

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 655 



S" IS 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER April 20, 1918 



INFLUENCE ON LINSEED OIL OF THE GEOGRAPH- 

 ICAL SOURCE AND VARIETY OF FLAX. 1 



By Frank Rabak, Chemical Biologist, 

 Office of Drug- Plant and Poisonous-Plant Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



Varieties of flax. .. 2 



Factors which influence the composition o.' 

 the oil I 



Plan of comparison of the oils f 



Yield and physical properties of the oils 5 



Relation of the oils to the source o. seed H 



Conclusions 15- 



INTRODUCTION. 



The cultivation of flax for the production of flaxseed and for lin- 

 seed oil is at present receiving the most careful attention of agricul- 

 turists as well as manufacturers. The interest in this important 

 problem is twofold. The matter resolves itself into a problem of 

 rehabilitation of the crop on the one hand, due to a diminishing 

 acreage and yield of seed, while on the other hand interest is stimu- 

 lated by the constantly increasing demand for the manufactured 

 products with the growing scarcity of the linseed oil used in their 

 manufacture. Practically the whole output of Linseed oil is consumed 

 in the manufacture of paints and varnishes and other allied materials 

 where protective coatings are desired. 



In view of these conditions, it is important that attention be di- 

 rected at the present time to the improvement of the crop and the 

 oil. The desired results can best be accomplished by a combined 

 agronomic and chemica, investigation of the subject. The investiga- 

 tion should embody a study of the culture of the plant for the pro- 

 duction of seed, supplemented by a thorough study of the oil from 

 the standpoint of yield and quality. 



1 The work discussed in this paper was carriei out in cooperation with the Office of Cereal Investiga- 

 tions of the Bureau of Plant Industry. The writer wishes to express his thanks to Mr. C. H. Clark, assist- 

 ant agronomist, in charge of flax investigations in that office, who supplied the samples, and to Mr. J. D. 

 Mclntyre, of the Office of Drug-Plant and Poisonous-Plant Investigations, who rendered assistance in the 

 extraction of the oils. 



39090°— 18— Bull. 655 



