FOR THE CULTURE OF FLAX. 157 
inferior quality of fibre. The ground being pulverized and well cleaned, 
roll and sow. If it has been laid off without ridges, it should be marked off 
in divisions, eight to ten feet broad, in order to give an equable supply 
of seed, After sowing, cover it with a seed harrow, going twice over it— 
once up and down, and once across or anglewise—as this makes it more 
equally spread, and avoids the small drills made by the teeth of the harrow. 
Finish with the roller, which will leave the seed covered about an inch—the 
proper depth. The ridges should be very little raised in the centre, when 
the ground is ready for the seed, otherwise the crop will not ripen evenly ; 
and, when land is properly drained, there should be no ridges. The sowing 
of clover and grass seeds along with the Flax is not advised, when it can 
be conveniently avoided, as these plants always injure the root ends of the 
Flax. But carrots may be sown, in suitable soils, in drills, so that the per- 
son pulling the Flax may step over the rows, which may be afterwards hoed 
and cleaned, and should have some liquid manure. A stolen crop of rape 
or winter vetches, or of turnips of the stone or Norfolk globe varieties, may 
be taken, after the Flax is pulled. Rolling the ground after sowing is very 
advisable, care being taken not to roll when the ground is so wet that the 
earth adheres to the roller. 
Manure for the Flax Crop.—Recent chemical investigations have shown 
that the fibre of Flax does abstract from the soil certain matters, although 
not in so large a proportion as several other commonly cultivated crops. 
To supply to the soil all the matters which the entire plant requires, so as 
to leave the land in the same state of fertility as before, the following com- 
pound has been proposed as a manure, which may be sown broadcast on the 
land, prior to the last harrowing before sowing the Flax seed : 
FOR A STATUTE ACRE OF LAND. s. d. 
Muriate of Potash, 30 lb., ‘ ; . cost about 2 6 
Chloride of Sodium (common salt), 28 lb., . a 0 3 
Burned Gypsum, powdered, 34 lb., é we ¢ 06 
Bone Dust, 54 1b., é 4 P ¥s 3 3 
Sulphate of Magnesia (Epsom salts), 561b., . * 4 0 
10 6 
[Oil-cake of rape, cameline, and colza, applied either dry or with urine, are 
also recommended as manures. | 
Weeding.—If care has been paid to cleaning the seed and the soil, few 
weeds will appear; but if there be any, they must be carefully pulled. It is 
done in Belgium by women and children, who, with coarse cloths round their 
knees, creep along on all-fours. This injures the young plant less than 
walking over it (which, if done, should be by persons whose shoes are not 
filled with nails). They should work, also, facing the wind, so that the 
plants laid flat by the pressure may be blown up again, or thus be assisted 
to regain their upright position. The tender plant, pressed one way, soon re- 
covers; but if twisted or flattened by careless weeders, it seldom rises again. 
Pulling. —The time when Flax should be pulled is a point of much nicety 
to determine. The fibre is in the best state before the seed is quite ripe. 
If pulled too soon, although the fibre is fine, the great waste in scutching 
and hackling renders it unprofitable; and, if pulled too late, the additional 
weight does not compensate for the coarseness of the fibre. It may be 
stated, that the best time for pulling is, when the seeds are beginning to 
change from a green to a pale brown colour, and the stalk to become yellow 
for about two thirds of its height from the ground. When any of the crop 
is lying, and suffering from wet, it should be pulled as soon as possible, and 
kept by itself. So long as the ground is undrained, and imperfectly levelled 
