THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



379 



diseases, are relieved by the same mode 



B * ny °l Tn^'are acted on in a similar way by mineral 

 of treatment are nourishmen t from food similarly 



poisons, • nd # ae ". _ hich a i so nourishes man, is it not 



^^^baWe tT at he same canses will produce the 

 *ore than V^em ^ ^ are 



iaBerf f/io i »a«e organic laws? Such being 



b0tl \ ?(and I bel ie no physfologist doubts the act) it 

 granted (and o r ^ ^ amount f d 



WIU D ° antma I and vegetable matter, besides salts of am- 

 p08lDg no h and soda, which are held in solution » the 

 m TTblak horseponds, and which is the cause of 

 water of bU.k . * l injurious tendency when 



^^ C e tint'o"h constitution of the animal drinking of 



"Titer not that there is sufficient to produce dia- 



,UC «7deith by once or twice drinking of it ; but, when 



fwnn small quantities, and repeated often, it tends as 



^M o engender disease, of a more or less formid- 



^ ?/racter as if it had been taken in a large quantity 



able cbara fl C ; e /'[ t S h0 £ UKU th e effects are not in every case 



S Z IrouShe death of the animal and thereby 



ESS! call the attention of the farmer to the cause, 



^rrheless by impairing the functions of nearly all the 



^ToT&^thelrn, injurious effects are pro- 



Sufed The stomach is unable to secrete a healthy gastric 



fuice, hence digestion is imperfect. The secretion of the 



liver is of an unhealthy character, and this when mixed 



with the half-digested food, irritates and inflames the 



Mucous membrane of the intestines, producing a chronic 



disease of a formidable character-a disease which prevents 



the systern from being supplied with that amount of 



healthv blood-forming principle, which a one will enable 



it to perform the various offices required of it.— Alfred 



Gyde> Painswick* 



-No. VIII. 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLAX. 



{Concluded from page 343.) 



The importance of saving the seed of the Flax-crop 



has been incidentally mentioned in the course of these 



papers on its cultivation. The value of the seed must 



be apparent, when it is considered what large sums are 



annually paid to the Dutch, Russian, and American 



Flax-growers for this article alone, the greater part of 



which might undoubtedly be produced at home ; but 



this item of the produce of the crop has hitherto been 



almost entirely neglected by the British and Irish 



farmers, from an erroneous impression that the saving of 



the seed is injurious to the quality of the fibre, — what 



would be gained on the one hand, being thus supposed 



to be lost on the other. That the saving of the seed is, 



however, compatible with the production of the finest 



quality of fibre, is abundantly proved by the Dutch and 



Belgian Fiax-growers. It is from these countries that 



Flax-seed of the best quality is obtained, and it is well 



known that it is also from them that our manufacturers 



have procured the finest fibre for spinning. 



The quality of the seed will depend on the manage- 

 ment previously adopted in the treatment of the crop — 

 whether it had been thinly or thickly sown, and also 

 whether it had attained a considerable degree of ripeness 

 before pulling. When properly saved it may with pro- 

 priety be used for sowing, and will not be inferior, for 

 this purpose, to any imported seed. The propriety of 

 sowing seed saved at home, even in preference to that 

 imported, would appear from the practice of the Dutch, 

 whose management in every department of the culture of 

 this crop is so well worthy of imitation. Change of seed 

 would, to a certain extent, still be necessary to prevent 

 deterioration, as in the case of any of our other cultivated 

 crops, but then a change is not required every year. To 



mical management, the cultivation of this crop, from the 

 increased attention now devoted to the subjtct, is likely 

 to be much more remunerating than it has hitherto been. 

 The seed, after being taken off the Flax in the manner 

 described, is carried to the farm-yard, and thinly spread 

 over the floor of the barn or granary, or in open sheds 

 when the floors are not damp. The capsules must not 

 be allowed to remain any length of time in the heaps in 

 the field where the rippling is going on, to guard against 

 heating and fermentation setting actively in, which at this 

 stage proceeds with great rapidity. They must not be 

 spread more than 3 or 4 inches deep on the floors ; 

 indeed, wherever space can be provided, the more thinly 

 they are distributed over the floors the better, as this not 

 only secures the seed being saved in a much shorter 

 time, but also saves an immensity of labour in turning it. 

