1863. 



THE ILLmOIS FAEMER. 



99 



tase, and if the land lias been kept 

 clean of weeds, no jjlowhig is needed 

 to prepare it Corn stubble is also val- 

 uabie. If the stalks have not been cut 

 in the Fall, thej must be broken down, 

 raked up and burned. The ground 

 plowed, but rather shallow than deep. 

 We would never recommend the plow- 

 ing of corn land in the autumn for any 

 purpoes, preferring to give the corn 

 roots time to rot ; and then in plowing 

 F.hallow in the Spring the stubs will not 

 he in the way of the after culture. Corn 

 stubble is generally friable to a great 

 depth and hence deep plowing is not so 

 essential, but we have another reason 

 for shallow plowing in this case, or rath- 

 er two of them. The most important 

 of these is found in the fact that deep 

 plowing in the Spring will bury the free 

 potash that the Winter frost and expo- 

 sure to the atmosphere has disinteg. at- 

 ed, which if buried beyond the reach 

 of the air again becomes fixed and 

 locked up from the growing crop. The 

 next season is the complete inversion 

 of the surface soil, so as to bury the 

 seeds ot weeds, as this cannot be so 

 well done with deep plowing. If we 

 wished to stir the soil deeper than four 

 or five inches, we would use a sub-soil 

 plow. "Wheat and oat stubble are next 

 in order and should be plowed about 

 six inches deep. Hungarian grass, 

 millet and buckwheat stubble are to be 

 avoided. After plowing, the ground 

 must be thoroughly harrowed and if 

 anyway cloddy must be rolled before 

 harrowing, to crush the lumps, for it 

 must be borne in mind that flax, above 

 all, needs a thoroughly comminuted 

 soil. After sowing nothing but the 

 roller should be allowed on it, this wiU 

 press the seed into the mellow soil, and 

 the yoimg plants will make an even 



stand. Sward land can be broken up 

 the latter part of May, after the grass 

 has made a good start, plow about four 

 or five inches deep, so as to give a firm 

 bed for the seed. The sward must be 

 thoroughly harrowed, sov/n and rolled 

 as for old land, but harrowing after 

 sowing is less objectionable, as it will 

 not be possible to covir too deep. 



AMOUNT OF SEED. 



YT'hcn the crop is cultivated for seed, 

 only half a bushel of seed is the usual 

 quantity, but as the crop will now be 

 cultivated for the lint also, a bushel or 

 even a bushel and a half will be requir- 

 ed. In consequence of sowing thin for 

 a number of veai'S our flax has become 

 more branching and stocky than is com- 

 patible with large profits for lint, and 

 it may be some years before this habit 

 will be overcome ; thick seeding and 

 rich soil are the onlv remedies. 



TIME OF SOWING, 



Flax can be sown at any time after 

 the land is in good plowing condition 

 in the Spring, and as late as the first of 

 June in the north part of the State, but 

 the late sowing wiU be best on sward 

 land and for seed only. When lint is 

 an object the crop should be sown be- 

 fore corn planting commences. 



HAKVESTING. 



^ ■*^^" seed it can be be cut with a 

 and hauled to the stack or 

 threshing floor from the gavels, but 

 when the crop is both for seed and lint 

 the cradle or sythe with a hoop on the 

 snath to prevent its falling over the 

 swath. In cutting with a sythe, the 

 mower goes round the standing crop in 

 the contrary direction to the usual way. 

 The cut flax is pressed up against the 

 standing crop in a diagonal position. 

 The swath is taken up after the mower; 

 by hand and bound. 



If lOr 

 reaper. 



i^A. 



