1865. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTUKIST. 
109 
es we have the assurance that the seed ought to have 
been sowed a little thicker in those places. But when 
no branches are formed 
near the roots, it is a sign 
that there was as much 
seed sowed per acre as 
could grow profitably ; 
and if the stalks appear 
small and slender, we 
' need no better evidence 
tliat the seed was sow- 
ed too thickly. My own 
practice has been to sow 
about one bushel and a 
half of seed per acre, 
whether the chief object 
was seed or lint. I have 
always thought that this 
amount of seed would 
produce a better yield of 
seed and lint than any 
other quantity per acre. 
Testing the Seed.— 
Many dealers in flax seed 
will contend that, as flax 
seed contains so much oil, 
it will not lose Its vitality 
in many years. But my 
long experience justifies 
me in stating that It will 
sometimes lose its vital- 
ity in only a few years. 
Several years ago, I pro- 
cured a two bushel sack 
of Russian flax seed, at a 
large price, and not a 
single seed germinated, 
although the soil was well 
prepared before it was 
sowed, and the seed was 
put in when the surface 
was fresh and mellow, 
and the seed possessed all 
the external appearances 
of the best. It was of a 
livelyj brownish color, 
very plump, and heavy, 
but its vitality was gone. 
To test seed, select a few 
grains and sprinkle them 
between two thin pieces 
of sod laid earth sides to- 
gether, and put them on 
a shelf in the kitchen 
where they must be kept 
warm and not allowed 
to dry. In a few days 
every seed that has not 
lost its vitality, will ger- 
minate. Then by count- 
ing them, we readily as- 
certain about what pro- 
Fig. 2.-THICiC SEEDING. ^^^^^^^ ^j ^^^^ is gOod. 
When to Sow,— Almost all writers recommend put- 
ting in the seed as early in the season as practicable. 
But my experience and extensive observation warrant 
me in saying that flax seed is almost always sowed too 
early. A certain season of the year that would be con- 
sidered early in one locality, might be very late, one or 
two hundred miles distant in either direction. Therefore, 
to fix a definite period for every locality, I would say: 
Sow when the soil has settled, and is warmed by the influ- 
ence of the sun, and weeds and grass have begun to 
spring up, and the leaves of trees begin to unfold. 
If sowed too early in the season, much of it Is liable to 
be stunted ; late frosts are very apt to injure it, more 
or less ; and noxious weeds are sure to get the start of 
it, unless extra pains have been taken to destroy them. 
The soil should not be at all adhesive or sticky when 
the seed is sown. The very best time, with reference 
to the condition of the soil, is, soon after a shower, when 
the small lumps will crumble at a very slight touch, and 
the entire surface is friable and " lively." Tlien it will 
germinate in a few days, get the start of weeds, and keep 
the ascendency through the season. By this means a vast 
amount of weeding will be saved, the fibre will be more 
abundant, the seed belter, and the yield greater. 
How TO Sow Flax— Every practical man knows that 
flax seed is very slippery grain to sow by hand. Conse- 
quently, unless a man take great care, the seed will be 
sowed very unevenly. As It is so very slippery, it is not 
practicable to sow it with a grain drill, nor with any kind 
of broad-cast seed sower, that we have ever met with. 
The details of my own practice, which I have never be- 
fore put on paper, are as follows : After the soil has been 
harrowed as directed above, mark out the ground two 
ways, in lands about 18 feet wide. This breadth is wide 
enough to sow at one round, or at two casts. Let the 
seed be soaked in warm water, about two or three hours, 
and then rolled in plaster or gypsum. Then count the 
lands both ways, and make calculation to sow a given 
quantity of seed on each land, each way. Take as much 
seed as you can hold conveniently with one thumb and 
three fingers. If you are liable to take too much seed, 
hold a small round stone in the hand while sowing. 
The object of rolling the seed in gypsum is, to render 
it less slippery. I could always scatter the seed much 
more evenly by sowing a few rods wide all one way, in- 
stead of going directly back and forth. This I did, by 
going around a land about five or six rods in width, as in 
plowing. The best way to mark out flax ground is, to 
drag a log chain behind you across the field, from one 
stake to another. It will pay well to carry out all these 
practical details in full. As flax seed is much more diflS- 
cult to sow than most other kinds of seed, it is very im- 
portant that none but an experienced sower, one able 
to move with a very steady and uniform gait, and to cast 
every handful with the accuracy of machinery, should be 
employed to sow flax seed. If the ground be marked out, 
the sower can always see where his seed falls. But, 
when he sows by means of stakes, a deviation of only 
a few inches, to the right or left, will drop the seed too 
thin in some places, and too thick in others. The sower 
slioutd always set a small stake where he commences 
to sow, at both ends of the plot, so that he will be sure 
that no strip will anywhere be sowed too thicker too thin. 
