187 



why ? Because they hope it will contribute to retard a cause 

 which, if successful, must inevitably defeat the mad schemes of 

 that revolutionary party. 



" To the Editor of the Norwich Mercury. 



"Deau Sir, — In matters of business practical men prefer 

 figures of arithmetic to figures of rhetoric — plain facts to idle 

 visions ; I have, therefore, taken up my pen for the purpose of 

 undeceiving the public, by a simple statement of the probable 

 future cost of growing and preparing an acre of flax ready for 

 spinning into yarn ; also to state the proved value of an acre 

 of very superior flax grown by myself and worked at North 

 Walsham. The soil was a first-rate flax soil, rich light loam — 

 ill good heart, sowed 2nd April. 



Rent, tithe, and rates . . . . 



Two winter ploughings ..... 

 Spring harrowing down, ploughing, sowing, and bushing 

 One thousand gallons of liquid manure . 

 Three bushels of seed .... 



Weeding and pulling crop .... 

 Steeping, drying, re-tying, &c. 

 Scutching 54 stone of flax, at 3*. per stone 



Value of crop : 

 54 stone of flax, at 9*. per stone . 



Balance 



An ample profit ; but 54 stone of flax is vastlj^ beyond an 

 average crop, and 9^. a stone can only be obtained for a supe- 

 rior fibre ; besides, land in general would require an outlay of 

 3/. in manure per acre. To be concise, I am perfectly sure, 

 that unless the manufacturers can afibrd to give 85. a stone for 

 the flax after being scutched, the farmer cannot afford to grow 

 it. When this last fact is ascertained, as it will be, before the 

 general meeting of the Flax Society held in February, the 



