No. 149.] 425 



:iTUTE, 7 



18/A, 1851. \ 



American Institute, 



Farmers'' Club, March 



FLAX, HEMP, AND COTTON. 



Hon. Robert Swift Livingston in the chair. 



Henry Meigs, Secretary. 



Mr. Meigs read the proceedings of the Weekly Council of the 

 Royal Agricultural Society of England. 



Royal JigriaiUural Society of England. 



At the Weekly Council of the Society, held on Wednesday, 

 February 12th, Mr. M'Dermott read the tollowing paper : 



REASONS IN FAVOR OF AN EXTENDED CULTIVATION OF FLAX AND HEMP 

 IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. 



My object, gentlemen, in reading the present paper, at the re- 

 quest of your esteemed Chairman, is to submit to you, and through 

 you to the great agricultural body of England, a few facts bear- 

 ing on the importance which, in a national and individual point 

 of view, would result from a more extensive cultivation of fibrous 

 plants in this country. In venturing humbly to submit these 

 facts and opinions to so important and influential a body of gen- 

 tlemen as those who compose the Council of the Royal Agricul- 

 tuial Society, I am tar from wishing it to be understood either 

 that I conceive them to be ignorant of many of the facts which I 

 shall have occasion to adduce, or that the subject of Flax culture 

 is one to which they have not already paid some considerable at- 

 tention. On the contrary, many of the valuable. reports of your 

 Society, and the prizes given for Essays on the subject, prove that 

 it has at various times engrossed your consideration, and formed 

 the theme of serious deliberation at your Councils. Markets 

 comparatively undeveloped -, ignorance of the true character and 

 structure of the plant ; prevalence of modes of cultivation and 

 preparation of the fibre, wasteful and injurious in themselves^ 

 and attended with an enormous amount of trouble to the grower, 

 have hitherto each had their weight in inducing your Society to 

 withhold its valuable recommendation in favor of an extension 

 of Flax culture. 



