18 
BULLETIN 1092, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
sure that the strains are good enough for distribution. Four of the 
most promising of the strains of selected fiber flax were sown in a 
field alongside some Blue-Blos>om Dutch fiber flax, the variety com- 
monly grown for fiber both in 
the United States and in Canada. 
There was a superiority of at 
least 6 inches in height and in the 
length of fiber for all the selected 
flaxes over the unselected Blue- 
Blossom Dutch flax. The Sagi- 
naw variety, with an extra length 
of 8 inches, yielded 30 per cent 
more straw per acre than the 
Blue-Blossom Dutch; besides, 
since the stems were freer from 
flax wilt, it yielded a better qual- 
ity of fiber. Under actual field 
conditions the pedigreed fiber 
flax yielded one-third more fiber 
per acre than the commercial va- 
riety, Blue-Blossom Dutch flax, 
and this more than outweighs 
the only important advantage 
the commercial flax has over it — 
that of producing one-fifth more 
seed. (Fig. 9.) 
The results of a direct compari- 
son of these two varieties of flax 
are shown in Table 1. 
Since this pedigreed fiber flax, 
grown in this country for the 
last 12 years, maintains the su- 
periority shown in Table 4 over 
seeds freshly imported from 
Holland and Russia, it would 
not appear necessaryto im- 
port fiber flax for seeding pur- 
poses, provided proper care is 
taken of the seed produced in 
this country. In this connec- 
tion it may be stated that observations during the last 10 years, 
both in experimental-plat and commercial sowings do not show 
that imported seeds have any advantage over those grown in this 
country. 
Fig. 8. — Plant-breeder's envelope. 
