UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
SP 
BULLETIN No. 655 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER April 20, 1918 
INFLUENCE ON LINSEED OIL OF THE GEOGRAPH- 
ICAL SOURCE AND VARIETY OF FLAX. 1 
By Frank Rabak, Chemical Biologist, 
Office of Drug -Plant and Poisonous-Plant Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
Varieties of flax 2 
Factors which influence the composition o: 
the oil c 
Plan of comparison of the oils I 
Yield and physical properties of the oils 5 
Relation of the oils to the source o. seed 14 
Conclusions 15 
INTRODUCTION. 
The cultivation of flax for the production of flaxseed and for lin- 
seed oil is at present receiving the most careful attention of agricul- 
turists as well as manufacturers. The interest in this important 
problem is twofold. The matter resolves itself into a problem of 
rehabilitation of the crop on the one hand, due to a diminishing 
acreage and yield of seed, while on the other hand interest is stimu- 
lated by the constantly increasing demand for the manufactured 
products with the growing scarcity of the linseed oil used in their 
manufacture. Practically the whole output of iinseed oil is consumed 
in the manufacture of paints and varnishes and other allied materials 
where protective coatings are desired. 
In view of these conditions, it is important that attention be di- 
rected at the present time to the improvement of the crop and the 
oil The desired results can best be accomplished by a combined 
agronomic and chemica, investigation of the subject. The investiga- 
tion should embody a study of the culture of the plant for the pro- 
duction of seed, supplemented by a thorough study of the oil from 
the standpoint of yield and quality. 
1 The work discussed in this paper was carried out in cooperation with the Office of Cereal Investiga- 
tions of the Bureau of Plant Industry. The writer wishes to express his thanks to Mr. C. H. Clark, assist- 
ant agronomist, in charge of flax investigations in that office, who supplied the samples, and to Mr. J. D. 
Mclntyre, of the Office of Drug-Plant and Poisonous-Piant Investigations, who rendered assistance in the 
extraction of the oils. 
39090°— 18— Bull. 655 