 The intervals of time between the several turnings are 

 regulated by the state of the capsules, and the manner 

 in which they are distributed over the floor; but at first 

 the whole must be turned over at least two or three times 

 a day. Where the quantity of seed to be saved is large, 

 it may probably be necessary to give the whole a slight 

 kiln-drying, which, as already mentioned in a previous 

 article, will not injure the seed either as food for the 

 domestic animals or for the oil-manufacturer ; bat no 

 artificial heat must be used to dry the seed intended for 



sowing. 



After being thoroughly dried, it will be necessary to 

 pass the capsules through a winnowing machine, to sepa- 

 rate the sand, dust, and other matters from them which 

 become mingled with them in the rippling process, and 

 afterwards when spread out on the floors to dry. This 

 refuse would otherwise be incorporated with the chafi 

 after the separation of the seed, and render it worthless 

 as an article of food. A case of the injurious effects 

 resulting from the neglect of this process, and giving 

 the refuse to horses and cattle without winnowing pre- 

 vious to bruising, came under my own observation, in 

 which it proved fatal to the animals simply from its con- 

 taining a quantity of sand and other matters, which were 

 found in quantities in their stomachs and bowels after 



death. 



The course of management here described is only 

 necessary with Flax treated in the autumn. When the 

 Courtrai system is practised, the seed is of course effec- 

 tually dried on the stem before the crop is stored up ; 

 and, on its being thrashed off during the winter, it may 

 be stored in any quantity without any danger of fer- 

 mentation setting in. To secure seed of the finest quality 

 this is obviously the most eligible mode of proceeding 

 which can be adopted, and the experience of the Conti- 

 nental growers has also proved it to be that best calcu- 

 lated to insure fibre of the best description. 



growth, other farinaceous matters may be added to th 

 jelly, and the milk still further economised. 



These, then, are the principal details connected with 

 the culture and management of Flax, of which it is con- 

 sidered necessary that the intending cultivator should be 

 in possession. They have been given with great minute- 

 ness of detail, but it is conceived that without this, prac- 

 tical instructions are of comparatively little value. They 

 have not been intended to raise any false expectations as 

 to the returns which are likely to be obtained, unless 

 under the most skilful treatment; and as, however 

 valuable written instructions may be for the guidance of 

 the farmer, they are not of themselves sufficient, without 

 some degree of practical knowledge being previously 

 acquired, it will be well that those attempting the cul- 

 tivation of this crop for the first time, should do so on a 

 small scale, and the errors of which they may be guilty 

 in this course of management, while they will not be 

 productive of much loss, will afford more valuable in- 

 formation for the regulation of their future proceedings 

 than any instructions, however accurate or minutely de- 

 tailed. — J. Sjn'oule* 



Kome Correspondence. 



Top- Dreeing for Wheat, liarhy, and Is.— Tor 

 April, May, and beginning of June, for all soils deficient 

 in plant, or in a weakly state, the following application will 

 prevent the wire-worm destroying the roots (as all insects, 

 rats and mice also, will not stay where genuine guano is 

 near), and, in a great many instances, it has destroyed the 

 wire-worm altogether, and prevented mildew. On 

 gravel, sand, and light soils :— 2 cwt. of guano, and 2 

 cwt. of gypsum, or 2 cwt. of guano, with three times the 

 bulk of marl or strong clay. For clay and strong land : 

 — 2 cwt. of guano, with three times the bulk of charcoal, 

 coal, turf, sod, or peat ashes. The above, if applied to 

 crops of Corn, in a healthy state, will give additional 

 increase to the same generally, quality finer, bulk of 

 straw greater, and earlier at maturity, than farm-yard 

 manure, or bones, with less labour, and half the expense. 

