81 



will probably be sufTciently loosened in seven or eight days; 

 and if on trial it is found to be so, it ought immediately to be 

 taken out. It is always safer to give it too little, than too 

 much watering; as the defect may be easily remedied by giv- 

 ing it the longer time upon the ground : whereas a mistake on 

 the other hand cannot be repaired. When sufficiently watered, 

 it feels soft to the gripe, and the harle parts easily with the 

 boon or show, which last is then become brittle, and looks 

 whitish. The coarser the flax, the sooner it is watered. Each 

 beet when taken up should be gently rinsed in the pond, to 

 clean it of any mud or nastiness. 



If the flax is spread on poor ley, it will improve it greatly; 

 and the water in which it has been steeped is also a valuable 

 manure, which should be carefully carried or conducted to 

 some ground that needs it, or weeds and straw, &c. thrown in 

 to absorb it and make dung. The flax should be spread thin 

 and equally, and handled tenderly. If it meet with a few 

 hours' dry weather after spreading, it will be so much the 

 better, as it will make the harle firm to bear the rain. 



If at any time the flax shall be allowed to ripen so far as 

 to harden its bolls (as at present), which it ought not, they 

 should be rippled off before it is put in the water, as they make 

 a rich and excellent food for cattle, mixed with boiled chaff, 

 and should be carefully dried and preserved for that purpose. 



Estimate of the Expense and Profit of 1 -Ath Acre under Flax. 



£. s. d. 

 Rent of ground prepared, usually the price of the seed 

 Two pecks and three-fourths seed, at 5*. per peck 

 Codding and sowing .... 



Weeding ...... 



Pulling and watering .... 



Spreading and lifting .... 



Breaking and scutching, at 2*. per stone . 



2 15 

 Produce of a middling crop, 8 stone of 24 lbs. at 12*. . . 4 16 



