28 



for the manufacture of writing papers, at $2,000,000. It is probable that one of the 

 chief factors in developing the wider uses of flax straw for such products as paper 

 and twine will rest in the quality of the original straw. 



MARKETING CANADIAN FLAX STRAW. 



Before our Manitoba and Saskatchewan flax growers can undertake to supply 

 the markets at St. Paul and Duluth, much lower freight rates will have to be offered 

 by Canadian railroads serving that territory. Under the existing combination 

 rates between the points in these provinces and the above cities, there is little chance 

 of Canadian shippers competing with shippers from eastern Montana, let alone with 

 those from points nearer market, in North Dakota and Minnesota. 



To show how serious a handicap this is, comparative tables of rates from border 

 points and inland Canadian cities to St. Paul are given below. The rates to Duluth 

 are approximately the same, in some cases exactly so. Under Canadian regulations, 

 baled flax straw is placed in the seventh^ and baled flax tow in the fifth classification. 

 TABLE of Railway Freight Rates on Baled Flax Straw and Baled Flax Tow in Carload 



i 



Lots Between Places Named. 



Were the combination rates determined on the basis charged by the United 

 States railroads, Canadian shippers would have the following tariffs on flax straw: 



Winnipeg to St. Paul 17-2 cents per cwt. 



'inato St. Paul... ...25-6 " 



'So long as flax tow and flax straw are classified differently under Canadian 

 regulations, the rates on tow will be proportionately higher. 



The establishment of flax-using industries in such Canadian centres as Winni- 

 peg and Regina would minimize the importance of the rate question, but cost of trans- 

 portation for such cheap bulky material as flax straw and flax tow will always be a 

 matter of first consideration. 



FEEDING VALUES. 



In the meantime, vast quantities of flax straw, probably 200,000 tons, are going 

 to waste annually in western Canada. If this substance could be proven to possess 

 satisfactory feeding values, the problem of its profitable disposal would largely solve 

 itself. This is a much disputed point. The theoretical side of the question is pre- 

 sented in the table given herewith. It was prepared by Professor Snyder, of the 

 University of Minnesota, nearly twenty years ago. 



