300 



FLAX 



FLAX 



They also interfere with the scutching. Any weed- 

 fibers that get into the skein are a detriment to 

 the cloth or cord manufactured. 



Disease. — One of the most dreaded of all diseases 

 of field crops is the flax-wilt (Fusarium lini, Bolley). 

 So prevalent is the disease that no flax -bearing 

 country is free from it. Bolley says, " The plants 

 are attacked at all ages and die early or late in the 

 stage of growth, according to the time and inten- 

 sity of the attack. If the soil is much aifected, 

 that is to say, ' flax-sick,' most of the plants are 

 killed before they get through the surface of the 

 ground." Young plants, two to five inches high, 

 wilt suddenly, dry up, and soon decay if the 

 weather becomes moist. Older plants take on a 

 sickly, weak, yellowish appearance, wilt at the top, 

 slowly die, turn brown and dry up. Nearly mature 

 plants when attacked, but not dead, are easily 

 pulled, the roots breaking off at about the level of 

 the furrow slice. The diseased roots have a very 

 characteristic ashy appearance. 



Flax-wilt is different from many fungous dis- 

 eases, in that it lives a long time in the soil and 

 that it is carried with the seed. Thus, a wilt-free 

 soil may produce a flax-wilt crop if the seed-flax 

 was grown on flax-wilt ground ; or a flax-wilt soil 

 will produce a flax-wilt crop even though the seed 

 had no flax-wilt to carry with it. In either case, 

 however, the first crop under these conditions may 

 not give much evidence of the disease. Succeeding 

 crops would be badly infested. 



A careful and exact study of the life-history of 

 the cause of flax-wilt has made it possible suc- 

 cessfully to combat it. The fungus is an imper- 

 fect one and lives normally as a saprophyte, but 

 occasionally becomes a parasite. Its chief means 

 of distribution is by the spores which are carried 

 on the seed of the flax. Obviously, then, by treat- 

 ing the seed, the disease can be very largely 

 obviated. 



Until recently, no treatment for the dreaded flax- 

 wilt disease had been discovered, but the working 

 out of the life-history of the fungus by Bolley, 

 brought out the fact that treatment of the seed 

 with certain fungicides will eliminate the disease 

 from seeds known to be from an infected crop. A 

 farmer with soil free from flax-wilt germs can 

 safely sow seed from a flax-wilt crop if the seed has 

 been thoroughly treated. At the North Dakota 

 Experiment Station, a series of tests were made to 

 prove the value of seed treatment for flax-wilt, 

 and in every instance when the seed was treated 

 and sown on soil free from wilt, there were no 

 signs of the disease. But the same lot, untreated, 

 sown on wilt-free soil, showed the presence of the 

 disease. 



There were several fungicides which might be 

 used, but it was necessary to find one that was 

 strong enough 'to kill the spores of the wilt and 

 yet not injure the vitality of the seed. Formalin is 

 recommended as the cheapest and quickest effectual 

 solution. The treatment as recommended by Bolley 

 is as follows : Mix thoroughly one pint or one pound 

 of the formalin with forty gallons of water. This 

 quantity of solution is sufficient to treat about one 



hundred bushels of seed. Before applying the solu- 

 tion, the seed must be carefully cleaned and graded 

 with a fanning-mill. If this is not done, pieces of 

 broken stems and shriveled seeds carrying the 

 disease will not be completely disinfected. Thus 

 the wilt will be carried to the soil. 



In treating the seed, it is advised that about five 

 bushels be spread thinly on a floor or canvas. The 

 solution is then sprayed on the seed with a fine 

 nozzle (a common sprinkling-pot or a patent sprayer 

 may be used). At the same time the flax is stirred 

 rapidly with a rake or shovel in order to get every 

 seed in contact with the fungicide. After spraying, 

 the stirring should continue a short time to aid the 

 drying. 



Care in the application of the solution is impor- 

 tant. An excess of water will cause the flax seed 

 to stick together and will interfere with seeding. 

 Ordinarily, with careful treatment, the grain can 

 be seeded in a few hours after treatment. [See also 

 page 50.] 



Flax rust (Melampsora lini) is another menace to 

 the flax crop, but happily it is not causing much 

 damage. It was first reported in the Northwest in 

 1905, — a very wet season. It completely destroyed 

 some fields in the Red river valley. It is not prob- 

 able that great damage will come from this dis- 

 ease, since flax for the most part is grown in 

 small, disconnected areas and is changed from field 

 to fleid. 



Manufacture. 



Flax has long been known as a valuable plant 

 for the production of wearing apparel and matting 

 flber. It has also been the source of a valuable oil, 

 useful for many purposes, especially in the making 

 of paints. Until recently, flax has been grown 

 almost exclusively for its oil in this country. There 

 were no means to make use of the fiber and com- 

 pete with the fiber productions of Europe. 



At present there are four distinct manufactur- 

 ing interests which employ the flax crop. One of 

 these uses only the seed. The other three are dis- 

 tinctly flber industries, and manufacture cloth, 

 thread and yarn, insulating material and binding 

 twine. For these interests, the crop is generally 

 taken from the farmer just as he is pleased to har- 

 vest it. In a few instances, as at Yale, Michigan, 

 the crop is sometimes pulled by hand. For the oil- 

 mills, the flax seed is commonly delivered direct to 

 the local elevator from the threshing machine. 

 From here, in due time, it finds its way to the mill, 

 where it is separated from weed seeds and other 

 foreign material before being ground. 



Linseed oil. — One of the first commercial manu- 

 facturing uses to which flax was put in America 

 was based on the oil contained in the seed. The 

 demand for linseed oil, as it is called, and the in- 

 dustry have developed rapidly, until an oil-manu- 

 facturing plant today entails an investment of a 

 million or more dollars and employs hundreds of 

 men. 



The supply of flax for the oil -mill is shipped 

 mostly from the local elevators, and stands in the 

 transfer yards until graded by the State Inspec- 