 For Potatoes on ordinary soils :— 3 cwt. of guano, with 

 three times its bulk in ashes or earth, with 10 tons, or 

 half the usual quantity of farm-yard manure, to bestrewed 

 at the bottom of the furrows, by hand, before the seta 

 are planted ; and the same will not only increase the 

 crop one-third in quantity, but it will be earlier, quality 

 superior, and the disease, so prevalent a few years back, 

 will not return. It must be particularly observed, in 

 drilling guano, or ploughing it in, after being sown broad- 

 cast, previous to having it turned over, the depth of the 

 furrow should be calculated, according to the nature of 

 the soil. If cold, nearer the surface than gravel, or light 



The separate of the seed *£%»*& Xt S ^SS^S^SS 

 capsules have been ftoroaghl,^, » eu»lj eff.ctad. Ue ^ncre we, ^ 8^ te f „ 



nups, out men a cnan^e is not required every yeur. j-u lugcuui ""V. ■ .' • u: ti„ e-olUhpH hv horses, 

 guard against deterioration, the Dutch Flowers occa- matters. ». nature - h.ghly.^hed^ W hordes, 



sionallyimpotta part of their supply from Riga, the produce 

 of which, when sown in Holland, is found to grow coarse, 

 and yield a bulky crop the first year, which is generally 

 hut little prized. The seed produced from this is always 

 sown a second year, and the seed it then yields is that 

 most prized for sowing again, as producing the best and 

 finest Flax. The seed of the third crop, which is con- 

 sidered unfit for use, is exported, and this is what is so 

 much prized by us. In order to have always ready for 

 use seed of the best quality, many of the Dutch and 

 ■Belgian Flax-growers sow a small quantity of Riga seed 

 every year, to secure seed of the second year's growth 

 for their general crop. It would, therefore, appear that 

 our farmers might raise at home a considerable portion 

 Of the seed required for sowing, and that perhaps of 

 superior quality, instead of using so much from foreign 

 countries, some of which is the refuse of their markets. 

 Jiven in Ireland some cases have occurred in which the 

 finest samples of Flax brought to market were produced 

 trom home-saved seed ; and for the first year at least, it 

 Mj extremely probable that seed of home growth, itself 

 the produce of imported seed, would be the most 

 valuable which the farmer could employ. 



-»ut under the best course of management which can 

 pe devised, much of the seed saved will be unfit for sow- 

 ing; nor is it necessary that it should be so, as the 

 emand for this purpose is small when compared with 

 im 8U f P , ^ Lar 8 e quantities of foreign seed are annually 

 mported for crushing, which could advantageously be pro- 

 of f^fr Fla *-seed is also much prized as an article 

 iood for the domestic animals of the farm, - — «~— 

 10 Which it 



to show the marked alteration, to leave a quarter 

 acre of each in its original state, and to notice the differ- 

 ence in produce and quality, also of that on farm-yard 

 manure, and bones, if used in the same field, as an eipe- 

 liment. It is also evident, from the trials I have wit- 

 nesssed, as well as from many others, the results of 

 which have been published, that it should not be applied 

 in immediate contact with the seed. U f therefore, it m 

 applied by the drill, which I believe to be the best mode, 

 it should be applied by a separate coulter, and by the 

 mode adopted in the improved Suffolk drills, by which 

 the manure is deposited in the soil so much deeper, and 

 so much in advance of the seed, as to allow a portion of 

 the soil to be interposed between the seed and the ma- 

 nure beneath it. Like all other concentrated fertilisers, 

 it is decidedly certain that, for the most successful deve- 

 lopment of its powers, it requires a considerable supply 

 of moisture, and will therefore produce the best results 

 during wet seasons. It is used, it seems, in many situa- 

 tions^ Peru, which are immediately afterwards irri- 

 gated. In case of crops to be produced from seed, great 

 precaution should be observed that it does not come in 

 direct contact with the guano, as few drop-drills are cal- 

 culated for the purpose.-//. A. Ilarwood, j""?**. 

 [With regard to what is said about guano destroy^ 

 wire-worm, it is certainly possible that such an effect 

 miPht follow the application ; but we should great y have 

 m'ete red a specific account of one instance in which it 



had been thus successful, to so general a statement as our 

 nan oeen ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ many instanceS) 



wire-worm altogether, and prevented 

 opinion is, that it will not have this 



eff po/l^.-Might you not exhort the Agricultural 

 Societv, or some other body, to undertake some sys- 

 tematic experiment respecting the culture of Potatoes! 

 There is theereatestconfus»ion on the subject, and the most 

 contradictor? advice. Nothing but large and careful ex- 

 ' periment will settle the many questions on this subject. 

