FLAX CULTURE AND USE IN THE 

 UNITED STATES. 



AN INTRODUCTION 



BY J. R. LEESON. 



THAT " supply waits upon demand," is 

 so universally acknowledged as to have be- 

 come a truism ; so trite, indeed, as to make 

 iteration a tedious jarring of a worn-out 

 string. There are, however, some among 

 us who would seem to think that demand 

 is created by supply. This is, practically, 

 the position of those who advocate the 

 retention of the duty on flax. They have 

 endeavored to induce our farmers to pro- 

 duce flax fibre before the demand of Amer- 

 ican spinners is sufficiently extensive to 

 warrant the necessary study and outlay 

 involved. By limiting the home consump- 

 tion of flax through the enhancement of the 

 price of the flax-spinners' raw material to 

 the extent of the impost duty, the believers 



