RESTORATIVE, NOT AN EXHAUSTING CROP. 107 



opinion* There seems another wrong opinion abroad in 

 Ireland in regard to Flax, that that really valuable plant is 

 neglected in its culture, and that, were it not for the neglect 

 of the Irish fanner he would be much wealthier than he is. 

 He should be distinctly assured that, in making money in 

 cultivating Flax, he must do it at the sacrifice of either corn 

 or deterioration of soil ; for both corn and soil he cannot 

 continue to have in perfection, along with fine Flax. Albert 

 D. Thaer, who conducted a large experimental, agricultural, 

 academical establishment, under the Prussian government, in 

 the neighbourhood of Berlin, from 1804 to 1828, says, in his 

 Principles of Agriculture, page 537, 'Flax must not be grown 

 again till after a considerable interval on land which has once 

 borne it. It is thought that a space of at least nine years 

 ought to intervene between two crops of this plant, even in 

 countries where the soil appears best adapted for its cultiva- 

 tion, and where that cultivation is most successfully carried 

 on, as for example, in Belgium.' " 



I have not perused the Book of the Farm, but I must 

 suppose, as Mr. Beamish condemns Flax-culture, that he 

 brings forward Mr. Stephen's strongest arguments against it; 

 however, I beg to call attention to the reply his observations 

 met with from practical men. 



After Mr. Beamish had ended his speech, which appeared 

 to excite universal dissatisfaction among the experienced Flax- 

 growers of the north, Mr. Macartney stepped forward on the 

 court table and said that, ' ' whatever conclusions Mr. Stephens 

 might have arrived at in any theoretical investigation, it was a 

 fact which they (the Flax-growers of the north of Ireland) 

 had proved by more than thirty years' experience, that Flax 

 was not a deteriorating crop when properly cultivated and 

 handled." 



The Secretary having called upon G. T. Keilly, Esq., to 

 get upon the table, he rose and said, — " My lord, the secretary 



