Flax. 
437 
mill  ; but  it  will  not  do  for  these  things  to  be  at  a distance.  If 
you  send  away  the  stems  from  the  farm  before  steeping,  you  part 
with  all  its  manuring  matter.  These  are  real  difficulties,  not 
insuperable,  of  course,  but  which  must  be  weighed  before  em- 
barking in  the  growth  of  flax — unless,  indeed,  the  new  processes 
now  under  trial,  which  dispense  with  steeping,  and  are  even  said  to 
convert  flax  into  a substance  like  cotton-wool  and  silk  also,  should 
be  found  to  succeed.  'Then,  no  doubt,  there  will  be  a wide  ex- 
tension in  the  growth  of  flax,  limited  only  by  the  supply  of  manure  ; 
nor  would  that,  in  truth,  be  a limit  in  our  days,  because  the 
supply  of  guano  is  unlimited.  Flax,  too,  though  it  requires  high 
preparation,  like  wheat,  is  not  so  fastidious  as  to  soil;  it  has  been 
grown  on  an  Irish  bog  reclaimed  but  three  years,  and  was  sold  for 
70 1.  per  ton  ; nor  is  it  so  tender  as  wheat  in  the  elevation  at  which 
it  thrives,  having  succeeded  in  county  Wicklow,  at  1060  feet  above 
the  sea,  far  beyond  the  level  of  wheat. 
There  is  one  most  important  point  in  our  favour  as  to  the 
growth  of  flax.  “ Insular  countries,  or  long  lines  of  coast,”  says 
Mr.  Macadam,  “ whose  position  insures  a more  equable  tem- 
perature, and  a continued  supply  of  moisture,  from  spring  till 
autumn,  are  found  to  produce  the  best  flax.”  Even  in  Russia, 
the  short,  hot,  northern  summers  hurry  the  growth,  and  the  fibre 
is  coarse,  so  that  the  best  Russian  flax  fetches  but  48/.,  while  the 
best  Belgian  reaches  150/.  or  180/.  per  ton.  Hot  southern 
countries,  again,  alter  the  character  of  the  plant,  making  it  short 
and  branchy.  “ Egypt,”  we  are  told,  “ is  the  only  hot  country 
which  furnishes  any  fibre  to  our  market,”  and  that  has  not  passed 
44/.  per  ton.  The  hot  summers  of  Russia  and  Egypt  cause  a 
dryness  and  brittleness  of  fibre,  and  prevents  its  retaining  that 
elasticity,  pliancy,  and  oiliness  which  characterise  the  flaxes  of 
Belgium,  Holland,  and  Ireland.  In  America  it  has  not  suc- 
ceeded hitherto  for  fibre.  In  some  respects,  Mr.  Macadam  says, 
our  climate  is  even  superior  to  that  of  Belgium  for  flax,  since 
in  Belgium  severe  droughts  in  spring  scorch  the  young  flax,  and 
even  kill  it  once  in  three  or  four  years.  It  is  right,  however,  to 
mention,  that  on  one  point  our  own  sky  is  inferior.  Flax  dreads 
heavy  rain  in  July,  which  lodges  and  discolours  the  crop.  On 
the  whole,  it  seems  clear  that  our  climate  is  specially  adapted  to 
the  growth  of  flax,  but  some  districts  more  so  than  others ; and  it 
is  plain  that  the  better  knowledge  of  our  own  climate,  which 
meteorology  has  lately  given  us,  will  assist  in  the  selection  of 
favourable  localities  ; thus  illustrating  remarkably  the  legitimate 
application  of  science  to  practice,  and  showing  the  advantage  of 
storing,  as  it  were,  scientific  facts,  which  though  of  no  apparent 
use  now,  may  be  ready  for  application  when  wanted. 
Such  are  the  main  points  of  improvement  which  twelve  years 
have  brought  to  our  knowledge,  many  of  them  not  new,  but  true, 
