26 FLAX. 



THE PLACE OF FLAX IN THE EOTATIOK OF CHOPS. 



Two maxims should never be lost sight of by the 

 agriculturist : first, that flax is an exhausting crop ; and, 

 secondly, that it does ivell on a grass or clover ley, talcing 

 tlie place of wheat in the Norfolk system ; in other 

 respects, the order in which flax stands in the course of 

 tillage must greatly depend on local circumstances. 



The before-named Mr. Henderson says, " "Without 

 method, there cannot be success. Different soils require 

 different rotation, and suit different crops. I will speak 

 only of that I use. My farm is a strong and pretty deep 

 clay croft, and has proved well suited to flax ; therefore 

 I use that crop more frequently (say twice in the course) 

 than will be generally found advisable. First, potatoes 

 or turnips, drilled, well cleaned, manured, and limed; 

 second, wheat ; third, flax, with which clover and grass- 

 seeds are sown ; fourth, hay, the ground being top-dressed 

 with soot ; fifth, grazing ; sixth, grazing ; seventh, oats ; 

 eighth, flax ; and then the rotation recommences." 



In those districts of the Pas de Calais in France, which 

 are celebrated for their successful practice, flax is most 

 frequently made to follow clover, and to be followed by 

 wheat. In this rotation, seven years of cropping are 

 followed by a fallow ; beans, and winter, or four-rowed, 

 barley, enter into the course ; and every alternate crop is 

 manured for, though occasionally two successive crops 

 are manured to keep the land in thorough good heart. 

 The practice of sowing clover-seeds with flax is also 

 sometimes followed there, and of sowing carrots likewise, 

 the latter mixture being preferred probably because less 

 liable to dodder. After the flax is pulled, the carrots are 

 well hoed ; and the produce of the latter vegetable may 

 be fairly calculated at ten rasieres the mesure : in round 

 numbers, at something like five and twenty bushels an 

 acre. 



According to "British Husbandry," "If the stems be 

 pulled up for the sole purpose of producing yarn, without 



