INTRODUCTION OF THE FLAX-CROP. 



31 



pamphlet, as it so fully corroborates my own experience : " I 

 purchased an old and poor cow, the worst in the market giving 

 milk, which did not exceed two quarts per day. I commenced 

 with one bushel of the chafF, which weighed 31 lbs.: at the 

 end of one week she was giving four quarts. I then gave her 

 two bushels per day, and at the end of three weeks she was 

 giving from eight to nine quarts per day, and continued to do 

 so as long as she was fed on this kind of food, which was given 

 morning and evening, steamed, with a feed of turnips in the 

 middle of the day, and 2 lbs. of hay between each feeding. 

 The animal became sleek, and she got into a good condition, 

 but not fat. At the end of the sixth week she was fed, like 

 the other cows^ on cut hay with sheaf corn steamed with tur- 

 nips, three feeds a day and hay between, when she fell off 

 gradually from her milk to four quarts a day, which she con- 

 tinued for three months, and then got into good condition. 

 It thus appears to me that there is nothing like flax-seed 

 chaff for giving milk, it is so light, and contains so much of 

 album aceous matter." The way in which this and other 

 documents relating to the growth of flax came into my pos- 

 session appears so remarkably providential, that I cannot 

 forbear mentioning it. A society was formed in Ireland last 

 year similar to that I wish to see established in this country. 

 I had seen some extracts from its proceedings, but wanting 

 more authentic information, Mr. Bacon, jun., kindly undertook 

 to obtain it. Accordingly a letter was despatched to Mr. 

 Skinner, the Secretary. That gentleman, however, had seen 

 an account of our having grown so many acres of flax, and 

 anticipating our lack of knowledge in preparing it properly 

 for market, sent a small parcel of pamphlets and papers con- 

 taining the required particulars to the 'Norwich Mercury' 

 office, with a letter to the Editor, strongly advising the form- 

 ation of a Flax Society here, and urging him to promote so 

 desirable an object through the influence of his (the ' Mer- 

 cury') paper. Now Mr. Bacon, jun., and Mr. Skinner, were 

 perfectly unacquainted with each other, and therefore it must 

 at least be looked upon as a very singular coincidence that 

 one gentleman should have been writing in England for 

 certain papers and documents which the other was at the 



