454 



LINE^E. I. LINUM. 



ploughed. At seed time harrow the land well before the seed is 

 distributed, then cover the seed to a sufficient depth by giving 

 a close double tine of the harrows. Water-furrow the land, 

 and remove any stones or roots that may remain on the surface, 

 which finishes the process. 



The ordinary season of sowing flax-seed is from the middle 

 of March to the end of April, but the last week of March and 

 the first 1 days of April is esteemed the best time, and accord- 

 ingly within these periods the greatest quantity of flax-seed is 

 sown in this country. In France and Italy it is often sown in 

 the autumn, by which a larger crop is produced, especially when 

 seed is desired. 



The quantity of seed depends upon the intention of the crop. 

 When a crop of seed is intended to be taken, thin sowing is pre- 

 ferable, in order that the plants may have room to throw out 

 lateral shoots, and to obtain air in the blossoming and filling 

 season. But it is a mistake to sow thin when flax is intended 

 to be taken, for the crop then becomes coarse, and often unpro- 

 ductive. From eight to ten pecks per acre is the proper quan- 

 tity \v\\enjlax is intended, but when seed is the object six pecks 

 is sufficient, for seed from thick sown crops is never so good, 

 nor so abundant. (Donaldson.) In the choice of seed, that which 

 is of a bright, brownish colour, oily to the feel, and at the same 

 time weighty, is considered the best. Linseed imported from 

 various countries is employed. That brought from Holland is 

 in the highest estimation, as it not only ripens sooner than any 

 other that is imported, but also produces greater crops, and flax 

 of that quality which best suits the chief manufactures of the 

 country. American seed produces in common fine flax, but 

 neither the quantity of flax, nor capsules, nor are they so large 

 as the produce of Dutch linseed. Riga seed yields a very 

 coarse sort of flax, but greater in quantity of seed than any 

 other. It is common in some parts of Scotland to SDW seed 

 saved from the crops of the preceding year, especially when 

 that crop was raised from seed imported from Holland. The 

 success of this practice is found to depend greatly on changing 

 the seed from one sort of soil to another of an opposite nature. 

 But the saving in the expense of purchasing that sort of seed in 

 place of what is newly imported from Holland is so inconsider- 

 able, and the risk of the crop misgiving so much greater in the 

 one case than in the other, that those only who are ignorant of 

 the consequences, or who are compelled from necessity, are 

 chargeable with this act of ill-judged parsimony. Flax-seed 

 is by some farmers changed every three years in succession 

 without perceiving any degeneracy. When any degeneracy 

 takes place the seed of flax grown on a different soil, as moss, 

 moor, sand, &c. without any view to the produce in fibre, will, 

 it is said, answer as well as foreign seed. 



The manner of sowing flax is almost always the same, but 

 when seed is the main object drilling may bs adopted, by which 

 seed may be saved in sowing, cleaning conducted at ;oss expense, 

 and the plants rendered more vigorous and branchy, by the 

 stirring of the soil, and the admission of p'r tetv/een the rows. 

 The fibres of flax grown in this way will be shorter, and less 

 equal in thickness throughout their length, than flax grown by 

 the broadcast mode and tolerably thick. 



The after culture consists chiefly in weeding, but sometimes 

 it commences with rolling ths surface, which is a very proper 

 operation when the soil is very dry, the season advanced, or the 

 earth very porous. By this process the earth is pressed firmly 

 to the seeds, and they are thereby stimulated to vegetate sooner, 

 and the drought is kept out. On some soils, and in wet and 

 stormy seasons, flax is apt to be laid, to guard against which 

 some cultivators run across their flax-field slender poles, fixed 

 to stakes ; but a better method is to run small ropes across the 

 field both lengthwise and breadthwise, so as to form a sort of 



net-work, fastened to stakes at due distances, which is proof 

 against almost every accident that can happen from tempestuous 

 weather. In Scotland a crop of flax is sometimes weeded by 

 turning a flock of sheep at large into the field. They will not 

 take the young flax plants, but they carefully search for the 

 weeds, which they devour. 



The crop of flax is taken in by pulling, on which there is 

 considerable differences of opinion. None, however, think of 

 pulling it before it comes into flower, when fibre is the sole 

 object, or before the seed in the capsules acquires a brownish 

 colour, when fibre and seed jointly or fibre alone is the object. 

 Some argue for pulling while it is green, in order that its fibres 

 may be softer and finer ; others, with the same view, pull it up 

 before its seeds are quite formed, and others again think that it 

 should not be pulled till some of the capsules have begun to 

 open, being of opinion that the fibres of green flax are too 

 tender, and that they fall into tow. On the other hand it is 

 certain that the fibres of flax which has stood till it is very ripe 

 are always stiff and harsh, that they are not easily separated 

 from the woody part, and that they do not bleach so well, there- 

 fore both extremes should be avoided, and it seems most reason- 

 able to think that the properest time for pulling flax is, when 

 its stalks begin to turn from a green to a yellow colour, when 

 its leaves begin to fall, and when its seeds begin to be brown. 

 Donaldson observes that a crop of flax frequently grows and runs 

 out a great number of seed-bearing branches. When that is the 

 case the seeds, not \heflax, ought to be the farmer's chief object, 

 and the crop should be allowed to stand till the seeds are 

 perfected. But that when the crop thrives and is likely to 

 become more valuable for the flax than the seeds, it should be 

 pulled soon after the bloom drops off, and before the pods turn 

 hard and sharp in the points. When flax is grown for its fibre, 

 Brown considers it the safest course to take it in a little early, as 

 any thing wanted in quantity being in this way made up by the 

 superiority of the quality. The operation of pulling flax 

 differs according to the intention of the crop. When it is grown 

 for the fibre it is pulled and tied immediately in sheaves like 

 corn, being carried off immediately to be watered. But when 

 seed is the object of the crop, it is pulled up and laid in handfuls 

 across each other, the reason of which is, the business of rippling 

 is facilitated, as the ripplers, in place of having to separate 

 each handful from the bundle, find it by this simple precaution 

 already done to their hand. In most fields there are varieties 

 of soils, of course some parts of a field will produce fine flax, 

 others coarse, some long and some short ; in a word, crops of 

 different lengths and qualities. It cannot be supposed that all 

 these different kinds of flax will undergo an equal degree of 

 watering, grassing, breaking, and heckling without sustaining 

 much injury. Although it is of much importance yet it very 

 seldom happens that much attention is bestowed to separate the 

 different sorts of flax from each other, in pulling the crop. 

 Some instead of laying the flax in loose handfu's, tie them up 

 loosely at the top, and then spread out their roots and set several 

 of them together in an upright position upon their roots. In 

 either case the flax is left twelve or fourteen days in the field 

 to dry it. This drying is certainly not necessary for the rippling, 

 because the ripple will separate the capsules from the flax as 

 effectually before it has been dried as it will afterwards, and if 

 it is done with a view to ripen the seed, it should be considered 

 that the flax will be more hurt by the longer time of steeping, 

 which will become necessary in consequence of this drying, 

 than the seed can be benefited, because the more the membrane 

 which connects the fibres to the reed is dried, the greater must 

 be the degree of putrefaction necessary to loosen and destroy 

 the cohesion of this connecting membrane ; the finer parts of 

 the flax itself must necessarily be destroyed by the degree of 



