No. 149.] 439 



that even iu cases where the seed has been thrown into tlie steep 

 pits and destroyed, the profit upon the sale and preparation of 

 the fibre was still greater than that of many other of the crops. 

 As the example thus set is one, however, wliich is not likely to 

 be generally followed by enlightened agriculturists in this coun- 

 try, it is unnecessary for me to trouble you with any figures upon 

 that point. 



New process. — These, however, are returns obtained under the 

 present mode of steeping and preparing the flax. According to 

 the plan which I venture to submit, the returns will, I anticipate, 

 be even more favorable to the grower. 



Sold in straw. — In the case in which he may elect to|dispose 

 of his flax in the straw, the farmer would derive the full value of 

 bis crop of seed, and the straw would be worth to him <£4 per 

 ton, the produce being about two tons per acre. He will not be 

 required, as is the case at present, to pull his flax before it is 

 perfectly ripe, or before the seed has been fully or completely 

 formed. Indeed the coarser and more developed is the stem of the 

 plant, the more valuable will it be for the purpose of adaptation 

 to the woolen and cotton machinery, and the fine gossamer 

 threads can be produced from it with greater certainty and pre- 

 cision than when pulled in an earlier stage of its growth. The 

 grower, therefore, need be under no fear as to the fineness of his 

 crop, and he may obtai i from it as large an amount of seed as 

 his land will produce. 



Partial cleaning. — If the difiiculty of transporting the flax 

 in the straw to any great distance should render it necessary for 

 the grower to reduce its bulk, by the removal of some of the 

 woody part of the plant, he will obtain by so doing, in addition 

 to the seed, a valuable article of food for his cattle, and the en- 

 hanced value of the fibre will more than repay the amount of 

 labor bestowed upon it. • 



Complete preparation. — If disposed to carry the preparation 

 of the flax to its usual stage of adaptation to the spindles of the 

 manufacturer, whether cotton, linen, wool, or silk, he will derive 

 a profit larger and more certain than any which he can obtain 



