much troubled with weeds. NEVER PULL WEEDS IN FLAX 

 UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN THE GROUND IS DRY, 

 as it will disturb the roots of contiguous plants too much and in- 

 jure the crop. 



PULLING. 



Having completed the sowing of his flax, the farmer is now 

 at liberty to devote his energies to other matters, as the flax 

 will not require attention until ready for pulling (in about eighty 

 or ninety days) in this branch of the business several different 

 lines of procedure may be followed, according to the results aimed 

 at. If very fine fiber is required and the seed of little conse- 

 quence, baving sown thickly (two and one-half or three bushels 

 per acre) the farmer will require to pull his flax pretty green or 

 when passing from the milk to the dough stage and put the straw 

 into the water, with the seed attached right from the field 

 the day it is pulled. A practice only adapted to those hav- 

 ing suitable water and retting pools within reach and some ex- 

 perience in retting. This is a system frequently practiced in 

 Ireland, and certainly produces a very fine grade of flax. If 

 the object is to produce a fair quality of merchantable fiber, and 

 at the same time save the seed, he should pull his flax wJien the 

 seed is in the dough stage and just beginning to turn color and 

 the lower leaves have begun to turn yellow, but while the juices 

 are still circulating in the stalk, in this case the farmer, if he 

 has suitable water pools and skill he can either adopt the Irish 

 system of rippling (that is removing the seed bols) and put 

 the straw in the water to ret, while still fresh and green, or 

 he can follow the Belgian system of drying the straw and storing 

 it until the following summer, or he may sell the dry straw with 

 the seed attached to the scutch mill and obtain spot cash for 

 his product. Or beter still, if dealing with a co-operative asso- 

 ciation, turn his straw into the association for coin or stock in 

 whole or in part, and save himself lots of work and worry. This 

 latter will be the better plan for the average farmer, at least dur- 

 ing the earlier stages of development of the industry, he will thus 

 save the expense and labor of rippling, which is quite an under- 

 taking where suitable appliances are not available. 



It must be remembered that in this connection, the too early 

 pulling will give a tender, though fine fiber that will waste con- 

 siderably on the scutching if worked by unskilled workers. On 

 the other hand, while allowing it to grow too ripe, will give a 

 coarse and harsh fiber that lowers its value greatly, both of these 

 faults must be guarded against by exercise of care and good 

 judgment. I would therefore advise the inexperienced to be 

 more guided by the condition of the seed than the straw until he 

 becomes acquainted with the requirements of the industry. Judg- 

 ing of the maturity of the straw is somewhat embarrassing to the 

 beginner, while he can always judge whether the seed is in the 

 milk (not ripe enough) in the dough (just right) or fully ripe 

 (too matured for best results). He will be pretty safe, however, 

 if the seed is only beginning to change color from pale green to 

 a light brown. I will here refer to one of the fundamental prin- 



39 



