the European growers in their own market, and draw more mil- 

 lions of dollars from thence. 



I am well aware interested parties will cavil and fling in- 

 vective because I fail to worship their great Goddess Dianah, as 

 it would occupy more time than I can afford, I will not here en- 

 ter into a controversy, I will only say that from a long and varied 

 experience on the Pacific Coast and special experience in flax 

 culture in the field, I am better qualified to appreciate the varied 

 questions that complicate this subject. 



It was only when I brought my inconoclastic energies into 

 play; not to Europeanize the American, but to Americanize the 

 European practice, and establish a distinctively American system 

 of flax culture and treatment and have formulated a practice 

 adapted to the spirit of our people and the requirements of our 

 region. 



While we are all aware of this unholy and inexcusable war 

 now devastating Europe, the question, "When the war is over, 

 what then?" I noticed in one of our daily papers recently, "Amer- 

 ica, the World's Monte Christo," and my imagination, like that 

 of Marconi, when he realized that unsurpassible vision of wire- 

 less telegraphy, gazed enraptured at the Utopian vision of the 

 land where "the little roast pigs, with knife and fork sticking 

 in their backs, ran about crying, "Come cut me up and eat me, 

 come, cut me up and eat me!" While the war maddened flax 

 growing nations of Europe were calling with canons roar, "Oh, 

 America, come gobble up our cherished flax industry. Come 

 quickly."(!) 



The flax industry at this time on Puget Sound presents an 

 ideal field for investment of capital, for several self-evident rea- 

 sons: 



First — This writer has already demonstrated as a fact that 

 the soil and climatic conditions are adapted for the production 

 of the highest grades of flax products, and during the time he was 

 engaged as special agent, conducting important flax fiber in- 

 vestigations regarding the suitability of flax culture in the State 

 of Washington, he had over sixty farmers cultivating flax under 

 his direction on every quality of land in that state, with only two 

 failures, one on raw turf and the other on very poor sandy land. 

 All the others furnishing samples ranging from good to extra 

 good. It may be of interest to mention that during the six years 

 he was engaged in this investigation he thoroughly familiarized 

 himself with all the details of manipulation with his own hands. 



Second.— THE PROMPT AND PROFITABLE RETURNS UP- 

 ON THE INVESTMENT.— Organizing a stock company at this 

 time to exploit the industry would require first, a suitable site 

 after contracts to be made with local farmers to cultivate and 

 deliver flax straw, with the seed on, to the mill at a fixed price, 

 would be in order, and the ordering of the seed from Europe for 

 the first year's crop would be necessary. The second and subse- 

 quent we could grow our own PEDIGREE seed, which is even 

 superior to European, this would be affected during the month 



