HARVESTING FLAX 247 



once or twice during the first hour after treating. The seed 

 may be sown with the grain drill after it has been treated. 



304. Sowing the Seed. The usual method of sowing 

 flax is with the grain drill, the type with press wheels being 

 rather better than any other, as it helps to supply the firm 

 seed bed so necessary for the best growth of this crop. The 

 usual depth of seeding is from J^ to 1 inch. In the United 

 States the common rate of seeding is from 2 to 3 pecks to the 

 acre. This seeding produces plants with numerous branches, 

 and encourages the production of large yields of seed. On 

 the other hand, thick seeding produces single stems, long 

 straight fiber, and comparatively few seeds. When flax is 

 grown for fiber, the rate of seeding should be greatly 

 increased. The quantity of seed sown for fiber production 

 in Europe is 2 bushels or more to the acre. The young plants 

 are quite easily injured by late spring frosts, hence seeding 

 should be delayed until danger from them is practically 

 past. On the other hand, seeding at the earliest safe date 

 is desirable in order to escape the early frosts in the fall. 

 Flax is usually sown in the latter half of May and harvested 

 early in September, the growing season of the crop being 

 from 90 to 100 days. 



305. Harvesting the Crop. The usual method of harvest- 

 ing seed flax is with the grain binder. The crop cures 

 readily in the shock and is not easily injured by the weather, 

 though excessive rains will reduce the value of the seed. 

 The seed is removed from the straw with the ordinary 

 thrashing machine. The harvesting of fiber flax is quite 

 another matter, as practically all the work must be done by 

 hand to insure fiber of the best quality. Various machines 

 have been devised for the harvesting and later handling of 

 fiber flax, but they have not been entirely satisfactory. The 

 large amount of hand labor required in the production of this 



