SELECTION OF THE SEED. 271 



a light roller over the surface, in order that it may be per- 

 fectly smooth, and the seeds all deposited at an equal 

 depth. It is important for the fibre produce that the' 

 seeds should all germinate, and the growth proceed equally 

 throughout the whole crop, which might not be the case 

 were the surface irregular and uneven at the time of depo- 

 siting the seed. The end of March or the beginning of 

 April is the time generally recommended for sowing. The 

 seed requires no preparation, but merely attention as to 

 its quality. We have already endeavoured to show how 

 much the success of a crop depends upon the quality of 

 the seed used, and have had more than one opportunity of 

 speaking about the adulteration of our farm seeds, espe- 

 cially those which we are accustomed to import from other 

 countries. The selection of flax seed is a matter of great 

 moment to the cultivator, and great care is necessary in 

 obtaining a good sample. Foreign seed is universally pre- 

 ferred, even by the Belgians, who always select Baltic flax 

 for their seed purposes. In Ireland it is also always pre- 

 ferred. For heavy soils the Dutch seed is frequently used, 

 which is the produce of Riga seed once grown in Flanders. 

 The American seed was at one time tried, as being some- 

 what cheaper; experience, however, has shown, that the 

 plants had a tendency to grow branchy instead of a single 

 erect stem ; and although good for seed purposes, a large 

 portion of the fibre was necessarily lost in scutching. In 

 England, where the cultivation is entirely special and 

 limited, home-grown seed is frequently used, and the 

 crops have succeeded equally well; but in the regular 

 flax-growing countries, where they rely greatly upon their 

 flax as the money-producing crop, they always obtain a new 

 supply. The Riga seed is everywhere considered the best 

 for seed purposes. This, however, as is the case indeed with 

 all foreign samples, is too dirty to admit of being used 

 directly for the flax crop, as the amount of weeds mixed , 



