10 GEOGRAPHICAL CONCENTRATION. 



flax having at one time been grown chiefly for its fiber, and 

 at another almost entirely for its seed. It has always, how- 

 ever, been noted for the vagaries of its geographical distribu- 

 tion. It was not until 1850 that flax and hemp were sepa- 

 rately reported in the census statistics, but at that time flax 

 was being grown, to a greater or less extent, in every state 

 of the Union with the exception of Louisiana and in every 

 territory except Minnesota Three states, however, pro- 

 duced 57.38 per cent of the total seed crop and three 52 42 

 per cent of the total amount of fiber, Ohio producing 

 two and one-half times as much seed and Kentucky more 

 than twice as much fiber as any other state. We need not 

 follow this product through the changing circumstances of its 

 eventful history. It is, however, worthy of note that of the 

 production of fiber in 1869, which was to the production in 

 1889 as 112 to i, 65.90 per cent was produced in Ohio. Ten 

 years later and the relative production of flaxseed and fiber 

 was practically reversed, and yet the geographical concentra- 

 tion of both branches of the industry was no less marked 

 than before. In 1889 it was still further intensified, four 

 northwestern states producing 80.06 per cent of the total 

 flaxseed crop of the country. The production of fiber has 

 shrunk to very small proportions, and a similar concentra- 

 tion characterizes it. In 1889 Illinois raised 23.93 percent 

 of the total fiber production of the country, and 99.35 per 

 cent of the crop of the state was produced in three counties. 

 Kansas contributed 14.95 P er cent f the total, and 95. 16 per 

 cent of its entire production was derived from two counties. 

 Hemp is a product that is cultivated in Europe from the 

 shores of the White Sea to those of the Mediterranean, 

 France producing three, Austria- Hungary six, Italy nearly 

 seven and Russia over ten tons for every ton produced in the 

 United States. It also flourishes throughout extensive regions 



