THALAMIFLOB.2E. 



179 



Flax Plant. 



become the greatest boons to mankind ; the stalks of the 

 Linum usitatissimum, soaked, 

 bruised, and prepared by comb- 

 ing, &c., form the flax of com- 

 merce, from which all our linen 

 fabrics are made. The manu- 

 facture of flax is one of the 

 oldest arts known, the ancient 

 Egyptians formed their mummy- 

 cloths from this article, and a 

 piece of one of these cloths, 

 bleached and placed side by side 

 with some of the present date, 

 would hardly suffer by the com- 

 parison, but the rapidity of its 

 manufacture, and the price at 

 which supplied, are doubtless 

 very different in the two cases. 



The value of the linen manufacture of Great Britain 

 is between seven and eight millions yearly. 



The seeds of the flax plant (Linseed) are used to 

 crush and produce the linseed oil of commerce so 

 extensively used in the production of paints and var- 

 nishes, and the cake is used as food for cattle. 



17. ACERACE.E (Acer campestre) Maple Tree. 



(Acer pseudoplatanus) Sycamore Tree. 



This order contains the Maple 

 and Sycamore, fine trees, not 

 only ornamental, but producing 

 wood much in request, moreover 

 the Acer saccharinum or JSugar 

 Maple of North America is used 

 to produce sugjar, which is 

 obtained from its sap. 



