LINu] 



Cf)c Crca^uri? ai HSntang. 



686 



variable in colour and very fugitive, grow 

 in panicles or corymbs. The calyx con- 

 sists of five sepals ; the corolla of five 

 petals ; and the stamens, which are the 

 same in number, are connected into a tube 

 at the base, and between them are five 

 barren filaments, which are rudiments of 

 stamens. The ovary is from three to five- 

 celled, with the same number of styles 

 and capitate stigmas ; the capsule globular, 

 most commonly ten-celled, from each cell 

 being partially or completely divided in 

 two by a spurious dissepiment, and each 

 cell thus formed contains a single pendu- 

 lous seed. 



The species are numerous, but very few 

 of them are of any importance except L. 

 usitatissimum, the common annual Flax, 

 which has been an object of cultivation 

 from the earliest times. This plant has, 

 for the most part, solitary quite erect 

 stems, alternate smooth linear-lanceolate 

 leaves, and a corymbose inflorescence; the 

 sepals are ovate-acute with a membranous 

 margin ; and the petals are blue, three times 

 longer than the calyx. The finer kinds of 

 the linen of commerce are manufactured 

 from the ligneous fibre of the stems of 

 this plant ; and the seed, called Linseed, 

 is scarcely less valuable on account of 

 the large quantity of oil contained in the 

 embryo. The seeds contain a mucilage 

 which dissolved in water is demulcent 

 and emollient, and the meal of the seed 

 is used for poultices. The cake remaining 

 after the oil is expressed is extensively 

 used in fattening cattle. L. catharticum, 

 remarkable for its erect much-branched 

 stem, its opposite smooth obovate-lanceo- 

 late leaves, and small white flowers, is oc- 

 casionally used in medicine, being bitter 

 and purgative. [B. C] 



Flax (L. usitatissimum') is only known 

 at the present day as a cultivated plant, or 

 as occurring in a semi-wild state in places 

 where it has escaped from cultivation. 

 History tells us that it has been grown for 

 its fibre from the earliest times of which 

 we have any record, it being one of those 

 plants which the wants of civilised man 

 early taught him the use of ; and the long 

 period during which it has been an object 

 of culture has doubtless, as in other 

 known instances, so altered the appear- 

 ance of the plant that it is not recognis- 

 able in its original form, if such exists at 

 the present day. The Bible affords ample 

 proof of the antiquity of the use of flax 

 as a material for weaving cloth. "We read 

 (Gen. xli. 42) that Pharaoh clothed Joseph 

 in fine linen, and in the account of the 

 plagues with which the Egyptians were 

 visited (Ex. ix. 31), we are told that the 

 flax was smitten; from which passages 

 it would appear not only that the art of 

 weaving had reached a high state of per- 

 fection, but also that flax was one of the 

 agricultural plants of Egypt at that early 

 period ; and this is confirmed by the repre- 

 sentations of its culture which occur in 

 ancient Egyptian pictures which have de- 

 scended to us. Moreover, microscopists 

 have proved that the cloth used for wrap- 



ping round mummies, the antiquity of 

 which is undeniable, was made of flax. 

 Flax and linen formed an article of com- 

 merce between the ancient Egyptians and 

 Greeks. The plant was also cultivated by 

 the early Romans ; but as their clothing 

 was chiefly made of wool, it did not find 

 much favour. 



In modern times the culture of Flax is 

 widely spread in the northern hemisphere, 

 extending from the tropics in India and 

 Egypt to the northern parts of Europe. 

 The principal producing country ^ and 

 that from which we obtain the greater 

 portion of our supply, is Russia, flax being 

 an important crop in the northern dis- 

 tricts of that country ; but large impor- 

 tations are likewise received from Bel- 

 gium, Holland, Prussia, and other coun- 

 tries, our total imports in 1860 amounting 

 to 1,464,810 cwts., in addition to which a 

 considerable quantity is annually produced 

 in our own country, mainly, however, in 

 the north of Ireland. 



The processes which flax undergoes be- 

 fore it reaches the hands of the spinner, 

 vary in different places, but the general 

 principle is the same in all, and although 

 I numerous new processes have been in- 

 \ vented for shortening the time occupied 

 ! by the various stages, none has yet entire- 

 | ly superseded the old modes. They may be 

 j said to consist of six operations -.—Rippling, 

 i which consists in the removal of the seed- 

 capsules by drawing the stem through a 

 kind of comb. Steeping or watering, the 

 object of which is to facilitate the separa- 

 tion of the fibre from the wood, and to get 

 rid of the mucilage. To accomplish this, 

 the flax-straw is tied in bundles and placed 

 in ponds or rivers, where it is allowed to 

 remain for a period of eight to twelve days, 

 when it is taken out, and then undergoes 

 Grassing, the bundles being untied and i 

 the straw spread out evenly and regularly 

 on pasture land, and frequently turned so j 

 as to expose both sides to be washed and , 

 bleached by exposure to the rain and sun. 

 Then follows Breaking, by which operation | 

 the woody part of the stem is broken pre- 

 vious to Scutching, which removes all the 

 broken fragments left adhering after the 

 last process. These two operations are ge- 

 nerally effected by machinery, but were 

 formerly performed by hand labour. After 

 scutching, flax finds its way into the mar- 

 ket, but before being used by the spinner 

 it undergoes a sixth operation called Heck- 

 ling, which removes all extraneous matter 

 and completely separates and arranges 

 the filaments in parallel order. It consists 

 in drawing the flax over sharp iron spikes 

 arranged in a quincunx manner and in- 

 serted into oblong pieces of wood. 



Besides the fibre of the Flax plant, its oily 

 seeds, known as Linseed, are a commercial 

 article of considerable importance, no less 

 than 1,330,623 quarters having been im- 

 ported in 1860, principally from Russia and 

 India, for the supply of our oil-mills. The 

 finest kind of linseed oil is the product 

 of simple pressure, and is called ' cold- 

 drawn ; ' but the ordinary kind is obtained 



