On the Cultivation of Flax. 413 



making England less dependent upon the cotton-producing 

 countries in case of failure of the crop, or interruption of the 

 supply from political or other causes ; and seeing moreover that 

 the home growth is very much below the demand, and that its ex- 

 tension would be fairly if not highly remunerative — having regard 

 to all these circumstances, it hardly seems necessary to state other 

 reasons in favour of extending flax culture in this country. But 

 there are nevertheless a few other considerations v/hich ought not 

 perhaps to be altogether passed over, and to these I will now 

 briefly advert. 



The quantity of flax imported in the last four years has just 

 been stated — 1 will now state the quantity of linseed and oilcake 

 imported within the same period, in order that the entire value of 

 flax produce imported may be seen at one view. 



Linseed. Oilcake. 



Qrs. Tons. 



In 1842 there were imported 367,700 67,293J 



1843 „ „ 470,539 63,267i 



1844 „ „ 616,947 85,890 



1845 „ „ 633,293 74,681i 



Average of the four years 522,120 72,783 



Taking the average of the four years, and assuming the average 

 price of the seed to be 21. bs. per quarter, and the average price 

 of the oilcake to be 8/. IO5. per ton, it will give 1,174,770/. as the 

 value of one, and 618,655/. as the value of the other, and show 

 an outlay for both of 1,793,425/., which, added to the cost of the 

 flax as before stated, gives a total outlay, on an average of the four 

 years, of 5,283,945/., or five millions and a quarter sterling per 

 annum. 



If, however, the cultivation of flax were to be so extended as to 

 supply home-grown fibre sufficient to meet the entire demand, an 

 importation of foreign seed and oilcake might still be required, 

 the latter for feeding purposes, and the former for extracting the 

 oil, linseed oil being an article in very extensive use. A demand 

 for foreign linseed and oilcake might thus continue, althouo;h it 

 would to some extent be lessened by the quantity of home-grown 

 seed produced ; but if this latter, as well as the imported oilcake 

 and that procured from the oil-pressers, were applied to fattening 

 cattle, an additional supply of valuable manure would thereby be 

 obtained, which would give increased fertility to the land for other 

 crops. 



The quantity of flax which ought to be cultivated in any locality, 

 must in some measure be governed by the quantity of labour there 

 obtainable ; for as the management of the crop in all its sta2:es 

 requires a considerable am.ount of labour, the farmer must propor- 



