242 



FIELD CROPS 



ted States is Linum usitatissimum, though two other species 

 are occasionally cultivated in other parts of the world and a 

 number of species grow wild in America and elsewhere. 



Our common flax is an annual, with a single upright stem 

 and a long taproot with few small branches. The number 

 and length of the branches of the stem depend largely on the 

 thickness of seeding. Plants which have plenty of room to 

 develop will produce numerous branches, while those that 



Fig. 80. Field of flax in bloom. 



are crowded branch little or not at all, except for the branches 

 of the panicle. The flax plant grows from 12 to 20 inches 

 high, the length of straw depending on the variety, the soil, 

 and the season. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, from 

 Yz to 1J/2 inches long. The flowers are produced in a leafy 

 terminal panicle; the flower parts are in fives, the flowers 

 themselves being about ^ inch across and of a light blue 

 color. The rounded capsules contain eight or ten seeds, 



