HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 167 



plants, and especially rye, are exceptions to this rule. Of this last but three 

 or four varieties are known, and they are liable to degenerate ; and as to 

 flax, besides the two species described below, but one variety is known, that 

 with white flowers, a character which has no importance in the use which is 

 made of the plant. Our curiosity was much excited therefore, when shown, 

 about twelve years ago, a small quantity of seed, under the name of royal 

 flax. This seed presented nothing in particular, unless that it was smaller 

 and paler in color than the ordinary flax. 



Spring having arrived, I hastened to sow this seed in clayey soil rather 

 strong. The young plants offered nothing remarkable ; but, at the end of 

 some weeks, their growth manifested an uncommon vigor, and the stalks 

 rose by degrees to the height of four feet four inches. The strength of the 

 stalks was in proportion to their height. 



As I wished to gather from this flax as many seeds as possible, the plants 

 were thinned out with care, in order to give them sufficient space to spread ; 

 for the same reason, the seeds were not gathered until entirely ripe. Not 

 having an opportunity to sow these seeds, we have preserved what we had 

 left until this year, when we had them sown in a part of the garden of the 

 horticultural establishment at Gendbrugge, in a turfy soil, mixed with a 

 portion of clay. These plants have vegetated in this soil with great vigor, 

 nearly all of them having attained a height of four feet four inches. This 

 will then be a great acquisition to our growers, if the fibre of this variety 

 should prove to be superior, or even equal in quality, to that of the ordinary 

 flax. A flax, whose stalk grows a half foot longer, will give an immense 

 advantage to our cultivators. We conclude this article with some observa- 

 tions on the preservation of the seed of the flax. Those which we sowed 

 thus year were ten years old. They retained their germinative faculty in all 

 this time, because we took care to keep them in a dry and warm place. 

 They might also be dried in a furnace or a stove, the temperature of which 

 should not be above 50°. Seeds thus dried, and preserved in a dry place, 

 on a bread oven for instance, give always the most vigorous plants. 



Scheidw. 



To the preceding details, the value of which agriculturists will appreciate, 

 I will add some words on the specific distinction of the two plants, con- 

 founded under the usual name Linum usitatissimum. This will be an 

 abridgment of observations, published in my Monographic Review of the 



