the acre. Blue Blossom Dutch Child or White Blossom Dutch Child gives the best 

 results. White Blossom yields several bushels more seed, grows several inches longer 

 and matures about two weeks later than Blue Blossom. Pulling takes place when 

 for about 6 inches up from the root the stem leaves have withered away. The 

 importance of timely harvesting is so great and this year's outlook for harvesting help 

 so uncertain that Canadian flax growers are keyed to the need of a pulling machine. 

 Some sort of contest, in which half a dozen makes of machines are likely to compete, 

 will probably be arranged for this harvest time. The most satisfactory machine yet 

 produced pulls and binds about 4 acres of flax a day, thus doing the work of a dozen 

 men. Other alternatives in times of labour shortage are the common mower and self- 

 binder. 



The Fibre of Seed Flax — To turn to account in the fibre market the vast quanti- 

 ties of seed flax straw produced in the Western provinces, the methods of cultivation 

 need to be changed. Heavier sowing than the customary half-bushel per acre would 

 improve the quality of the straw, and probably yield more seed as well. A sowing at 

 the rate of from 40 lbs. to 50 lbs. per acre, especially on new lands, is suggested if growers 

 aim to dispose of the fibre. Earlier harvesting, closer shoring, and more careful thresh- 

 ing of such flax would be required to make the fibre at all suitable for coarse yarns. 

 Elaborate attempts to use the ordinary straw for making satisfactory binder twine 

 have so far failed, in a commercial sense. The fault seems to have been in poor straw. 

 Linen rugs, however, are being successfully made from the better grades of flax straw 

 obtained from seed flax in the North-western States, and great quantities of such 

 straw go to tow mills and insulation-board factories in those States. 



The chief obstacle to using our Western flax straw in the present emergency lies in 

 its distance from available textile markets. Without radical departures in cultivation 

 and handling, cheaper transportation, and large plants for preparing the flax, it does 

 not seem feasible for us to place Western flax straw or its fibre on the European market. 



Over 30,000,000 bushels of flax seed are consumed in North American oil mills 

 annually in the manufacture of linseed oil, oil cake, etc. The demand is increasing. 

 During 1915, 13,000,000 bushels of seed were imported from Argentina, and the price 

 in Winnipeg went to two dollars a bushel. 



Statistics 



Fibre acreage in Ontario — 1913 — 2, 500 acres 



1914— 1,400 acres 



1915 — 4,000 acres 



1916— 5,500 acres (estimated) 

 Fibre production in Russia — 1913 — 600,000 tons 



1914—324,000 tons 



1915— 487,000 tons 



Average annual export of fibre from Russia (1911-1913)— 288,133 tons 

 Fibre available for export from Russia (1915) — 140,000 tons 



PRODUCTION OF FLAX IN ONTARIO 



According to information furnished by Mr. James A. McCracken, Secretary, 

 Canadian Flax Growers, the area under flax grown for fibre in southern Ontario 

 during 1915 was about 4,000 acres. From this area the production of flax fibre 

 was about 800 tons, which at the average price of approximately 20 cents per 

 lb., or $400 per ton, was of the total value of $320,000. In addition, 80 tons of tow at 

 $35 per ton realised $2,800. The same crop also produced seed at the average rate of 

 nearly 12 bushels per acre, or a total yield of 48,000 bushels, the value of which at the 



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