1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



127 



should never be turned over and sowed the same 

 spring, as the timothy will come up in it and head 

 out. The ground should be jiloughed fine, and 

 levelled down with the harrow before sowing, and 

 harrowed twice after sowing. The quantity of 

 seed sown must be governed by the object in view. 

 If we raise it for the seed, mostly, twenty-six to 

 thirty quarts to the acre is enough, when it will 

 branch out and yield more seed than if sown thick- 

 er. The coat will also be coarse and harsh, fit for 

 nothing but ropes and such coarse articles. If a 

 fine, nice coat is desired, sow five pecks to the 

 acre, but for seed and lint, sow one bushel. Tliis 

 is the most profitable quantity to sow at present, 

 as both seed and lint are high, the former being 

 worth !?a 25 per bushel, and the latter 2o cents 

 per pound, for the best quality, which is nine cents 

 more than has been known for a great many years. 

 Nothing more is to be done until pulling time, 

 which commences as soon as the leaves begin to 

 fall from the stalk, or when about half of the bolls 

 are turned from the green to a brownish color. 



In pulling, great care should be taken to keep 

 it even at the roots, and to discar d all weeds, 

 grass, (tc, as they produce no lint, and render the 

 seed impure. 



That which it is designed to save seed from for 

 sowing, should be weeded two or three times 

 through the summer, which is done by going 

 through it and pulling out all bad weeds as yellow 

 seed, mustard, &;c., then thresh the seed oiT by it- 

 self, and it can be kept clean. When j)ulling, 

 stand with the back down hill, gather tlie flax with 

 one hand, and hold it in the other. Gather at one 

 time about what will stand on four or five square 

 inches of ground, and raise it just high enough to 

 pull all the flax out, but no higher, as the higher 

 it is raised in pulling, the more liable it is to get 

 uneven. The most convenient size for bundles is 

 just about what a person can grasp with both 

 hands. As soon as a handful is pulled, hold it 

 loosely in the hands and drop it on the ground 

 two or three times, to even the butts, then bind 

 by taking about a dozen stalks of flax and ])utting 

 them around the handful, taking both ends in one 

 hand, and whirling the handful until the band is 

 twisted sufficiently to hold it. A little practice 

 enables one to bind very fast in this way. It 

 should be set up two and two, and from six to 

 eight in a shock, and as soon as they become chy, 

 bind each shock into a bundle with rye straw, and 

 draw in, handling carefully so as not to shell and 

 waste the seed. 



There are two methods of threshing off' the 

 seed, viz : by hand, taking the handfuls in the 

 hands and beating the seed ends on a stone, block 

 or some hard substance, until the bolls are all 

 beaten off; and by passing the tops of the hand- 

 fuls between rollers driven l)y horse or water- 

 power. Where there is much of a crop, the latter 

 method is preferable, but for small lots, if the 

 owner has no power of his own, it is cheaper to 

 do it by hand. A person will whip from one-half 

 to three-fourths of an acre ])er day by hand, and 

 a set of rollers with men will thresh from four to 

 six aores, aiul take care of the flax. Great care 

 is necessary in cleaning the seed, it being liglit and 

 very flat, it is liable to be blown over in the chaff. 

 I have known as much as two bushels to the acre, 

 wasted in this way by careless workmen. Spread- 

 ing is another operation requiring care, as it is 



necessary that it should be spread evenly in order 

 that it may rot uniformly. It should be spread 

 about the same thickness 'that it grew, and as even- 

 ly at the butts as possible. When about half roUed, 

 it must be turned, beginning at the last swath 

 spread, and running a long, smooth pole under 

 the flax a little above the middle, and turning it 

 over, pressing the swath down after turning to 

 prevent the wind from blowing it around. When 

 it can be taken in the hand, and by rul)l)ing, the 

 sheaves can be broken and separated fioni the 

 coat, it is fit to take up, which is done by raking 

 it into hurdles the size of oat sheaves, and bind- 

 ing, when it is ready to take to the dressing-ma- 

 chine. As the dressing is a trade by itself, which 

 the farmer has nothing to do with, I'will say noth- 

 ing about it. It is customary here for the "farmer 

 to deliver the flax at the mill, and the dresser fits 

 it for market and sells it, reserving $2 GO per 

 hundred for his work. 



Any other information respecting its cultivation 

 which I possess, will be cheerfully given to any 

 desiring it. Aguiclltl-bist. 



New Fork, Januat'y, 18G3. 



For t'-e Aeir England Fnrmer. 

 BEST PEAKS FOR CULTUKE IN MAS- 

 SACHUSETTS. 



At a recent Legislative Agricultural meeting at 

 the State House in Boston, the presiding officer 

 remarked that the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 Club, an association composed of gentlemen em- 

 inent for their interest in agriculture, have, after 

 many years of deliberation on the sul)ject, decid- 

 ed unanimously, upon the twelve kinils of pears 

 best adapted for cultivation in Massachusetts. 

 They are as follows : IJartlett, Louise IJonne de 

 Jersey, Urbaniste, Beurre d' Anjou, Vicar of 

 Winkfield, Merriam, Seckel, Onondaga, Sheldon, 

 Beurre Bosc, Lawrence and Doyenne Boussock. 



Now with all due deference to the opinion of 

 these gentlemen who have, "after many years of 

 observation," come to this conclusion, I was sur- 

 prised to find such varieties as the Ik'lle Lucra- 

 tive, Winter Nelis, Paradise of Autumn and Buf- 

 fum, were not included in their list, in preference 

 to the Onondaga, Merriam, Doyenne Bcjussock 

 and Lawrence. That fine fall fruit, 'the Belle Lu- 

 crative, has not only increased in size, annually, 

 from its introduction, but was one of the few that 

 remained uninjured in the winter of 1^<(J1, which 

 was so disastrous to the fruit buds, as well as the 

 shoots of many of our finest pear trees. The 

 Beurre Bosc suffered extensively ; not only grafts 

 of three or four years were killed, but in some in- 

 stances whole trees. The Onondaga, with us, is 

 a bad bearer, and rather an acid fruit. The Mer- 

 riam has not been grown with us sufficiently long 

 to judge of its character. The Buff'uiii, wiiich is 

 not in the list, I consider one of the best market 

 pears we possess ; a fine grower and great bearer. 



In making a selection of })ears for any known 

 locahty, one of the greatest points is to ascertain 

 what varieties flourish well on light, warm soil, 

 and those on the contrary, that require land of a 

 cool and more retentive nature. The Wilkinson, 

 a fine, native, fall fruit, and the Lewis, a winter 

 variety, require land of the last description. On 

 a light, sandy loam they are small and worthless. 



Among the great varieties of pears that have 

 been brought forward witbn the last twt niy years. 



