RESTORATIVE, NOT AN EXHAUSTING CROP. 119 



number of tons of Flax, ^ and its price, produced IN ALL 

 SCOTLAND, for the last five years, compared with the value of 

 this year's crop in Ulster, 1,700,000, to decide whether the 

 Irish farmers or the Scottish farmers should know most on the 

 subject* Can Mr. Stephen inform me who of his countrymen 

 have got 22s. per stone for Flax, or even the half, (11s.) 

 this season ? When he does so, I will admit the Scotch have 

 equal pretensions with the Irish to claim being as competent 

 to give their opinions from practice. If Mr. Beamish's quo- 

 tations from the Book of the Farm be correct, I fear the 

 author and those Scottish farmers have taken the same view 

 that the Irish farmers did some few years ago, when they 

 knew little about the proper course of management; they 

 thought it ruinous, and had almost given it up. The seed in 

 those days, with the water the Flax was steeped in, all flowed 

 into the river ; the seed, 8 per acre, and the Flax- water 

 equal to liquid manure, were lost. I fear Mr. Stephen Lad 

 this old-fashioned system before his eyes when he was writing 

 down his observations on Flax; and although I give his 

 countrymen credit for being much better farmers in general 

 than even my own countrymen in the north of Ireland, 

 nevertheless, I consider that province not inferior to any part 

 he can select in all Scotland as regards Flax-growing ; and I 

 am glad to say that, without Scotch instruction, the farmers 

 there have learned how to grow Flax that has been sold at 

 176 per ton in the Leeds market. I have been now connected 

 many years with the trade, and I never heard of Scotch Flax 

 being worth anything bordering on what I have quoted; in fact, 

 I never knew more than two or three mills in Scotland to spin 

 yarns much above 50 lea, therefore there was no encouragement 

 to grow the article in Scotland, and it is only within the last 

 few years that the fine spinners in this town would buy even the 

 best Irish Flax. However, I hope the day is not far distant 

 when Scotland, as well as England and Ireland, will be able 



