EXPERIMENTS WITH FLAX ON BREAKING. 29 
SUMMARY. 
European seed-flax varieties have proved superior to others for the 
conditions obtaining in the semiarid sections of the North-Central 
States. The true seed types rather than the short-fiber types are 
most productive. In the experiments at Mandan the Reserve (C. I. 
No. 19), Damont (C. I. No. 3), Frontier (C. I. No. 17), and North 
Dakota Resistant No. 52 varieties have yielded most and are the best 
known and most widely distributed varieties in this group. 
North Dakota Resistant No. 114, while one of the two varieties 
significantly low in yield in this experiment, is the only variety which 
possesses superior resistance to flax wilt (Fusariwn lini). It is not 
particularly adapted to semiarid conditions, but is recommended for 
the more humid sections of the Dakotas and Minnesota where flax is 
grown in rotation with other crops on old land. 
Nursery experiments indicate that favorable results can not be 
expected from new importations in comparison with acclimated seed, 
particularly if selected domestic strains can be procured. Russian 
and northern European strains which have undergone natural or 
scientific selection toward a high seed-producing type are those best 
adapted for semiarid conditions in the Northwest. Commercial 
growers should not risk large acreages with Argentine seed, and the 
growing of Indian, Abyssinian, or south European seed in this area 
can only result in total failure. 
If the preparation of the land has been thorough and a good seed 
bed is obtained, 20 pounds of flax to the acre seems to be a sufficiently 
heavy rate of seeding. Heavier seeding may be preferable under 
certain conditions, such as a seed bed so dry that germination is un- 
certain. The results obtained do not indicate much advantage in 
heavier seeding, however, and the high price of seed flax discourages 
the practice. 
Early seeding is recommended on breaking. The land should not 
be left to dry out after the seed bed is prepared. It is desirable to 
follow the plow, disk harrow, or packer immediately with the drill if 
breaking is done in the spring. Land backset the previous fall should 
be disked before seeding in order to kill weed growth and improve the 
seed bed. The best results can be expected from seedings made from 
May 1 to June 10. A rapid decrease in yield from sowings made after 
June 10 can be expected. 
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