be cut up with the disk harrow in the 

 spring if the breaking was done the preceding summer or 

 fall, setting the disks quite straight to avoid turning up the 

 unrotted turf. The use of the roller or some other implement 

 for packing the soil is advisable on newly plowed land. The 

 seed is sometimes sown on new breaking with little or no 

 preparation, but tlie increased yields which are obtained 

 where a good seed bed has been prepared usually pay for the 

 extra work. On old land, deep plowing and thorough prep- 

 aration are necessary in order to get the best results. A 

 firm, well-packed seed bed is more essential to success with 

 flax than with almost any other crop. 



289. Preparing the Seed for Sowing. Thorough clean- 

 ing and grading of the seed are necessary to obtain the best 



