Some Minor Farm Crops. 
137 
Imported Malagan Linseed 41 per cent. English Mazagan Child. 42-43 per cent, 
n Steppe „ 39 „ „ Steppe „ — 
„ Pskoff „ 38 „ „ Pskoff „ 40 
„ Plate ,, 38-39 „ „ Plate 38-39 „ 
„ Dutch „ 37-38 „ „ Dutch „ 37 
Reference has been made already to the somewhat surprising 
fact that only comparatively recently has uncrushed linseed 
been used as a feeding stuff, and, prior to the advocacy 
of linseed feeding by John Warnes about 1843, uncrushed 
linseed was not considered at all as a food-stuff. 
From that time until the present flax has always been grown 
to some small extent in this country as a linseed crop ; the 
straw being used as a bottom layer in stock-yards and for ricks, 
for thatching and for paper-making and more recently the 
unretted straw from this crop has been used in the preparation 
of coarser twines. The quantity of linseed straw available, 
however, has always been small and, being produced from 
widely scattered areas throughout the country, it has received 
but little attention. 
Since Stratton’s experiments on linseed growing (1880-1882) 
some few acres have been grown in various parts of the country 
principally in the eastern and south-western counties, but no 
further serious attempt was made to grow flax for linseed as a 
farm crop for some years. When, however, the great advance 
in the price of linseed and linseed products took place towards 
the end of 1909 farmers once more turned their attention to the 
possibility of reviving linseed growing in this country. Daring 
the past three years the area devoted to this crop has increased 
nearly four times ; the increase occurring mainly in Essex, 
Somerset, Suffolk, and Northamptonshire. 
The requirements of the linseed crop seem to be almost 
identical with those of the line crop in so far as the preparation 
of the land is concerned, the elimination of annual weeds, and 
the time for sowing. When using the small variety of linseed 
it is usual to sow about bushels of seed to the acre, but in 
the case of the larger seeded varieties, such as La Plata or 
Mazagan linseed, 2 bushels is a suitable quantity to use. The 
seed is shallow drilled, the rows being about 8 in. apart, on 
a seed bed having a fine tilth as in the case of the line crop, 
and, at an early stage of growth, the gross weeds are removed. 
Linseed is allowed to stand longer than line so that the seed 
may mature more completely. It is then either cut by scythe 
or machine, tied up into sheaves and allowed to remain in the 
field to dry, Farmers frequently separate the seed by passing 
the crop through an ordinary threshing machine, but as it is 
more difficult to remove the seed from the capsules than is the 
case with the usual grain crops, it sometimes has to be passed 
through the threshing machine twice. 
