DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 219 



flax) in contrast with the ordinary flax called grand tin (tall flax). Besides the above 

 facts we may say that there have never been seen either entire lields or even parts of 

 fields growing- only the tetard, or the low flax. AVe therefore hold it to be inoppor- 

 tune to make such classification of the common flax into industrial species. 



Some writers recognize L. crepitans as a cultivated species, this form growing less 

 tall than usitatissimum, with much thicker stems which have the tendency of branch- 

 ing, and more abundant flowers, and therefore producing more seed. In a report 

 from Consul T. E. Heenan at Odessa, it is stated that "Linum usitatissimum, L. 

 vulgare, and L. crepitans, are being cultivated in Russia in several varieties of both 

 kinds, but the difference in these varieties is so slight and they so easily blend that 

 even those initiated in the trade of the article often fail to perceive it." 



Several other forms of flax are mentioned by industrial authorities, but they are 

 of little importance. L. perenne, which is known commonly as perennial flax, has 

 been the subject of experiment, but beyond the fact that it is mentioned doubtfully 

 as an oil plant in India, it does not concern us. 



The most ancient cultivated species of flax is thought to be L. angustifolium, a 

 form found growing wild from the Canary Isles to Palestine and the Caucasus. 

 This is the species said to have been grown by the Swiss Lake dwellers and the 

 ancient inhabitants of the north of Italy, while L. usitatissimum was the ancient 

 flax of Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Egypt. 



" These two principal forms or conditions of flax exist in cultivation and have 

 probably been wild in their modern areas for the last five thousand years at least. 

 It is not possible to guess at their previous condition. Their transitions and vari- 

 eties are so numerous thai they may be considered as one species comprising two or 

 three hereditary A r arieties, which are each again divided into subvarieties." (Die. 

 Ec. Prod. Ind., Vol. V.) 



In the United States two species of flax are used for fiber, L. lewisii by the North 

 American Indians, and L. usitatissimum, in commercial cultivation largely for seed, 

 but to some extent for fiber. There are other American species of Linum, but they 

 have no economic interest. 



Linum angustifolium. Flax op the Stone Age. 



The species of flax cultivated in Europe in prehistoric ages. See this species in 

 the chapter on ancient fibers, page 11. See also second and third paragraphs above 

 and first paragraph under L. usitatissimum. (See fig. 71.) 



Linum lewisii. Kocky Mountain Flax. 



This species has a wide range in subarid western North America, extending from 

 southern Alaska and the plains of western British America southward through the 

 Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada region to the higher plateaus of southern Cali- 

 fornia, western Texas, and northern Mexico. The plant differs from the common 

 cultivated flax, in producing usually two or three stems from its stout perennial root 

 and in having a capsule two or three times as long as the calyx. The Indians of the 

 Oregon plains make it into a remarkably strong twisted cord, used in the manufac- 

 ture of fish nets, in the binding of grass mats and basket frames, and for other pur- 

 poses. (F. P. Coville.) 



Linum usitatissimum. Cultivated Flax. 



Common and native names.— Flax (Eng.) ; Lin (Ft.); Flaclis (Ger.) ; Lino (Span. 



and It.) ; Tisi (Hind, and Beng.) ; Alsi (Hind.) ; Javas, Javasa, Ziggar (Turk.) ; 



Kattan (Arab.) ; Zaghu and zaghir, and Kutan or tukhme-Jcatin (Pers.), etc. 



Supposed to have originated in Eastern countries. "Thus the first Egyptian 



white race may have imported the cultivation of flax, or their immediate successors 



may have received it from Asia before the epoch of the Phoenician colonies in Greece, 



and before direct communication was established between Greece and Egypt under 



the fourteenth dynasty. A very early introduction of the plant into Egypt from 



