FLAX 



FLAX 



297 



pecks per acre, six pecks being generally considered 

 best. 



If the flax is grown for seed, it is at the ex- 

 pense of the quantity and quality of fiber, and 

 conversely. The difference is occasioned by the 

 thickness of the seeding. The quantity of seed pro- 

 duced depends on the number of branches that bear 

 the seed-bolls. By sowing two to three pecks per 

 acre, the plants are sufficiently far apart to permit 

 of reasonable branching. Under such conditions, 

 the straw grows about thirty inches long. When 

 six pecks per acre are seeded, the plants are very 

 close together, thus preventing the branching habit 



and forcing a 

 taller and finer 

 growth. 



At present, 

 there are but two 

 general methods 

 of sowing, viz., 

 with the so-called 

 grain drill and 

 with the ordinary 

 broadcast seeder. 

 With the former, 

 the seeds are 

 planted in parallel 

 rows six to eight 

 inches apart. All 

 seeds are placed 

 at an even depth 

 and in a compact 

 seed - bed. This 

 method is pre- 

 ferred for seed 

 production, as the 

 plants have a 

 better chance to 

 branch and to 

 form seed -bolls. 

 In broadcasting, 

 the seeds are scat- 

 tered promiscu- 

 ously over the 

 ground and cov- 

 ered by the gangs 

 of cultivating teeth following the seed spouts. By 

 this method, a trifle more seed is needed per acre. 

 For fiber purposes, the broadcast method is said 

 to produce a better and more even quality. Any 

 conditions which stimulate branching or coarseness 

 are adverse to the making of a long, fine fiber. 

 The drill rows permit of an uneven crowding which 

 brings about an uneven growth of the plants (Fig. 

 407). 



Place in rotation. — Although flax is not a gross 

 feeder and does not yield profitable returns if 

 planted on the same land year after year, it is not 

 exceptionally "hard" on the soil. It requires an 

 abundance of organic matter in the soil, and for 

 this reason follows corn (for which barnyard ma- 

 nure has been applied), a clover sod, or a grass- 

 ley to good advantage. Since fiax does not do well 

 on any one field oftener than once in six or seven 

 years, it works best into long-course rotations. A 



Fig. 407. Flax. At A is shown a plant 

 grown for seed; at B, for fiber. 

 The ditfeienee between open and 

 close planting is evident. 



suggested rotation of this kind is as follows : First 

 year, corn ; second year, oats or barley, or both ; 

 third year, wheat (seeded to grass or clover) ; 

 fourth year, meadow ; fifth and sixth years, pas- 

 ture or meadow as desired ; sixth or seventh year 

 (as the case may be), flax is planted. It is often 

 suggested to plant flax once in two cycles of 

 a short-course rotation. In such a case it would 

 come every other year, or three or four years in 

 succession in every alternate cycle of the rota- 

 tion ; thus, in a four-year rotation, flax would 

 appear on the same field once in eight years : 



Pouk-Ybar Rotation with Flax. 



*No flax during this cycle of the rotation. 



-The average American farmer recog- 

 nizes but two general varieties of flax, — the White 

 Blossom Dutch and the Russian Eiga. The latter is 

 generally used and is considered best. The former 

 has been tested repeatedly at the Minnesota and 

 North Dakota Experiment Stations, but no stock 

 has yet been found to surpass the Riga in seed pro- 

 duction. At Yale, Michigan, and at Corvallis, Ore- 

 gon, the growers for the most part have followed 

 the example of the farmers of 'Great Britain, Hol- 

 land and Belgium, and imported new seed from 

 Russia (and some from Holland) every two or three 

 years. It is reported that the home-grown seed 

 does not produce so fine a grade of fiber as the 

 imported seed. It is also said that the White Blos- 

 som Dutch variety loses its white blossom char- 

 acter in a few years after importation. In this 

 connection, it is worthy of note that the new flax 

 (Minn. No. 25), introduced in 1905 by the Minne- 

 sota Experiment Station to the farmers of Minne- 

 sota, came to the Station in 1891 as a white blos- 

 som variety. It now has a blue blossom. If such 

 changes take place in color characters, it is not 

 unreasonable to suppose that the character of the 

 flber may also be affected by the change. How- 

 ever, the quality of the flber of home-grown flax 

 is being improved by breeding. Experts state that 

 the low grade of fiber of American flax is due to 

 the method of sowing toore than to the seed. 



The high-priced labor of this country is nearly 

 a complete barrier to the production of flax for 

 flber chiefly. For this reason it is imperative, in the 

 Middle Northwest at least, that a fair crop of both 

 seed and fiber be produced. Varieties of superior 



