DISEASES OF FLAX 233 



''shall be mature, sound, dry, and sweet. It shall be north- 

 ern grown. The maximum quantity of field, stack, storage, 

 or other damaged seed intermixed shall not exceed 123/2 per 

 cent. The minimum weight shall be 51 pounds to the 

 measured bushel, commercially pure seed." No. 1 flaxseed 

 may contain 25 per cent of immature or damaged seed, and 

 weigh not less than 50 pounds to the bushel. The other 

 grades include flax not fit for either of the higher grades. 



294. Prices and Acre Value. . The average farm price of 

 flaxseed in the United States for the ten years from 1908 to 

 1917 was SI. 775 per bushel, with a range from $1,147 in 

 1908 to $2,968 in 1917. The flax crops of the United States 

 since 1913 have been all small, while that of 1917 was the 

 smallest in many years. This small crop, combined with 

 the high prices of all other grains and the diflficulty of ob- 

 taining cargo space for flax shipments from Argentina, have 

 caused flax prices to reach the highest point ever known 

 (1918). The price which can ordinarily be expected for flax- 

 seed varies from $1.25 to $2.00 per bushel. At present, the 

 Minneapolis price for flax is around $4.00 per bushel. The 

 average acre value usually ranges from $10 to $12, though in 

 recent years it has been slightly higher. This is for the seed 

 alone. Where there is a demand for the straw, this brings in 

 some additional return. As flax is ordinarily grown with 

 very little expense, there is a reasonable profit in the crop. 



DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES 



295. Diseases and Insect Enemies. The principal dis- 

 ease which attacks flax in this country is flax wilt. It is this 

 disease which commonly causes the condition known as 

 "flax-sick soil," though other fungous diseases produce the 

 same result. Flax wilt is a fungus which enters the young 

 plant, from spores either in the soil or on the seed. The 

 fungus grows inside the tissues of the plant and fills the 

 cells, causing the plant to die as if from lack of water. The 



