to grow flax seed at a profit, although the average yield per acre 

 was small and the straw broken and worthless. 



In Ireland flax is chiefly grown for fiber and frequently the 

 seed is ignored and the flax is pulled before maturity and is 

 placed in the retting pools (with the seed on the straw) to ret. 

 While in Belgium the flax is pulled in the dough state and let 

 ripen on the straw after and used the next season for sowing, 

 but the third season the seed is condemned to the oil mill. On 

 the other hand the Russians let the seeds get firm and cut the 

 heads off with a portion of the straw attached and tie them 

 round a pole set up to dry. The Irish (when they do save 

 the seed) as soon as the straw is pulled and dried, ripple the 

 seeds off and spread them thinly to dry, often turning them to 

 prevent mustiness. 



The question arose here, How shall I Americanize all those 

 varied processes to adapt them to our local conditions on Puget 

 Sound? Fortunately, actual experience in the field has furnished 

 me with the data for the purpose. In the Minnesota Agricultural 

 Experiment Station Bulletin No. 40, a report is given of a series 

 of investigations undertaken to demonstrate the yield of seed 

 obtained from imported Riga and a native variety called "Fargo" 

 flax seed. It was found Fargo seed yielded the largest crop of 

 seed, being ten bushels per acre. This presumably with thin seed- 

 ing as customary in that locality. During the same season, I 

 was experimenting in flax culture for seed and fiber on Puget 

 Sound when I planted 1% acres with Imported Riga seed at the 

 rate of two bushels per acre (120 pounds) which yielded seven- 

 teen bushels of seed per acre, while another one and one-fourth 

 acre alongside of it was sown with one bushel of seed per acre, 

 yielded 16.3 bushels of seed per acre. Thus entirely upsetting the 

 experience of Dakota and far surpassing the yield of Minnesota 

 and illustrating the remarkable adaptability of Puget Sound to 

 the culture of flax. This being strongly emphasized by the fact 

 that owing to my not receiving the seed from Europe until six 

 weeks later than the proper season for sowing in this climate, I 

 had only what I regarded from former experience one-half a crop 

 for the quality of land planted, and even then surpassing the 

 best yield of Minnesota. 



In view of this experience and the fact that thin seeding 

 has a tendency to develop a branching habit in the flax to the 

 great deterioration of the straw and thick seeding has just the 

 opposite effect, I have adopted the distinctive practice for this 

 region of sowing not less than two bushels per acre, two and 

 one-half to three bushels being even better under any circum- 

 stances, as by that means we can obtain a larger yield of seed 

 and of better quality than that grown east of the Cascade range, 

 and at the same time, confirm and strengthen the pedigree habit 

 of producing a long straw without branching. The only distinc- 

 tion I would make in growing flax for seed for fiber sowing 

 would be on rich delta lands, allowing the plant to ripen fully 

 and saving the straw as a waste product for the production of 

 strong second-class fiber when probably one and one-hidf bushels 



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