108 



MR. Edmonds's letter. 



Letter from J. B. Edmonds, Esq., Stonehouse, Plymouth, 1843. 

 Sir, 



I have lately read with much pleasure, a report of a 

 spirited Meeting which has been held at Norwich, on the 

 cultivation of flax, and trust I shall not be deemed intrusive 

 by offering a few remarks on the management of this crop, 

 the result of long experience, having been myself a cultivator 

 of the same, to a large extent, for a period of sixty years. 

 From a slight knowledge I have of the Norfolk soil, I am of 

 opinion that it is admirably calculated for the growth of flax, 

 if proper attention be given to it ; but it is a very precarious 

 crop, and a sandy soil is the most certain for it, but when a good 

 crop can be obtained from strong land, it is best in quality. 



The first essential point to be observed is, that due care be 

 taken to procure good seed; and to prevent disappointment in 

 this instance^ the most certain way is to get a barrel direct 

 from Kiga, through a merchant at London, where it is 

 annually imported, generally about Christmas; but I have 

 been in the habit of procuring it from Bridport, in Dorset- 

 shire, being the chief place in the West of England for the 

 manufacture of hemp and flax goods, therefore the growers 

 are of course particular as to the qualit}^ of the seed they sow, 

 it being procured sooner or later from Riga. 



When a superior sort of seed is obtained, it may be pre- 

 served a few years, by sowing yearly a quantity (in change of 

 soils) thinner than the usual crop, to make it produce more 

 seed ; but after the third or fourth year, it will be found to 

 degenerate. When Riga seed is purchased, it is generally 

 found to be very foul, full of weed seeds, so that it is necessary 

 to be cleansed by means of a sieve; nor is it \is\x2i\\y productive 

 the first year it is sown in England, but very good the second 

 season. Many years' experience has proved to me, that the 

 best crops of flax follow the severest winters ; the same holds 

 good, I believe, in Flanders. Flax should never be sown after 

 turnips, for should the produce be great, the quality will be 



