FLAX OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 177 



expansion of the leaves; when seen in the distance have the 

 appearance of being on fire. Examples are — 1. Rhododendron 

 arhoreum, native of Nepal, a tree of considerable size, which 

 when in fio^ver imparts a blaze of colour to the forest. 2. Ster- 

 cidia acerifolia, a tree of the Cola Nut family (Sterculiacese), 

 native of New South Wales, attaining a height of 60 to 

 100 feet, and a circumference of from 6 to 8 feet, havino- 

 smooth, large, lobed leaves and racemes of showy red flowers. 

 3. Nuytsia ligustrina and N. floribunda, the first native of 

 New South Wales, and the latter South - West Australia. 

 They belong to the Mistletoe family (Loranthaccce), and are ex- 

 ceptions to the general rule of that family in not being parasites 

 on other trees ; but they grow in the ground, forming bushy 

 trees 20 or 30 feet high. 4. In the region of the Dead Sea, 

 the pretty flowering tree Acacia Farnesiana, belonging to the 

 Leguminosse, is densely covered with a species of parasitical 

 Loranthus, which when in flower gives the trees the appearance 

 of being on fire. 



Flax (^Linum usitatissimuiii), a wiry, erect-stemmed annual of 

 the Flax family (Linacese). It appears to have been cultivated 

 from remotest antiquity, maimfactured Flax fibre having been 

 found in the prehistoric lake-cities of Switzerland; and the 

 mummy cloth of Egyptian tombs was made of Elax fibre. Elax is 

 now generally cultivated in many countries of the north tem- 

 perate zone, growing as well in Northern Eussia as in the 

 valley of the Nile and plains of India. It is cultivated in tliis 

 country, but more extensively in Ireland ; the quantity, however, 

 falls short of the demand. It is largely imported from Eussia, 

 and various other parts of Europe ; also from Egypt and Turkey. 

 Elax undergoes many operations before its fibre is ready for spin- 

 ning. The seeds are also an important article of commerce, ship- 

 loads being imported from the Baltic and the Black Sea for the 

 purpose of crushing, from which Linseed Oil is obtained. The 

 compressed refuse of the seeds forms Oil-cake, used for feeding 

 cattle, and the crushed or ground seeds form Linseed Meal, a 

 valuable emollient for poultices. In dressing, Elax goes tln-ough 



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