390 LINAGES 



fabric which is woven from the bast fibres of the stem of the 

 plant. 



The plant is also grown for its seeds, which contain a large 

 quantity of oil. The latter is extracted and sold under the name 

 of linseed oil, the crushed seed after extraction of most of its oil 

 being made up into oilcake and utiUsed by the farmer for feeding 

 stock. 



The original unextracted seed is sometimes employed as food 

 for calves and other animals, and the fibre of the stem, in addition 

 to its being used in the manufacture of linen, is also made into 

 a tough and very durable paper. 



Seed and Seedling. — The seeds are oval and flattened, about 

 4 to 6 mm. long, of a yellowish brown colour and possessing a 

 smooth shining surface. The epidermis of the coat of the seed 

 is formed of cubical cells with very thick walls, consisting of a 

 peculiar mucilaginous substance, which swells up into a slimy 

 mass when put in water. 



Within the seed coat is a small amount of endosperm and a 

 large straight embryo. Germination takes place readily when 

 fresh seed is sown, and the young plant sends its two elliptical 

 cotyledons above ground. 



Root. — The root-system of the plant is comparatively small, 

 consisting of a weak tap-root and a few short lateral roots, none 

 of which penetrate deeply into the soil. 



Stem. — The stem is slender, and when the plants are 

 grown closely together for the production of good fibre, rises 

 to a height of i to 2 feet without branching, except in its 

 upper part. 



The internal arrangement of the structural elements is 

 seen in Fig. 123A, where a portion of a transverse section 

 of the stem is given. On the outside is a well-marked 

 epidermis, beneath which comes the cortex, consisting of 

 parenchymatous cells, some of which contain chloroplastids. 

 Next is observed an interrupted ring of bast fibres, arranged 



