CULTIVATION OF FLAX. 



[1852. 



led to iuquiries among the uniuitiateJ curious as to their object 

 and use. 



At the commencement of -winter, we constantly heai- the 

 question asked, whether we shall have much sleighing during the 

 approaching season. This is indeed a momentous question to 

 farmere and country storekeepere. No inconsiderable portion of 

 the rewai'd of almost a yeai''s industry, is dependant upon good 



sleighing ! Winter is the season when the farmere of the back 

 townships bring their produce to market, and in the absence of 

 sleighing, all the terrible evils of bad roads ai'e felt in the extreme. 

 It were vain to attempt to satisfy ouKelves respecting the pro- 

 bability of the continuance of good sleighing weather during the 

 coming winter. The completion of our magnificent system of 

 Railways will render this question less important thaa it now is. 



Single Sleigh, manufactured by Messrs. 

 Few people have an idea of the number of days on which rain 

 and snow falls in the vicinity of Lake Ontario during the winter 

 months, although that number is accurately known for Toronto 

 during a period of eleven yeai's, yet, fi'om such data we can 

 scarcely form a coiTect idea of the duration of snow upon the 

 Rain. 



McLEAN & WRIGHT, of Montreal. 



ground, which determines the amount of benefit we are to derive 

 from it as an admirable means of traffic. We give below the 

 number of rainy and snowy days which have occurred at Toronto 

 during the months of December, January, February and March, 

 for the last eleven yeai's. — (See Toronto Meteorological Eepoi'ts.) 

 Snow. 



Cultivation or Flax. 



( Extracts from a paper read at the Royal Cortucall Polytechnic Society.) 

 Mr. Charles Fox, exhibited a specimen of flax prepared on 

 his faiTQ, it being merely biniised, and the manager of M. 

 Claussen's works in London had told him, that though not 

 equal to their best samples, it was fit for their purpose. The 

 manufacturei-s in Ireland, did not think Claussen's process 

 woidd be very applicable to their purpose; they also think 

 lightly of Schenk's process; for what reason, he (Mr. Fox) 

 was not aware. But he was glad to find that the Irish 

 manufacturei's are extremely sanguine of the success of Watt's 

 process. The great advantage of Watts' over Schenk's proce-ss 

 wa.«, that Watt's tjikes the straw when only deprived of the seeds 

 by a machine costing about £10, whereiis Schenk's, lie appre- 

 hended, must have the straw further prepared in some waj', 



though not retted. By Watts's process the straw is put in hot 

 water in a close vessel, and afterwards bruised in a machine which 

 presses out the moistm'e, whilst it breaks the ligneous fibre ; it is 

 then dried by hot air. Cattle are found eagerly to drink the flax 

 soup made by this process. It is evident from paintings on the 

 walls of some of the Eg\-]3tian tombs, that thej' steeped theu' flax 

 in hot water even befoi'e the Exodus, and Professor Robinson has 

 found that the fibre of some of the linen of their mummies, is 

 finer even than that of the Dccca Muslin. Mr. Fox further said 

 the gentlemen of Belfast conceive that Watts is in eaniest, for he 

 has a thousand tons of straw on his premises to undei^o the pro- 

 cess, and has laid out £1500 in vats and other necessaiy things. 

 The produce on Mr. Fox's farm had been two quartere of Unseed 

 and 2,800 lbs. of straw to a statute acre, which straw ex-posed to 

 bruising machinery would give about ll-28th8 of the broken 



