On the Cultivation of Flax. 



387 



hand-dressino: flax is much too tedious and the mill must he pre- 

 ferred. Where water-power or steam is made availahle for 

 thrashing or other farm purposes, machinery for scutchins: flax 

 can readily be attached. Some practice is necessary to make an 

 adept at scutching in the mill^ but men can easily be had from 

 the north of Ireland to teach the systejn. The work, as in all 

 other cases, will, of course, be best executed when it is taken up 

 by some person as a trade, and at the rates paid for scutching it 

 is understood to be a lucrative business. 



Flax, after being scutched and made into bundles, should be 

 stored on a ground-floor, in a cool situation, but no damp should 

 be allowed to penetrate it. It keeps better thus than in lofts 

 or airy situations, where it gets dry and brittle and does not look 

 so well. It is to be observed, also, that it never looks so well 

 when just scutched, as after it has lain for a few weeks in the 

 store. 



The great markets for flax to supply the spinning-trade of the 

 three kingdoms are respectively Leeds, Belfast, and Dundee. 

 There are commission-merchants in each, to whom flax may be 

 sent for sale, and through whose hands large quantities of the 

 article pass; the spinners also purchase individuallv. In all the 

 districts in Ireland, where flax is much grown, markets are held 

 on appointed days, at which agents attend to purchase flax ; the 

 farmers bring it in carts, and in a short time all is cleared away.* 

 This method, hov>-ever, entails expense on the purchaser, and of 

 course lessens the farmer's profit. Much of the flax is also bought 

 by jobbers, who resell it to the spinners and make profit by it. 

 In all cases, if possible, no party should come between the pro- 

 ducer and the consumer, except the agent through whom the 

 latter purchases, and whose commission is generally very trifling. 

 The finest yarns are made by the English spinners, with a small 

 proportion of medium and coarse. Ireland manufactures the 

 great bulk of the medium numbers, with some fine and some 

 coarse. Scotland produces generally the very coarsest, though 

 some fine also in particular localities. This information is of 

 use to the flax-grower, as, if his flax be fine, Leeds will be his 

 best market, while Belfast and Dundee w^ill be better for the 

 medium and coarse. 



Before taking up the remaining subjects of this section of ihe 

 essay I would revert to one or two points in explanation of some 

 of the processes. 



The system of treating flax described under the third head, or 

 that commonly termed the Courtrai method, has its advantages. 

 It gives seed much preferable for sowing to the rippling system. 



* 10,O0OJ. worth of flax has thus been purchased in one day in a small 

 market town. 



