sowing for fiber production for the reason that being constantly 

 sown thinly for the oil mills, it has acquired the habit of low- 

 down branching, which spoils the production of long fiber, while 

 the European seed permits this and so to speak, has been edu- 

 cated to produce a long straw with a few branches only at the 

 top and will consequently yield a fiber of long staple. 



Too much attention cannot be given to the production of 

 pedigree seed for sowing purposes and every flax grower will 

 do well to reserve a portion of his flax crop for sowing purposes, 

 permitting it to ripen more fully, and preserve it carefully. It 

 is also of importance to the flax grower to test the germinating 

 qality of his seed some time before sowing. This is easily done 

 by counting out one hundred average grains of seed and placing 

 them between a few folds of cloth or flannel and put in a warm 

 place, keeping the cloth constantly moist, but not wet. In a 

 few days the seed will swell up and germinate if of good quality. 

 If ninety grains germinate, it will require an addition of ten per 

 cent to bring the lot up to standard. If only eighty per cent 

 sprout, add twenty per cent. If less than seventy-five per cent 

 sprout, better discard that lot of seed. None but the very best 

 and cleanest seed should be used for fiber production, and if 

 a farmer owns a fan mill, or can obtain the use of a neighbors, 

 it will be of advantage to run his seed through it and separate 

 weed seeds and defective grains. In the absence of a fan mill, 

 the old fashioned plan of cleaning in the wind outside will repay 

 the trouble and remove many bad weed seeds. The question of 

 roasting the seed before sowing, using new or old seeds, soak- 

 ing in water and afterwards freezing before sowing are all un- 

 settled questions. It is therefore needless to encumber this mon- 

 ograph with their discussion. The change of seed rests on less 

 indefinite basis as a change of seed has been found by expe- 

 rience to be of great advantage. Spraying the seed with forty 

 per cent Formalin just previous to seeding is undoubtedly an 

 advantage as a germicide rendering the flax immune to the flax 

 wilt above spoken of. 



SOWING. 



Hitherto I have given directions for the general culture of 

 flax applicable to all cases. Whether for fiber or seed or both, 

 and we come to a fork in the road where we must elect what 

 branch we propose to pursue. Here, also, we meet one of the 

 distinctive features of my Americanized system adapted to Ore- 

 gon and Western Washington and Puget Sound, the region of 

 the United States par excellence, adapted to the production of 

 the higher numbers and most costly fiber. (The Flax Heaven). 



In growing flax for seed only the experience of the Dakota 

 Experiment Station is instructive, showing that seeding at the 

 rate of three pecks per acre, produced the maximum yield of 

 seed, the yield decreasing or increasing as that quantity was 

 exceeded or diminished. Consequently, farmers growing hun- 

 dreds of acres for seed only, use this thin seeding and by use of 

 the twine binder, harvesters and steam threshers, are enabled 



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