408 PENTANDRIA. PENT AGYNIA. Linum. 
L. teeen'ne. (Calyx-leaves obovate, blunt, about five-ribbed, smooth : 
leaves strap-spear-shaped, very entire: stems numerous, ascend¬ 
ing. E.) 
Var. 1. Upright. 
E. But. 40— Mill. 166. 2— Knipli. 2. 
( Stems a foot high. E.) Calyx leaves concave, with a short bluntish point 
at the end, not fringed or hairy. ( Blossoms blue, smaller than those of 
the last. E.) 
Var. 2. Stem trailing. Both varieties rise from the same root. In the 
upright the stamens are longer than the pistils, in the trailing they are 
shorter. Huds. 
Perennial Blue Flax. Pastures and meadows in calcareous soil. 
Marham, Norfolk; Ixworth, Suffolk; Gogmagog Hills. Mr. Wood¬ 
ward. (Hedges near Sowdown, Devon. Polwhele. On the banks about 
Bernack Heath, and Wittering Heath, Northamptonshire. Morton. In 
Bulmer Field, at the end of the avenue leading to Castle Howard. Tees- 
dale. E.) P. June—July. 
(L. angustifo'lium. Calyx-leaves elliptical, three-ribbed, acuminate, 
as well as the capsule: leaves three-nerved, strap-awl~shaped, 
rough when stroked downwards: stems numerous. E.) 
(E . Bot. 381. E.)— Jacq. Austr. 215— Clus . Hist. i. 318. v.— Bocc. Mus. t. 
125. 
Clus. Hist. i. 318. left hand fig. Lob. Obs. 226. 2. and Ic. 1. 413. right hand 
fig. are tolerably good representations of it, but the stems are too upright 
at the base. Leaves stiff, pointed, scattered, hairy underneath, as far as 
the stem is trailing pointing upwards, above that in various directions. 
Calyx shorter than the capsule, egg-shaped, blunt, but ending in a sharp 
point, keeled with a prominent rib. Blossom much smaller than that of 
L. perenne , pale reddish purple with darker lines; petals not absolutely 
entire. Style not bent back beyond the stamens. Woodw. ( Root fibrous, 
pale brown, woody. Stems eighteen to twenty-four inches, or more, in 
struum upon sulphureous bodies. When heat is applied during the expression, it obtains a 
yellowish colour, and a peculiar smell. In this state it is used by painters and varnishers 
(and is the only vegetable oil suitable for their purposes. E.) The fibres of the stem are 
manufactured into thread and linen cloth, from the finest cambric to the coarsest canvas ; 
and this when worn to rags is made into paper. (Some principal Glasgow manufacturers 
have recently ventured to speculate on the cultivation of Flax after the mode practised in 
Holland, in certain districts of the south of Ireland, particularly on rich lands, in the 
neighbourhood of Bruff, in the county of Limerick; anticipating a produce which may 
rival in texture and cheapness the finest imported raw material. This is a consideration of 
no small importance, as providing manual employment for labourers of every age, even 
during the most inclement season; by which Ireland would be enabled in a great degree to 
supersede the Russian or Dutch importations; nor would the practice be extended to Hemp 
with less beneficial results.—A correspondent in the Farmer’s Journal, for the fatting of 
cattle with flax-seed, directs: boil the seed down to a jelly, adding a small quantity of salt, 
and sufficient pollard and chaff to make the food tolerably solid. Of this preparation give 
one pound daily to each beast, gradually increasing the quantity to four pounds. It may 
be further remarked, as stated by Mr. James Hall, Month. Mag. v. <26, that even the refuse 
of Flax, usually thrown away after dressing, though too rough and short for being converted 
into cloth, on being beaten and shaken so as to separate the strawy from the tough stringy 
particles, (which can be speedily done by a horse or mill,) becomes thereby as soft and 
pliable, and as useful for making paper, as the longest, and what is reckoned the most 
valuable part of the plant, after it has been converted into cloth. E.) 
