420 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1881. 
of flax per acre. But the cultivation was crude. 
Flax has been tried in South Australia and proved 
moderately successful. Its career was checked by the 
intervention of the Government, who closed the mills 
on sanitary grounds ; but now, as explained in past 
issues in these columns, the failure of wheat in South 
Australia has caused a reaction in favour of linseed and 
flax. Linseed culture is also undergoing a fair trial 
in Victoria. In Australia, as in other countries, the 
production of fibre as well as seed must be the rule 
to render the crop profitable. This was well explained 
by an Ulster man, recently, in the columns of a 
Melbourne contemporary. We quoted his comments 
at the time, but aB it seems they have escaped the 
notice of some of our readers we reproduce them. 
He says that in the North of Ireland the flax- scutchers 
give the farmer £12 per ton for the flax, harvested 
and dried in the usual way and delivered at the mill. 
He puts the average crop down as two tons per acre, 
and the cost of erecting tuildings, plant, &c, for an 
establishment capable of manufacturing £250,000 worth 
of fibre per year, at only £3,000. When flax was 
cultivated in South Australia, the price paid for raw 
flax with seed attached was £5 to £5 10s. per ton. 
The loss of weight in scutching is fully 50 per cent. 
Apart from the utilization and production of the fibre, 
the profits from seed production depend greatly upon 
the quality of the soil, the care iu harvesting, and, 
last but not least, the demand. On good soils well 
worked as much as 20 bushels of seed to the acre may 
be obtained, but we fear there are few inland localities 
in this colony will yield so much. On the coast, 
where the river flats are rich, good crops might be 
raised. The value of seed at present in this city is 
£16 per ton. about 8s. per bushel. An old colonist 
recently contributed to the July number of the Vic- 
torian Review, a paper well worthy of attention, on 
flax-growing. In this he says : — 
" When cultivating the plant I have sown flax 
seed after grass, after wheat, upon new land, and 
upon land under fallow ; or rather, instead of fallow- 
ing, strictly speaking, and allowing the land to lie 
idle the whole year, flax seed has been sown in the 
spring, and wheat the following autumn. When sown 
on new land or after grass, one ploughing only has 
been given, immediately preceding sowing ; but after 
wheat or other grain crop the ground has been ploughed 
deeply as early as possible, and again in the spriag, 
with repeated scarifying and harrowiugs, so as to get 
the soil into the finest possible tilth before sowing the 
seed. Having got the land iu proper order, sow two 
bushels of clean linseed ; that quantity per acre gives 
fine flax and good seed. The ordinary linseed of com- 
merce is not the seed from which the finest flax is 
raised. Flax seed is imported yearly into Ireland from 
Riga (in Russia) and Holland, for seed purposes ; . 
from the former it comes in casks officially sealed as 
being true and good. The land should be sown (the 
reverse way to the last harrowing) broadcast and as 
evenly distributed as possible, then harrowed over (the 
same way as sown) with a very light grass seed or • 
brush harrow, finishing off with a light rolling care- 
fully, and if this can be got through while the land 
is dry and friable so much the better. The time of 
sowing, as early as possible in the spring of the year. 
No fixed dates can be given ; the intelligent cultivator 
will be guided by his experience of the locality and 
nature of soil. As it is sown thickly, so it springs 
up, and the rapid nature of its growth, in this country, 
does not allow weeds to interfere, if the land is 
moderately clean. The proper time to commence 
pulling the crop is when the leaves begin to fall from 
the plant, and the stalks are nearly all yellow ; ex- 
perimentally, it has been pulled at various stages, — 
when quite green, partially so (as is the Irish plan, 
by which they lose the seed), fully ripe, and when I 
nearly so. The latter is found to be by far the best 
practice, having regard to fine fibre and good seed." 
There is a market in Victoria for the flax fibre 
One manufacturer is prepared to take 100 tons annu- 
ally, and give from £30 to £40 per ton for it. 
HORSE-BREEDING IN WESTERN INDIA. 
(Asian, 13th September 1881.) 
A valued correspondent who has had some years' 
experience on the subject, has written to us regard- 
ing horse-breeding in Western India; and as the 
subject is an important one, we will let him speak 
for himself. He writes : "I propose to offer my 
opinion in reference to the breeding of stock in the 
western parts of India. You have made an impres- 
sion on me and my mind of horse breeding in that 
part of the country from a paragraph in your columns 
lately. Erroneous conclusions have been drawn by 
other people that the quality of mares in these pro- 
vinces have been overrated ; and, as further change will 
probably take place by the opening up of the line 
of railway through some part of these provinces, 
especially that of the Rajputana State Railway from 
Ajmere to Palumpur, I think those who may pass 
that way should take the opportunity to see some of 
the mares and stock in those parts. I have but 
little doubt that they will say that they have Dot 
been overrated, and it would afford me much satis- 
faction to discover that horses from this part of the 
country were distributed over a larger compass than 
they are, and if so, whether the Government of India 
would not then discover a new source from whence 
to get a supply suitable for the artillery and cavalry 
remounts without costing so much money and waste 
of time as the present system has led us to. The 
present mode of purchasing horses appears to me an 
hazardous undertaking, and often very disappointing 
to the Australian hor-e importers, inasmuch as from 
some batches of these horses I have seen lately, I 
say they have greatly improved. Yet I have seen 
some of these inspected and turned away, and sold 
to private individuals, who, in the course of six months, 
have profited considerably by their purchase. The 
quality of these imported horses, as I have seen from 
my personal examination, is much improved, and 
they are, to all appearance, better bred and more 
active than formerly. The best representatives come 
to Calcutta, yet there are often good mares rejected 
which would suit well for breeding purposes, as it 
is difficult to procure good mares for this purpose. 
These should hi purchased and sent to the Govern- 
ment depot for breeding purposes, and then I venture 
to suggest these Australian contractors would, in 
time, benefit the country. We should also furnish 
proper stallions to mate with them, and not some of 
the sort I have seen, which are likely to disappoint 
us, and I believe have done so. These are errors 
which should not be overlooked, for the business of 
breeding is expensive, so let us try and lay down the 
foundation for a new branch in this line. I will 
temporarily relieve myself from giving you further 
particulars of my opinion about a system which does 
not immediately concern me, as I might be told by 
some of the officers who conduct such matters that I 
know nothing at all about it. I am, however, a bit 
in the horsey line ! To return to Ajmere, the terminus 
of the railway I have mentioned. I believe I am 
correct in saying some one has resolved to establish 
a breeding depot near that station, and I am not 
surprised at it, and I hope they will succeed. For, 
be it known, in the western parts of India the climate 
is so well suited for the rearing of stock, as I have 
proved, that I believe the Government of India have, 
from experience, at last, found this out, for I notice 
there are two or three stallions located there, one of 
