2 BULLETIN 322, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Among other reasons why flax straw should be investigated as to 

 its paper value there should be cited the present condition and tend- 

 ency of our rag paper-stock supply, which would welcome new 

 sources of material at this time. About TO per cent of the rags 

 used in paper manufacture in the United States are imported from 

 European countries. It is well known that very good writing papers 

 have been produced from flax straw, but the cost of the processes em- 

 ployed up to the present time has not been justified by the quality 

 and value of the product. 



The rope-paper and high-grade sack-paper manufacturers also 

 have been consuming an immense quantity of foreign raw material, in 

 spite of the fact that it is known that American flax straw is capable 

 of being used for some of these purposes. But here again the product 

 has not justified the cost of the process. Manufacturers of cartridge 

 or shot shell papers annually import approximately 2,000 tons of 

 flax waste for the production of their paper, and the question of a 

 satisfactory substitute is engaging their attention. From the paper 

 maker's point of view, therefore, the flax crop represents a raw 

 material of immense latent value, and, as will be shown, it is likewise 

 a source of great latent value to the flax farmer. 



Certain promoters have made attempts to exploit this material, 

 but their efforts often have been based upon insufficient evidence and 

 data. It is the object of this paper to show to what extent flax straw 

 may be utilized in the paper-making and fiber-board industries and 

 to suggest further possibilities. 



One of our most highly prized and valued oils and one for which 

 no satisfactory substitute has been found is linseed oil, which is 

 manufactured solely from the seed of the common flax plant (Linum 

 usitatissimum) . The raising of flax is an industry of great im- 

 portance, as is shown by the fact that the United States normally 1 

 has about 2,200,000 acres devoted to its culture, which produce 

 about 20,000,000 bushels of seed, valued at approximately $33,000,- 

 000. This seed flax of the Northwest is different in type from that 

 cultivated primarily for fiber production, and because of this dif- 

 ference and the methods of cultivating and handling the crop the 

 straw can not be made to produce a good spinning fiber. 



The straw resulting from the harvesting and thrashing of this 

 crop usually is burned, not because it has no intrinsic value, but 

 because no adequate industrial use has been established to absorb it. 

 With a production of three-fourths of a ton of straw per acre, the 

 total annual tonnage of straw amounts to approximately 1,600,000 

 tons, of which not more than 200,000 tons are at present put to any 

 profitable use. 



1 Five-year average, 1909 to 1913. 



