THE FIBER CROPS 283 



Flax seed is sown in the spring, the average depth at 

 which it is planted being about one inch. Like wheat, 

 the crop requires no cultivation after being sown. If 

 seed is desired, the stand should be somewhat thin in 

 order that the plants may branch well. On the other 

 hand, if fiber is wanted, the seed is sown thickly to 

 make the plants grow tall and straight. When sown 

 for seed, from one to three pecks per acre are used 

 while nearly four times this amount of seed is sown 

 for a fiber crop. 



Flax is cut with an ordinary self-binder, and is considered 

 one of the most pleasant crops to handle. It has long 

 been regarded as one of the most exhaustive crops 

 grown on any soil. A disease, known as flax wilt, develops 

 when the crop is raised a second or third year in succession 

 in the same field; and many growers beheve that it is 

 this disease, rather than the gross feeding habit of the 

 plant, that has given it so bad a reputation. 



216. Methods of Handling and Value of the Fiber and 

 Seed. — After the crop has been cut with the binder, or 

 pulled by hand as is sometimes done, it is placed in shocks 

 and allowed to stand for two or three weeks. If the fiber 

 is desired, the seed is then removed by passing the heads 

 between rapidly revolving cyUnders or rollers, which 

 crush the seed pods. The straw is bound into bundles, 

 and later, usually in October or November, it is spread 

 out on the ground to " ret," or rot. During this process 

 the portions pf the stems, other than the bast (Section 82), 

 decay, or become sufficiently softened to permit an easy 

 separation of the parts. The long, straight fibers, from 

 one to three feet in length, are called long lint while the 

 short and tangled ones are called tow. From the former, 

 fine laces, linens, dress goods and thread are made, while 