How TO Cover the Seed.— I never would allow a 
team of any kind to pass over the field, after the seed has 
been sowed, for the following reasons : If the soil is at 
all light and porous, a team would, with their feet, bury 
much of the seed so deeply that it would be several days 
behind, and would never be able to attain an equal 
growth with the rest of the field. Another reason Is, 
when the seed Is buried so deep, the flax will puil much 
harder. Flax seed requires but little earth to cover It deep 
enough to vegetate In a short time, and by depositing It 
all on a smooth surface, where several seeds will not be 
gathered into depressions in the soil, it will all vegetate 
alike, will stand evenly on the ground, and pull easily, 
may be cut with scythes, cradles, or horse mowers, close 
to the ground, and the straw artd lint will be of a uni- 
form length, and quality. My practice has been to 
" bush in" the seed by drawing a brush-harrow by hand. 
With a suitable brush, one man would bush in four or 
five acres per day, and do the work well. Such a har- 
row covers a strip about five feet wide, and an active 
Fig. 3.— BRUSH-HARROW. 
man or a strong boy would cover the seed nearly as 
fast as he could do It with a team, and much better. 
To Make a Hand Brush-Harrow.- Procure a piece 
of hard-wood scantling, or a round stick, about five feet 
long, and three by four inches square, for tlie brush head, 
put two thills into it, and bore two sets of three-quarter 
inch holes through it, for receiving the but-ends of brush 
which are f:istened in the holes with nails. Brush about 
two feet long should be selected, and after the holes are 
filled with them, another course may be nailed on each 
side of the brush-head, if necessary. This will be found 
a most complete implement for covering flax seed. 
The effectiveness of such a brush-harrow may be in- 
creased at pleasure, by lashing billets of wood to the up- 
per side of it. The length of the head may be greater or 
less, according to the evenness, or the unevenness of the 
surface of the soil. If it should be somewhat uneven, it 
would be better to make two such harrows, four feet long, 
for two men to use, than one h-irrow, eight feet long, to 
be drawn by two men, because a short one would adapt 
itself to the ineaualities of the surface of the firound, 
and cover the seed much better than a long one. 
Such a brush-harrow will always be useftil to have at 
hand for putting in many other small seeds. 
Fig. 4.— effect of beep and shallow sowing. 
The accompanjing illustration represents five young 
plants of flax, three of which are about three or four 
inches high, the seed of which was covered about half 
an inch deep. The seed of the one at the left hand was 
buried nearly two inches deep : and the one just in the 
seed-leaf was buried still deeper. The illustration is de- 
signed to show the importance of covering all the seed 
of a uniform depth, in order to have all the stalks as 
nearly of a uniform length as practicable. When some 
of the seed is buried too deeply, those plants that spring 
from such seed as may be covered only half an inch 
deep, will get the start of the other by several days' 
growth, which will produce stalks of various lengths. 
This ought carefully to be guarded against in putting 
in the seed. Moreover, when a flax seed germinates, 
the kernel is carried on the end of the stem to the sur- 
face of the ground, where it forms two leaves, as shown 
by the smallest plant. When seed vegetates in this man- 
ner, it is longer coming up than when only a spear is 
sent up, like Indian corn, wheat or oats. The difficulty 
is greater on heavy than on a light soil. And if flax seed 
be covered deep on a heavy soil, and the weather be 
somewhat dry, it will be impossible for it to come up, 
while oats or wheat would come up with no difficulty. 
Weeding Flax.— If the soil has been prepared, and 
the seed put in at the time and in the manner directed in 
foregoing paragraphs, very little weeding will be re- 
quired; but if Canada thistles, dock, wild mustard 
or other noxious weeds should show their heads, let a 
careful man, shod with two or three pairs of old woolen 
socks, remove them when the flax is eight or ten 
inches high. A lot of boys, or heedless men should nev- 
er be allowed to go among flax, unless when it is 
very young ; because if it is trodden down after it has 
grown a foot or more in hight, most of it will never re- 
cover its erect position. The object of covering the feet 
with something soft is, that the plants may be injured as 
little as possible. Hard boots and shoes will crush the 
stems so badly that if they should straighten up again, 
there would be a bad spot in the fibre. The weeds should 
be cut off close to the surface of the ground, gathered in 
the arms, and carried to a pile— not thrown down. If 
pulled up, much of the flax will be rooted up with them. 
In some parts of the Old World, men, women, girls 
and boys do the weeding, when the flax is only a few 
inches high ; they sit flat on the young flax, hitch along, 
and weed on each side of them as far as they can reach. 
It is better to destroy the weeds before the seed is 
sowed, and keep every thing ofl" the young flax. > 
When to Pull (or Cut).— As the time of ripening 
approaches, the observing farmer will appreciate more 
than at any previous period, the importance of the de- 
tails heretofore given. When the seed has been harrow- 
ed in and burled deep by the feet of teams, the flax will 
