RESTORATIVE, NOT AN EXHAUSTING CROP. 101 



At the monthly meeting of the Belfast Flax Society, held 

 on the 16th of July, the following ^letter, which had been 

 sent by one of its members, was read by the Secretary : 



" ' I am happy to be able to bear my testimony to the fact 

 that if Flax be judiciously grown and well handled, there is 

 no other crop that will pay like it. I had last season not 

 quite eight Irish acres of Flax, from which I had 295 stones, 

 which brought 8s. per stone in Cookstown market, and 

 31 stones at 6s., besides 4J cwt of scutching tow, at 9s. 

 per cwt. : 



295 stones, at 8s 118 



31 stones, at 6s 960 



4) cwt. tow, at 9s 206 



129 6 6 



being upwards of 16 per acre ; besides this, I had an 

 exceedingly large quantity of bolls, which fed my cattle to 

 the greatest advantage during the whole season^ and as much 

 seed saved, on the Courtray system, as sowed about three 

 acres this year.' 



"The seed in the bolls, if it amounted to an average 

 Norfolk crop, would be equal at least to 319 bushels, so that 



I may add to the 129 6 6 



The value of 319 bushels of seed, at 6s. 3d. 



per bushel 99 13 9 



; 229 3 



And 11 English acres, if it cost 100 to bring it to market, 

 would have 129 profit on what I call a middling or very 

 light crop of Flax, viz. 30 stones per acre. 



li Now, with all deference to Professor Low, I must believe 

 experiments before his assertions ; and I believe that Flax has 

 never got a fair trial in Scotland to enable him to tell us how 



