By Mr. John Dunbae. 



73 



never be cultivated with the nicety of a gentleman's garden, 

 X have observed the greatest crops in a loamy soil, and that 

 they yielded an article superior in quality as well as quan- 

 tity : for as the durability of the fibre depends in some 

 measure upon its size, there can be no doubt that tall and 

 vigorous plants are preferable to small ones. 



There are various ways of disposing this plant so as to be 

 exceedingly ornamental, but none more so than scattering it 

 in random parcels, or little clumps of from 10 to 20 plants, 

 towards the back of the flower-borders, and in the front of 

 the shrubbery : for, without the summer proves uncommonly 

 dry, it will attain to the height of three and four feet. If a 

 temporary edging, or summer screen, is wanting for any par- 

 ticular bed, it may be also employed for this purpose. 



The seeds of good Flax are short, plump, thick, very oily, 

 and of a bright brown colour. The best season for sowing 

 them, in most gardens, is February, or the beginning of 

 March, when the general crop of hardy annuals is put in ; 

 but if the ground be sandy, and naturally dry, they should 

 be sown in October or November. No more attention than 

 what is necessary for the other flowers in the garden, which 

 is keeping down all weeds, while in the seed leaf, with a hoe, 

 will be requisite for this. As soon as the seed begins to ripen, 

 and the plants turn yellow, pull the whole up by the roots, 

 and lay them in bundles exposed to the full sun, if the wea- 

 ther is fine, to dry completely. Then pull the heads off, and 

 shake out the seeds. Immediately after, they must be laid to 

 macerate in a ditch, or pond of w T ater, and kept under by a 

 long piece of timber floating upon them. From five to ten days 

 is the time necessary for their immersion, and after the fifth, 



