Alto. 1, 1835.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 
FLA.X IN CANADA. 17 
to harrow well with a heavy harrow .; next the surface should be rolled ; 
then pass a light harrow on the land ; and lastly roll again. Let the 
ridges be as wide as possible, with as few furrows as can be made, since 
the flax is likely to be of unequal lengths when there are many farrows. 
With, regard to the time fur so' wing, about the 10th of May is the best 
time ordinarily, but this is a point to be determined by the season and 
the state the land is in. Weeds are among the worst enemies we have 
to contend with in the culture of this crop, but we do not suffer so much 
in Canada in this respect as do cultivators in many other flax-growing 
countries. Vegetation is so much quicker with us, that if the crop is 
got in in good season, the flax plant comes on so rapidly that it outgrows 
the weeds, chokes them down, and renders them of such a delicate 
nature as not to injure the fibre to any extent when prepared for scut- 
ching. 
It is often asked, Will it do to seed down with flax ? This has often 
been done to great advantage, and some of the most experienced agri- 
culturalists prefer it, as they maintain the clover plant is moulded by 
the pulling of the flax. Those who have not tried it have fears that the 
young clover plant will be pulled with the flax. This is not the case, 
however, for, as all farmers are aware, clover has a very long root, and is 
difficult to pull out of the ground. This is a matter for the agriculturist 
to experiment on for himself, and settle to his own satisfaction. In 
Ireland, land is considered best for a flax crop when it has been many 
years either in meadow or grass. It is usual, after breaking up, first to 
take off a crop of oats, and then sow flax. This will be found to answer 
well in this country, but it must not "be forgotten that flax must not be 
sown the same year land has been heavily manured. After turnips, 
potatoes, or any root crop, the best crop of flax is likely to be had ; or 
when a crop of fall wheat has been killed by the frost early in the spring, 
with careful cultivation, if the land is clean, a good crop of flax may be 
expected. 
We now come to the pulling, the great bugbear with most of the 
farmers. I only wish some of our ingenious young Canadians would put 
themselves to work, and invent an implement that would get me over 
this difficulty, and the farmers too. And yet it is not so bad, especially 
if the younger branches of the family could be enlisted to take their 
share of this part of the labour. This might be encouraged by giving 
a direct interest in the share of the crop. In the German settlements a 
great deal of this part of the labour is done by the daughters of the far- 
mers, and in a short time they become more expert at it than men at 
high wages. Four hands are allowed to pull an acre per diem, and at 
the worst it will only cost three dollars more than cutting an acre of 
wheat. Whether it be pulled by men or boys, great care should be taken 
to keep the root end as even as possible, and in every case when it is 
pulled before the seed is ripe, which is invariably the rule in Ireland, in 
order to procure the best quality of fibre. It should be taken imme- 
VOL. VI. C 