 I should be much inclined to test your friend "J. Mcl.'a 



ting in autumn ; but dare I trust a midland 

 er-frost ? He writes from Ireland ; and here 

 metimes penetrate nearly a foot deep.— -P- 

 them. It is almost superfluous to remaru, in«u. -»j - - . g certa .; muck tQ be wished tQat Societies or indi- 

 excess of this or any other substitute for miU, , is deno L ^^ tcmaticall uirect their attention to 



by its action on the bowels of the amma 1. , and ■ ^ ^ ^ and * inquire by eiperime nt into the truth of 



any degree of Paging is produced the qu in the maUer>] 



substitutes should be diminished, and the propu 



Where the Courtrai system of management has been 

 adopted, this separation will partially take place in tak- 

 ing the capsules off the flax, which has been already de- 

 scribed : the most valuable portion of the seed will at all 

 events be thus disengaged, and when intended for sowing, 

 the seed thus separated should be kept apart from the 

 remainder, which will be of inferior quality. In other 

 cases the work will be performed with facility by passing 

 the capsules through a Corn-mill, the stones being placed 

 as for shelling Oats, after which the separation is com. 

 pleted by the winnowing machine. V» hen the seed, as 

 well as the refuse, is intended for feeding, it will be un- 

 important whether they be separated by winnowing or 

 not, as the whole may, with propriety, be boiled up 

 together with Turnips, cut Hay and Straw, and other 

 matters. This mixture is highly relisned by horses, 

 cattle, and swine, and is not inferior to any other food 

 which can be given to them for bringing them into con- 

 dition. Experience will soon enable the farmer to 

 determine the quantity which should be given ; but it 

 may be here observed that, in the case of no part of the 

 seed being separated from the chaff, the allowance even 

 for the largest-sized animals should be very small— per- 

 haps not more than from two to three quarts for each 

 feed. In the measures for the extension of Flax cultiva- 

 tion at present in progress in this country, this depart- 

 ment of the produce seems to be attracting much atten- 

 tion though hitherto almost entirely neglected in Ireland, 

 where its cultivation has been so long carried on. 



for calves, the jelly formed ot it oemg, to a c«t« « 

 extent, one of the best substitutes for milk hitherto 

 discovered. The pure seed only is employed in this 

 case, which is boiled for several hours over a slow fire, 

 the quantity of water to be added being such as win 

 make the jelly of the consistence at which it can be taken 

 bv the young animals in combination with their mil*. 

 Sudden changes of food are well known to be extreme y 

 . ,. • , , i ~~a ;„ „c;nrr PlHT.aeed icily 





milk increased. It Would, of course, he an exaggera t,on 

 to contend for the superiority of jelly •«' "^ ', b "* f 

 when it is found necessary to economy the su ply o 

 milk, especially in the vicinity of large own , where « 

 commands a high price, it may be •"*>*•*» } £ J£ 

 better substitute than Flax-seed jelly has b«« h >' h «'° 



a purpose 



va.hT mC r h ■! ma y alwavs be profitably devoted. The 

 ranw 0llcake » which is the portion of the Flax-seed 

 for iiT 5 af - er the oil hasbeen expressed, is well known 

 this ref nin S properties ; from which the value of even 

 chaff u$esee d, before expression, may be inferred. The 

 ereconT hus 1 k '. f ^ming the capsule in which the seeds better substitute than Flax-se ed J*«y^» i^^putiii diate neighbourhood, and in no ca» 



of fooS t ned ' \ S ° f itSelf found t0 be a nutritUe artide i em P l ?y ed « whether a A S re ? h a : d tounz animal advance in , protect the young Turnip from the fly. 

 w t00d f °r cattle or swine ; so that, in fact, under econo- j for the purpose. As the young animui 



Turnip- Fly.— I have found that half an ounce of a^ 

 phur mixed with a pound of Turnip;seed, preve.^ ^ 



vages of the fly. The experiment is easy^a ^ ^ 

 been known in any case to fail. 1 n» ]ost a 9ing i e 



with success for several years, and ->«*; imme . 



Turnip. It hasbeen triad on \***;]£ C \ M it failed to 



-jr. Dritfi'ld. 



