FLAX. 



FLAX, COMMON 



inches, according to the soil. Thus, a layer 

 of earth, about two inches d"ep, at least, is 

 thrown over the seed, which has been sown on 

 a surface made even by the small harrows, or 

 the bush-harrow. These two inches gradually 

 incorporate with the soil below ; and thus, at 

 every such operation, the soil is deepened so 

 much. 



The trenches are so arranged, that every 

 year a fresh portion of the ground is dug out, 

 and in six years the whole land will have been 

 dug to the depth of at least one foot. In the 

 next course, the trench is dug a few inches 

 deeper, which brings up a little of the subsoil; 

 and, after four or five such courses of trench- 

 ing, the whole soil comes to be of a uniform 

 quality to the depth of 18 or 20 inches ; a most 

 important circumstance to the growth of flax, 

 potatoes, and carrots, all of which are very 

 profitable crops to the farmer, and the last tw 

 indispensable to the maintenance of the la- 

 bourers and the cattle. In the Waes country, 

 they proceed differently, for they have a soil 

 which, by repeated trenchings, has long been 

 uniform in quality to the required depth. There 

 they regularly trench one-sixth part of the land 

 every year, and plant it with potatoes, or sow 

 carrots in it. 



"From this outline of Flemish husbandry," 

 concludes Mr. Rham, " the general principles 

 which pervade the whole system are easily 

 discovered. The garden has evidently been 

 the model for the operations of the farm. The 

 spade has originally been the chief instrument 

 of cultivation ; and when a greater extent of 

 farms necessarily introduced the plough, the 

 favourite spade was not entirely laid aside. A 

 Flemish farm of 40 or 50 acres must still be 

 looked upon as an enlarged garden ; and if a 

 comparison is instituted with the cultivation 

 of land in England, we can only compare the 

 Flemish husbandry, as far as tillage is con- 

 cerned, with those large unenclosed gardens 

 which are found in the neighbourhood of Lon- 

 don, where the common vegetables are raised 

 which supply the markets ; where green crops 

 are cut early for horses and cows kept in Lon- 

 don ; and where the soil is continually enriched 

 * by tne manure which is brought every time a 

 cart returns from having carried out the pro- 

 duce. In these grounds, the system is similar 

 to the Flemish deep digging, or trenching, 

 abundant manuring, and a rapid succession of 

 crops." (Flemish Husb.; Journ. of Roy. Jlgr. Soc. 

 of J-'ng. vol. ii. p. 43.) 



FLAX (Lat. Linum, from the Celtic word 

 Win, a thread ; whence the Greek linon, the Ital. 

 and Span. /i>io, and Fr. fin). An extensive 

 genus of plants, of which more than 70 species 

 are enumerated by botanists. It belongs to the 

 natural order Linacea. The plants are distin- 

 guished by the tenacity of their fibres, the mu- 

 ciiase of their seeds, and, generally, by the 

 beauty of their flowers. 



Four species only are indigenous to England, 

 of which the common flax (L. usitatissinntm) to 

 be next noticed, is the most important and use- 

 ful. As ornamental plants, they are well worth 

 cultivating in every collection. The green- 

 house and frame kinds grow best in a mixture 

 of loam and peats ; the hardv shrubby kinds 

 484 



do well in any light soil. The hardy herba- 

 ceous species are well suited for ornamenting 

 flower-borders ; but the dwarf kinds do best on 

 rock-work, or in pots, that they may be pro- 

 tected by a frame in frosty or very wet wea- 

 ther ; they may be increased by divisions of 

 the root, by cuttings, or by seeds. The annual 

 and biennial species should be sown in the 

 open ground in April. 1. Common flax (L. 

 usitatissimum') is an annual, rising one to 

 two feet high, with a smooth, slender, upright 

 stem, branched near the top, narrow lanceolate 

 leaves, rather glaucous, blowing in July a 

 corymbose panicle of pale purplish-blue flow- 

 ers. The testa or skin of the seed abounds 

 with mucilage ; the cotyledons with oil, easily 

 procured by pressure. The mucilage extracted 

 by hot water is demulcent, the oil a mild laxa- 

 tive. The use of linseed oil in the arts is very 

 extensive. 2. Perennial blue flax (L.perenney, 



3. Narrow-leaved pale flax (L. an gusti folium). 



4. Purging flax (L. catharticum}. The first and 

 fourth species are mentioned further in detail 

 in articles which follow. The others require 

 little notice ; they are found growing in sandy 

 or chalky soils, and are perennial, flowering in 

 June or July. 



FLAX, BASTARD TOAD. See BASTABD 

 TOAD-FLAX. 



FLAX, COMMON (Sax. jrleax or Flex, Ger. 

 flachs ; Dutch, vlascK). The fibre of the Linum 

 usitatissimum, which, after undergoing the pro- 

 cess of washing, beating, and other operations, 

 is spun into thread, and woven into linen tex- 

 tures, lace, &c. The seed is also crushed for 

 oil ; and the refuse husk, after the oil is ex- 

 pressed, is made into oilcake for cattle. The 

 fibres of the bark of this important plant have 

 been applied to the manufacture of thread and 

 cloth in this and other countries from the re- 

 motest periods. " Flax," says Professor Low, 

 " being a native plant, is sufficiently hardy to 

 endure the climate of this and other northern 

 countries. It has, indeed, a wide range of tem- 

 perature, being cultivated, and for the like 

 purposes, from Egypt almost to the polar cir- 

 cle." The wild flax grows in corn-fields, and 

 gravelly or sandy pastures ; but, when culti- 

 vated, it thrives most luxuriantly in deep rich 

 mould, but particularly in untilled alluvial soils. 

 Its roots sink very deep when it has room ; 

 and it is generally said that the roots of good 

 flax should strike into the soil to a depth equal 

 to half the length, at least, of the stem above 

 ground. A porous subsoil, or one that is well 

 drained, is therefore essential. In Flanders, 

 flax may be considered as a staple commodity, 

 and a great portion of the population of that 

 country is employed in preparing large quan- 

 tities for exportation ; the cultivation and pre- 

 paring of it, is, therefore, most perfectly under- 

 stood, and the Dutch flax is always well dressed, 

 and of the finest quality. The premiums given 

 by the legislature of England to force the 

 cultivation of flax have had very little effect, it 

 being one of the most exhausting crops when 

 allowed to ripen its seed ; and its culture being 

 found to be much less profitable than corn. 

 I The native growth of flax being quite insuffi- 

 cient to the demand for home consumption, &C., 

 I England has long been in the habit of import- 



