OF FLAX IN INDIA, 167 
never to have been claimed, and there are no appearances of 
the culture of Flax on account of its fibre in any of the places 
where the experiments were made. It is probable, therefore, 
that the success which appeared sufficient when the experiment 
was of the nature of garden culture, was not realised when on 
a greater scale. 
M. de Verinne, indeed, states that the experiment in the 
season of 1840-41 was a complete failure at Bullea, owing to 
too little seed having been sown, to the unusually dry weather 
at the late sowings, and to the improper time (the hot winds) 
in which the Flax was cleaned. 
Mr. Wallace, who had carried on the cultivation for three or 
four years at Monghyr, writes on the 8th July, 1841: “The 
crop has been in a great measure a failure this year. About 
one eighth the produce that a favorable season would yield.” 
But in the year 1844, he again forwarded samples to the Agri- 
cultural Society, which were improved in cleanness and were 
also softer than the produce of former years, from the same 
cultivation. These were portions of several tons that had been 
grown at Monghyr, and which he intended shipping to 
Dundee, the port to which his last batch was sent. But Mr. 
Wallace added, with regret, that after several years’ labour, with 
a view to establish Flax cultivation at Monghyyr, and after having 
taught the art of dressing the article to many parties, the 
speculation must be abandoned unless the Government gave 
some encouragement. He therefore requested the assistance 
of the Society in bringing the subject to the notice of the 
authorities. It is stated at a subsequent meeting, that the 
Committee of the Society, after being furnished with further 
details respecting the cultivation, did not feel inclined to refer 
the subject to the Government. But neither the details referred 
to, nor the reasons of the Committee for their decision are given, 
and, therefore, we are unable to ascertain the real causes of 
failure after several years’ trial. 
Mr. Henley, an intelligent merchant from Calcutta, to 
whose observations I have already referred at p. 36, having 
made some careful experiments on the culture of Flax, has 
favoured me with the following account : 
