96 PRODUCTS OF FLAX. 



ing or steaming it for 10 hours in salt water, spreading and watering 

 it, is a new and good process. 



The seeds are removed with long combs, dried, thrashed, cleaned, 

 and pressed for their oil (linseed oil), which is of great value for mak- 

 ing paints, for medicinal preparations, for making green soap, for var- 

 nishes, &c., and the cake, after the oil is expressed, is one of the most 

 valuable articles as food for fattening cattle, and for broken-winded 

 horses. A decoction of the seeds is used for coughs, and a variety of 

 disorders ; and when powdered, a common and valuable poultice is 

 made of them. Equal parts of lime-water and linseed oil are one of 

 the best applications for burns. In times of scarcity the seed has been 

 used for human food, but it is heavy and unwholesome. 8 or 10 bush- 

 els of seed and 400 Ibs. of flax are the product of an acre of good soil. 

 The American seed has a high reputation abroad for flax. England 

 imports annually over 2 million bushels, and the amount of linseed im- 

 ported in 1840 into this country was $173,830. The amount of flaxen 

 dyed and colored goods was $113,662, and of other manufactures of 

 flax $321,684. There are 143 oil mills in the U. S., and the value of 

 export of flax seed was $120,000. 



One or two of the other species are cultivated. The New Zealand 

 species is used by the natives for cords and clothing ; it is stronger 

 than any other species or any other vegetable, and is almost equal to 

 silk. The stem is 6 feet high, and is adapted to any kind of soil. The 

 fibres are long, snowy white, and lustrous. The cultivation of this is 

 being introduced into Europe and the U. S. The common flax is said 

 to deteriorate if continued long in the same soil and without changing 

 the seed. There are three varieties commonly cultivated. The 1st 

 is tall and slender, with few flowers ; it ripens late, and affords the 

 longest and finest fibres ; the 2d has numerous flowers, and is best for 

 seed, but its fibres are short and coarse ; the 3d is the most common, 

 and is intermediate between these two. The seeds of these varieties 

 should not be mixed, as they ripen at different times, and should be 

 sown at different intervals. When a few inches high, flax should be 

 cleared of weeds, especially of a parasitical plant with small while 

 flowers, which should be pulled and burned. To prevent flax from 

 falling, lines are often stretched across the field, and when it begins 

 to turn yellow it is pulled. A superior method of preparation is said 

 to be to dry and store it till October, then put it in soft clear water till 

 the fibres are separated with some difficulty, then spread it on grass for 

 the frosts to complete the operation, and when dry, secure it immedi- 

 ately. 



The composition of linseed is fat, oil, wax, acrid soft resin, resinous 

 coloring matter, yellow extractive with tannin and salts, sweet extrac- 

 tive, with malic acid, gum, mucilage, starch, gluten ; and the ashes 

 contain oxide of copper. The mucilage of linseed resides in the seed- 



