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PROFITS ON THE CULTURE OF FLAX. 163 
reasonably expected by the grower of Flax, provided he attends 
properly to the business, and makes the most of the fibre and 
the seed.” 
Mr. Nichols, however, refers also to an account published 
by Mr. 8. Druce, of Ensham, near Oxford, who gives £8 as the 
rate of profit. But, as Mr. Nichols observes, he only obtained 
23 stone per acre; and his Flax was evidently of inferior 
guality, as it sold for only about 5s. per stone. 
According to some accounts, about 800 lb. per acre is some- 
times obtained in Great Britain. In the United States, 400 lb. 
of good clear Flax, and 8 or 10 bushels of seed, are considered 
a medium crop. 
Mr. M‘Adam has given two estimates: No. 1 being for an 
acre, sown thinly, with a view to having a large produce of 
seed, which necessitates a coarser description of fibre; and 
No. 2 being sown more thickly, producing less seed, but a finer 
fibre. The expenses of the culture and preparation of both are 
about £9. The first (No. 1) is expected to yield 38 stone of 
Flax (16 lb. each), at 6s. 6d.; 18 bushels of seed, at 6s. 6d.; 
and 50 bushels of husks, at 4d.; yielding a profit of £10. 
No. 2 is expected to yield 30 stone of Flax, at 9s. 6d.; 
10 bushels of seed, at 6s. 6d.; husks, 8s.; yielding a profit of 
£8 14s. 6d.: but the value of the Flax may reach as high as 
15s., or even 20s. Mr. M‘Adam observes that “the profits are 
usually pretty equal, whether the Flax be grown primarily for 
seed or for fibre; the greater produce in the first case of seed, 
and the higher value of the dressed Flax in the second, main- 
tain a just equilibrium.” 
REPORT ON THE CULTURE OF FLAX IN INDIA. 
“Tndia having, at least, for centuries grown the Flax plant, 
on aceount of the oil yielded by its seeds (Linseed), the 
country has very naturally been looked to as a source of Flax 
fibre ; the supply of which is so greatly diminished by the war 
with Russia! The Belfast Chamber observe, that “as India 
annually exports nearly 100,000 quarters of seed to Great 
Britain and Ireland, it has been calculated that the plants 
! The following formed the substance of a Report prepared by the Author, in 
August, 1854, and is printed nearly as it was written. 
