CIIAEACTEEISTIC QUALITIES. 21 



fertility, and under first-rate cultivation ; it will be pos- 

 sible to maintain the stock constantly in the same ad- 

 vantageous position, without any need of renewing it, 

 especially from foreign and distant countries. Such, at 

 least, is the firm opinion of the ablest and most learned 

 agricultural writers, although it may be opposed to the 

 notions of many practical men, who, although well skilled 

 in the cultivation of flax, have not made sufficient expe- 

 riments to settle the point. 



CIIAEACTEEISTIC QUALITIES OF GOOD FLAX-SEED. 



The choice of seed is a matter of considerable import- 

 ance. Eussian seed, or rather seed properly matured 

 on plants that grow at proper intervals, ought to be 

 plump, heavy, bright, of a clear brown hue, shining with 

 a greenish lustre, and terminating at one end in a blunt 

 little hook, which in fact is the dried up umbilical cord 

 of the seed, as is seen more clearly when observed under 

 a magnifier. We give wood-cuts of a few grains of flax- 

 seed of the natural size, with another grain slightly mag- 

 nified (see fig. A. pi. 1.). It should be smooth, slippery, 

 and should sink in water ; it should taste sweet, when 

 chewed, and being broken it should appear of a light 

 yellowish-green colour, and very oily. A good means of 

 testing various samples of seed is to weigh equal measured 

 quantities against each other. Experienced persons ex- 

 amine the seed by taking a handful of it, and letting it 

 run out between their forefinger and thumb, in order to 

 be able to observe it closely sidewise, and to be better 

 able to judge of its plumpness and weight. Others 

 moisten their forefinger, and dip it into the sample of 

 seed, which sticks to it ; they are thus able to examine 

 each grain separately, and so form an opinion of its purity 

 and goodness. Home-grown seed, i. e. seed from drawn- 

 up or prematurely gathered plants, is flatter and broader 

 in proportion to its thickness, extremely slippery, running 

 between the fingers like so much quicksilver. It feels as 

 if you were clutching a handful of magnified fluid, each 



