Some Minor Farm Crops. 
129 
addition to their increased profits they were thus relieved of 
the necessity of engaging in the troublesome after-processes of 
retting and fibre separation, operations which, at that time, 
were conducted on primitive lines by the husbandman and 
his family. It appears therefore that British flax cultivation 
survived only in the hands of the less experienced farmers, a 
condition of things which almost of necessity meant that the 
quality of the fibre prepared was low. This probably explains 
how it was that British flax fell into discredit, and, while a 
diminishing quantity was grown in this country, the amount 
of fibre imported steadily increased. Furthermore, following 
the Treaty of Paris in 1856 and peace with Russia, large 
quantities of low grade fibre were imported into this country 
from Russia, and occasioned a further depression in British and 
Irish flax growing. 
It must be observed also that improved methods were being 
practised in Holland and in Belgium, and these were closely guar- 
ded as secrets against the foreigner ; in consequence the fibre 
from these countries coming to the British markets commanded 
more than double the price of the home-grown commodity. 
Two other factors that contributed to the decline of English 
flax growing are worthy of notice. One was the centralization 
of the linen trade in certain districts only, thereby depriving 
many farmers of their local markets on which they depended 
for the disposal of their crop ; the other was the increased 
cost of labour due to the high prices of food materials and 
the general prosperity (which, however, was largely fictitious) 
during the great French War. 
A marked halt in this decline, however, took place in 1864, 
chiefly owing to the cotton famine, which made flax a more 
valuable commodity, but due also to the establishment of public 
or central retteries at which farmers could dispose of their 
flax straw, thus relieving themselves of the necessity of 
carrying out the troublesome after-processes of retting and fibre 
separation. This latter feature seems to have figured largely in 
the revival of the industry which took place during the ensuing 
ten years, and marked a new stage in the history of British 
flax. 
A further step in the revival was the saving of the seed as 
well as the utilisation of the straw. It is clear from early 
writings that it was customary to make no attempt to save the 
seed from flax grown in this country, although the special 
merit of linseed cake as a cattle food was recognised at an 
early date. But owing to the prevailing practice of largely 
adulterating linseed cake British farmers were induced ulti- 
mately to follow the lead given by John Warnes about 1840, 
and harvest the crop, so that both the seed and fibre were 
YOL 74. F 
