LETTERS. 



No. I. 



To the Editor of . 



Sir, 



I AM sure you will readily afford me an opportunity 

 of offering, through the medium of your paper, some infor- 

 mation to the public on the above important subjects, ac- 

 quired by experience. I desire to do so in a series of short 

 letters, in order that objections may be answered before I re- 

 publish them in the form of a pamphlet for general circulation. 

 1 shall be happy to reply to any public or private communi- 

 cations, as my object is to arrive at, and to promulgate, right 

 conclusions. 



Flax, at the present moment, when so many inquiries are 

 being made respecting the proper time and method of harvesting 

 the crop, claims our first consideration. 



The proper time, of course, is when the utmost profit to the 

 grower may be secured. In Belgium, early pulling is said to 

 produce finer flax; but when adopted the seed is chiefly, if not 

 entirely, sacrificed. In Holland, on the contrary, early pulled 

 flax, though finer, is considered to be weaker, and to lose much 

 of its weight while being scutched and prepared for market. 

 In Ireland, till Avithin a year or two, no regard was paid to 

 the seed, but now, the Irish are anxious to preserve it. In- 

 deed, the importance of this part of the crop is so generally 

 understood, that comparatively very little flax at the present 

 day is pulled, in any part of the world, till the seed has arrived 

 at maturity. 



