234 APftlL. 



cially of such plants as do not occupy it long-, and 

 particularly of those which are remarkably bene- 

 fited by frequent stirring of the earth whilst they 

 grow; such as beans, pease, turnips, &c. ; because 

 these repeated stirrings render the mould fine and 

 loose, and help to kill the weeds, which would 

 otherwise do great damage to the flax. The Me- 

 moirs of the Society of Britanny inform us*, that 

 the Livonians, when they clear wood-land, burn 

 the wood upon it, then plough it, and prefer it in 

 this state to any other kind of soil for flax. 



If the land which is intended for flax be stiff, 

 great care should be taken not to till it when it is 

 'wet, for fear of kneading it. 



Most of our linseed is brought from the North. 

 Linseed is reckoned good when it is large, oily, 

 beavy, and of a bright brown colour. To know 

 whether it be oily, a few grains of it are thrown 

 into a red-hot fire-shovel, and they in that case 

 crackle almost instantly, and blaze briskly. If it is 

 sufficiently heavy, it will sink to the bottom of 

 water; and to judge whether it be new, a number 

 of seeds exactly counted should be sown on the 

 end of a hot-bed, and notice taken whether they all 

 grow. 



Flax is sometimes damaged by insects, when it is 



* Corps d' Observation de la Societe d' Agriculture de Com- 

 merce et des Arts, etablie par les Etats de Bretagne. An. 175^ 

 .et 1760, p. 186. 



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