76 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



passed between grooved rollers to break the woody parts of the stem, aud 

 beaten with a large, broadsword-like wooden knife to separate the fiber from 

 the broken woody parts. The whole of this preparation at the present day is 

 better performed by machinery. 



Use. — The use of flax is well known. It furnishes material for the 

 coarse sails of our shipping, for the cordage with which they arf rigged, 

 and for the celebrated Irish linens, and the delicate laces which adorn thp 

 ladies' toilet. The ancient Romans did not, as the Italians do now, make 

 great use of linen as wearing-apparel, but they used it for cordage and for 

 the sails of their vessels. 



In early colonial times it was raised in the British colonies of North 

 America, and every family prepared, spun, and wove the linen necessary for 

 the beds, table, and underwear for the family. A coarse fabric was made 

 called tow-cloth, which was used for pantaloons and farmers' and teamsters' 

 frocks. 



Of the seed is made linseed oil, used iu mixing paints. It rapidly oxidizes, 

 and causes a hard, glossy surface. It is an ingredient in printers' ink and in 

 the manufacture of oil cloths. The seeds when boiled are used for drinks for 

 throat and bronchial troubles. A liniment made of lime-water and linseed oil 

 is applied to burns, Avith great success. 



Marts. — Flax for linen fabrics is produced more largely in Belgium tlian in 

 any other European country. The finest flax in the world is raised in Flan- 

 ders, where the material for the celebrated Brussels lace is produced. The 

 flax used for Brussels lace is sold for $.500-$900 per ton, yielding a greater 

 return per acre than tlie price of the land upon which it grows would amount 

 to. Flax is also the chief staple of the north of Ireland, Belfast being the 

 metropolis of the linen trade. The great markets for linen fabrics are the 

 large towns of these countries. 



Seed for linseed oil is furnished to the world by Russia, Holland, America, 

 and the East Indies. 



ERYTHROXYLON. L. Sepals 5. Petals 5, imbricate, each furnished 

 with a double or plaited scale on the inner side of the base. Stamens 

 10. rarely 12. Leaves alternate. Flowers axillary. Fruit drupaceous. 

 Shrub. 



E. coca, Lam. (Coca.) Stem 6 to 8 feet high, ramified into a symmetrical 

 head. Leaf dark-green above, paler beneath; thin, entire, ovate; tapering 

 at each end ; strongly veined, two lateral lines extending from the base to 

 the apex parallel with the midrib. Flowers small, white, solitary, on short 

 pedicels. Stamens united at the base. Ovary 3-celled, 2 cells empty, fertile 

 cell 1 -seeded. 



Geography. — Tropical and subtropical. Found in the northwestern parts 

 of South America, in Boli^na, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia ; also in northern 

 parts of Brazil. 



Eti/molofji/. — Eri/throxi/Ion, the generic name, is derived from the Greek 

 words ipvOpos, red, and ^v\ov, wood, redwood, due to the color of the wood. 

 Coca is the Indian name. In the northwestern parts of Brazil it is called 

 Spadic. The signification of neither of these names is known. 



History — The practice of chewing the leaves of the coca existed in Peru at 

 the time of the Spanish conquest. How long previously it had been used we 

 have no means of knowing. 



