as practised in Ireland and on the Continent. 
409 
growth and after-preparation form distinct industries, but this 
is not so in Ireland, where the farmer not only grows the crop, 
but also manipulates it after it has been pulled. The several 
operations require careful attention and a certain amount of skill, 
but are not intricate ; and the Irish system has the advantage 
of securing to the farmer, not only the profit attending the 
agricultural department, but also that of preparing the fibre for 
market. 
The purpose of the present paper is to give in detail par- 
ticulars regarding the nature of the soil best suited to the crop, 
the most judicious mode of preparing the land for the reception 
of the seed, the treatment of the crop while growing, and, finally, 
its removal from the soil and after-preparation ; and it may be 
added that experience has proved that by following the directions 
given the casualties attending the culture of flax are lessened, 
and that, under average circumstances, remunerative crops may 
be produced. 
With every farmer the first consideration should be, is the 
land he holds suitable to produce a profitable crop of flax, and if 
the necessary facilities for watering can conveniently be had? 
Land intended for flax must be in good condition and clean. 
Peaty land where a clay bottom does not exist, also sandy 
land with a gravelly bottom, are unsuitable for flax, and a small 
yield and poor fibre may be expected if it is grown in such 
soils. Medium and alluvial soils are the most suitable, and 
in average seasons are easily brought into a proper state of 
tillage to receive the seed. On heavy land, if the season is 
favourable for pulverising the ground, crops of flax rich in fibre 
will be produced — of course assuming in all cases that, where 
requisite, the land has been properly drained. It is impossible to 
convey, in a paper such as this, a proper idea as to every variety 
of soil that would be likely to give a good crop, but it may be 
remarked that land in " good heart " will produce the best yield 
and the fibre will be of superior quality ; poor land will produce 
a weak fibre. In selecting land for flax, it is desirable to have 
it as flat as possible, with a cool bottom : hilly land will not 
produce flax of a uniform reed. 
A very important matter in flax culture is to determine what 
extent of a farmer's holding it is proper and judicious for him to 
appropriate to flax, as it is a well-known fact that flax should 
not be sown in the same land without allowing an interval of 
years to elapse. Much also depends upon the capability of 
keeping up the condition of the land. A progressive scale might 
be adopted — say on farms up to thirty acres the extent of flax 
should not exceed one-tenth ; and as the farm increases in size, 
2 F 2 
