202 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



hundred pounds. The average price of seed is from one dollar to 

 one dollar and twenty-five cents per bushel, and of fiber from 

 six to thirteen dollars per ton. The straw is of little value on 

 the farm, as it is difficult to rot it for manure, and it is not safe 

 cattle food, as it produces abortion if fed to cows in calf. Flax 

 straw is excellent for making temporary shelters for hogs or 

 cattle, or for stopping washes on rolling land, as it is very last- 

 ing. Grass or clover may be sown with it, and will do well; but 

 as a flax stubble gives an easily prepared seed-bed for wheat, 

 and the latter crop usually does well when sown after flax, it is 

 best to plow the flax stubble for wheat. 



CULTURE. The soil for flax should be rich, as it will not pay 

 to sow on thin land. It should also be clean, as weeds among 

 the crop make it hard to cure and also reduce the yield. The 

 land should be thoroughly prepared and made fine and smooth. 

 It is useless to expect a profitable crop if sown on a rough, cloddy 

 surface. The land should be harrowed and rolled until as fine 

 as a garden, and the seed should be covered very lightly. It 

 may be covered with a brush or light plank drag, or a sloping- 

 tooth harrow. On a good soil well prepared, one-half bushel of 

 seed is sufficient when seed is the object sought, but if sown with 

 special reference to growing fiber, from one to two bushels is 

 used. If the day is windy it can be sown with the drill, but 

 should not be run through the tubes, as this would not scatter 

 the seed enough, and would cover it too deep. 



The best directions as to time of sowing, is that it be put in 

 between oats and corn. If sown as early as oats are usually put 

 in, it will be in danger of being killed by frost, or if heavy rains 

 fall, of being unable to come up through the crust, or if it came 

 up, weeds would start with it and damage the crop. 



The crop is ready to harvest when a majority of the boles 

 are ripe. It can be cut with the self-rake reaper, and a few days 

 curing will fit it to be threshed. This is often done with 

 machines, but usually it is tramped with horses. If the farmer 

 has room to store it, it is best to defer threshing until cold 

 weather, as it is a dusty disagreeable job. It is quite common 

 to smooth off a place in the field and tramp it on the ground and 



