MANURES. 11 



When Flax is to be sown in potato ground, it need only receive one shallow plowing, 

 say 4 inches deep ; and if the soil be light this should not be done until a month or six 

 weeks before sowing But if the soil be heavy it would be beneficial to have it done earlier 

 so as to expose the ground to the pulverizing action of frosts. 



When seed-time arrives, should such weeds as dock, sit-fast, couch grass, etc. , appear, 

 they should be extirpated previous to harrowing. After this is done harrow thoroughly if 

 in ridges, lengthwise only ; if level, cross-harrow also. The objection to cross-harrowing 

 when the land lies in ridges is that it drags soil into the furrows and leaves a loose bed for 

 the seed. When the land is well drained, or naturally dry, I would recommend flat cultiva-' 

 tion, by which more even growth is secured. This is especially important when Flax is 

 grown for the fiber. Where there are furrows in the field, that portion growing along these 

 depressions will not be as strong and vigorous as the rest of the crop. 



It is well to keep in mind that the important thing in preparing the soil is to have a jint, 

 deep, dry and clean bed for the reception of the seed. 



Depth of tillage is a matter of more moment in Flax cultivation than is generally sup- 

 posed. In sustaining so tall a stem, and providing the varied elements so essential to the 

 healthful growth of the plant, the roots have a most important function to perform. If 

 given opportunity they will penetrate the soil to a considerable depth, and provide bounti- 

 fully the nourishment which the plants require. But if cramped and restricted by a com- 

 pacted, impenetrable soil, the crop will plainly show that it is half-starved. The Belgians 

 say that Flax has roots that go as deep into the soil as the stem grows high above the ground. 

 The soil should be so open that there may be free percolation of water, the roots being 

 very fibrous and extending both laterally and vertically to a considerable distance. 



The extent to which the soil should be pulverized, it is proper to state, depends greatly 

 on its peculiarities. On light and medium soils excessive pulverization does actual injury. 

 After such have received a deep plowing in Autumn, and when necessary, also, a shallow 

 plowing in Winter, a moderate harrowing will be amply sufficient to make it a good seed- 

 bed at sowing time. Pulverizing such soils to any great depth renders the chance of a good 

 crop of Flax extremely doubtful, unless, indeed, the season should prove an exceptionally 

 wet one. Heavy land, on the contrary, will bear any amount of pulverizing ; there is no 

 danger of overdoing it. 



MANURES. 



The use of green stable manure is to be avoided, principally on account of its contain- 

 ing weed seeds which have not yet germinated. Ashes from the burning of heaps of brush 

 and rubbish are highly beneficial. In Belgium, where the best Flax in the world is produced, 

 preference is given to liquid manure, collected mainly from the cow house and stables, 

 which is allowed to ferment in cisterns provided for the purpose. With this material oil- 

 cake is mixed. The quantity of this manure varies from 100 to 300 hectolitres per hectare, 

 (which is equivalent to from 9 to 27 gallons per acre.) Solid manures are only used after 

 being thoroughly composted and rotted. It is also of importance that the manure be 

 applied evenly to the land. Whenever the manure is distributed unevenly, the crop exhibits 

 irregular patches which are more vigorous than the average, and therefore the product 

 is of unequal length, which is an injury to the fiber. 



One method of avoiding the difficulty is to apply the manure in liberal quantities to the 

 preceding crop, applying none to the land the season of the Flax crop. Another is to put 

 on the manure in Autumn or Winter, so that it may become thoroughly amalgamated with 

 the earth by the action of the elements previous to the sowing. 



Commercial fertilizers have the advantage of being free from seeds of worthless and 

 noxious plants, and without doubt, can be used on Flax with profit ; but this class of 



