INTR'ODUCTIO X . 



1,000,000 acres, now annually sown with Flax, only 100,000 acres were devoted to the pro- 

 duction of good Flax fiber, we would" have enough to supply the home consumption and would 

 have a surplus of 10,000 tons for export to Europe. There is little doubt but that if this 

 were the case, linen factories would soon spring up in our midst, and we would, in a few 

 years, no longer pay tribute to the extent of over $25,000,000 annually to Europe for the 

 linen goods which we have to import for our yearly consumption ; and this sum will 

 naturally increase with the population. 



No part of the inhabited globe offers so many advantages to this branch of agriculture 

 and its development into a thriving industry, as our Western States. We have an admir- 

 able climate, fertile soil, abundant water power, such as no other country possesses, the 

 most perfect machinery for harvesting, preparing the fiber and for any other purpose; 

 ingenuity and spirit of enterprise, in short, every condition is present to ensure success. 



The neglect of such a valuable product as Flax, and its gradual decline, in spite of 

 efforts made from time to time during the last twenty years, has been attributed by some 

 to the invasion of jute and an insufficient protective tariff, but it must be evident to 

 any one who will take the trouble of looking into the real causes of the degradation of Flax 

 production, that they are the following : Careless cultivation, the utter degeneracy and 

 generally bad quality of the seed sown, the rough treatment of the fiber by the steam- 

 threshing machine, and finally the want of a proper system for the economical preparation 

 of the fiber for market. When these causes are removed, the Flax industry cannot 

 fail to flourish in this part of the United States, and to occupy the rank it deserves 

 among the national industries, and it is my earnest hope that this pamphlet may contribute 

 somewhat to the removal of certain of the obstructions which have hitherto hindered its 

 development. H. K. 



January, 1883. 



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