BRITISH AND IRISH FLAX CULTURE.-NO. 1. 
335 
BRITISH AND IRISH FLAX CULTURE.—No. 1. 
History.—The cultivation of flax has engaged the 
attention of mankind from the earliest ages, in 
almost every part of the globe; and has continued, 
to the present time, a source of profit to the culti¬ 
vator, and of employment to the people. Several 
lively allusions occur in the Sacred Scriptures. 
“ The flax and the barley was smitten; for the barley 
was in the ear, and the flax was boiled. But the 
wheat and the rye were not smitten, for they were 
not grown up.” From this simple statement we dis¬ 
cover the accuracy of the Mosaic account, for in 
England also flax ripens before wheat. Rahab hid 
the spies with the stalks of flax that were laid in 
order on the roof of her house. Now as a nice re¬ 
gard is paid to the order in which flax is laid to dry 
at the present time preparatory to scutching and 
spinning, doubtless hers was placed upon the roof 
for similar purposes. Many cottiers in Ireland 
grow small patches of flax in their gardens, which 
they prepare and spin for their own private uses. 
Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and 
linen yarn ; the king’s merchants received the linen 
yarn at a price. Job complained that his days 
were swifter than a weaver’s shuttle. From these 
quotations we learn that flax was cultivated, pre¬ 
pared, spun into yarn, woven into linen, and consi¬ 
dered an important article of merchandize in those 
remote ages. Indeed, fine linen is frequently men¬ 
tioned amongst the ornaments of the Temple at 
Jerusalem. “ The Egyptians,” says Belzoni, 
“ were certainly well acquainted with linen manu¬ 
factures equal to our own, for in many of their 
figures we observe their garments quite transparent, 
and among the foldings of the mummies he observ¬ 
ed some cloth quite as fine as our commoirmuslin, 
very strong, and of an even texture,” which proves 
that their manufactures must have arrived at a 
reat degree of excellence. Pliny describes the 
ifferent qualities of flax respectively produced by 
each country, with a .particularity which argues 
that the manufacture of linen was already become 
an important branch of commerce to many nations. 
Flax was first introduced into England by the 
Romans. In 1175 it was classed amongst all tithe- 
able productions. In 1531 a statute was enacted, 
requiring that, under certain penalties, “ for every 
sixty acres of land fit for tillage, one rood should be 
sown with flax and hemp-seed.” From that period 
to 1767 many unsuccessful attempts were made to 
extend and improve the cultivation and preparation 
of flax. In the latter year several thousand pounds 
were proposed to be divided amongst the successful 
cultivators of the plant. About the year 1798 a 
bounty of 4 d. per stone was given to claimants for 
the growth of flax. “In 1810 a new method of 
dressing flax was proposed by Mr. Lee, who not 
only patented the invention, but obtained an act of 
Parliament by which the specification of his inven¬ 
tion was ordered to be deposited in the Court of 
Chancery, to be kept secret from the public for 15 
months, and then to be produced only by order of 
the Lord Chancellor, and by him to be examined 
whenever occasion required.Messrs. Hill 
and Bundy, in the year 1817, likewise patented an 
ingenious machine for breaking and rubbing flax; 
but though this was said to have considerable 
merit as regarded its mechanical arrangement, the 
machine has not been found of greater practical 
utility than that of Mr. Lee.” But this branch of 
national industry may not be said to have been 
thoroughly established before the formation of the 
Norfolk Flax Society, the first annual meeting of 
which was held on the 6th of January, 1843. The 
objects of this association are— 
Firstly.—By a partial alteration of the rotation o) 
crops to increase the annual profits of the culti¬ 
vators of the soil. 
Secondly.—By the introduction of flqx, the culture 
of which affords considerable employment to wo¬ 
men and children, to add to the scanty earnings of 
the agricultural laborer. 
The third object we have in view is to open a 
new source of employment for the manufacturers of 
the city of Norwich, and thus to relieve the distress 
so prevalent among the industriously-disposed poor 
of that ancient city. 
On the 3d of November, 1843, a National Flax 
and Agricultural Improvement Association was 
also formed at Ipswich, for the purpose of affording 
instruction and assistance in the cultivation of flax, 
the use of the seed to fatten cattle, box-feeding, 
summer-grazing, &c., &c.; on which occasion 
many specimens of flax and linseed of superior 
quality were exhibited from various counties, prov¬ 
ing that the soil and climate of Great Britain and 
Ireland are peculiarly adapted to the culture of 
the plant. 
From a series of experiments made during the 
past four years, and now in extensive operation, 
particularly in Norfolk, it has been incontesta¬ 
bly proved that a compound of flax-seed, with 
grain, pulse, or chaff, for fattening cattle, is far su¬ 
perior to foreign oil-cake; and if used in connec¬ 
tion with box-feeding and summer-grazing, will 
enable every farmer in Great Britain to fatten more 
than double his usual number of stock, and render 
him forever independent of foreign aid, both for 
food for his cattle and manure for his land. 
Hence it will readily be seen that a more abundant 
supply of grain, meat, wool, leather, tallow, oil, 
flax, and hemp, &c., &c„, must be produced, and the 
merchant, the tradesman, the artisan, and the labor¬ 
er, reap proportionable benefits with the cultivators 
of the soil. 
At the Annual Meeting of the Tenants of the 
Earl of Erne’s Estate in Ireland, Capt. Skinner, the 
benevolent and zealous Secretary of the Irish Flax 
Improvement Society, addressed the meeting; from 
whose speech we take the following brief and im¬ 
portant extract:— 
Three years since, the quantity of Irish flax grown 
was computed to be about 25,000 tons. The in¬ 
crease of value upon this amount effected through 
the exertions of the Society was, at the least, taking 
a general average, £10 per cent., which would gain 
a sum of £250,000 additional in circulation among 
our farmers. But, my Lord Erne, it is now under¬ 
stood by calculations, there will be fully 14,200 
tons of flax more in the markets this season, than 
there was three years since, which, at the low rate of 
£45 a ton value, would give the sum of £643,050; 
and this, added to the above additional value, makes 
it clearly appear that fully a million of money 
