i.^216 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
A'.igust  27,  1896. 
Why  the  cultivation  of  Flax  was  abandoned  we  do  not  quite 
know  Possibly  it  was  owing  to  difficulties  of  cultivation,  other 
crops  were  ea  ier  of  management  and  met  equally  good  markets  ; 
po  sibly,  too,  the  land  had  been  overcropped,  for  there  is  Flax 
sickness  quite  as  surely  as  Clover  sickness.  We  have  pi’oof  of 
that  in  the  case  of  the  island  of  Tjsselmonde  just  opposite  Rotter¬ 
dam.  It  was  once  the  home  of  Flax  cultivation,  now  it  is  the 
home  of  Flax  manipulation. 
The  question  arises,  Can  th's  crop  which  provides  clothing 
for  man  and  the  richest  of  food  for  stock  be  grown  now  to  a 
profit,  or  must  we  be  content  to  relegate  it  to  the  dark  ages  ? 
Oneof  our  noble  Dukes  (not  Bedford),  a  man  always  forwar  1  in 
any  scheme  that  may  aid  his  tenantry,  has  spoken  strongly  on  the 
subject  has  done  more  than  speak,  has  acted  and  by  his  orders 
his  agent  is  now  trying  experiments  with  Flax  growing  on 
different  parts  of  the  estate  with  a  view  to  seeing  what  can  be 
done  in  this  matter.  Aided  by  a  liberal  landlord  in  the  matter 
of  plant,  &c.,  we  can  but  hope  there  may  in  this  crop  be  a  little 
profit  to  be  got  by  the  agriculturist. 
Ulster  has  long  been  the  home  of  the  Flax  industry,  and  the 
farmers  there  grow  not  only  the  raw  crop  but  prepare  it  for 
the  manufacturer,  thus  reaping  two  distinct  profits.  Whether 
this  is  the  best  way  or  not  we  are  not  quite  sure.  We  are  almost 
inclined  to  believe  a  little  co-operation  here  might  be  an 
advantage  ;  time  and  labour  might  both  be  saved  by  centralisa¬ 
tion,  as  is  the  case  with  the  butter  factories.  The  cultivation 
of  the  crop  appears  to  present  no  insuperable  difficulties.  On 
every  properly  managed  farm  we  find  well  drained  land,  clean 
and  in  good  heart;  in  this,  as  in  every  other  crop,  best  work 
produces  best  results.  To  get  evenness  of  fibre  the  land  should 
be  as  level  as  possible,  but  no  one  would  ever,  we  think,  dream  of 
growing  Flax  on  hil'y  land  To  get  land  well  worked  and  well 
cleaned  ready  for  a  Flax  crop  there  is  no  better  preparation  than 
a  Potato  crop.  Grood  tops  will  effectually  choke  weedy  growths  ; 
good  tops  mean  good  tillage  somewhere,  and  the  Flax  reaps  the 
benefit  secondhand. 
Old  pastures  which  have  grown  one  white  crop  will  usually 
produce  a  good  plant  of  Flax.  In  sowing  old  seeds  with  Flax 
there  are  two  difficulties  to  contend  with.  First,  the  land  is 
often  full  of  weeds,  and  secondly,  there  is  always  a  danger  of 
wire  worm,  which  appears  to  be  indigenous  to  old  seed  land. 
Flax  must  never  be  grown  as  an  “  extra”  or  “  stolen”  crop  out 
of  proper  rotation  unless  an  extra  supply  of  manure  is  given. 
In  its  proper  course  it  should  recur  on  the  same  land  every  ninth 
year. 
As  to  the  preparation  of  the  seed  bed,  it  is  the  same  old  tale. 
Well  worked  soil  absoliiiely  freed  from  weeds  by  hand  and  fork, 
and  a  firm  well  rolled  surface.  Early  sowing  means  early 
maturity.  There  is  always  a  danger  of  late  frosts  injuring  the 
young  plarfes  by  cutting  off  the  top.  This  causes  the  plant  to 
branch,  which  materially  spoils  the  crop. 
For  heavy  soil  Dutch  seed  will  be  found  to  answer  best  ;  for 
light  or  medium  we  must  go  to  Russia  and  take  the  well-known 
Riga  seed.  The  Dutch  seed  produces  the  finer  fibre,  but  a  thick 
crop  is  invariably  finer  in  quality  than  a  light  one.  If  the  seed 
be  good  two  bushels  per  acre  is  enough.  If  Russian  seed  needs 
so  much  cleaning  before  being  pressed  into  cake  (and  we  have 
seen  some  very  funny  samples  fresh  delivered  at  a  cake  mill),  it 
is  equally  necessary  to  screen  it  before  sowing.  If  Clover  is  to 
be  sown  among  Flax  it  should  be  put  in  at  once— that  is,  directly 
the  Lanseed  is  sown.  Italian  Rye  Grass  injures  the  Flax  plant, 
and  if  wanted  should  be  sown  fiftcv  the  Flax  crop  is  pulled. 
Unless  there  is  absolute  need  for  them  artificial  manures 
should  be  avoided.  Absolute  need  means  weak  places  in  the 
crop  which  require  a  little  coaxmg  and  encouragement.  If 
showery  weather  follows  the  sowing  the  crop  comes  up  strong 
and  even.  The  last  week  in  April  is  quite  the  latest  date  for 
Flax  sowing.  Great  care  must  be  taken  in  weeding.  Any 
loosening  of  the  soil  round  the  young  plants  is  most  injurious, 
and  only  when  there  is  sufficient  moisture  to  allow  of  the  weeds 
being  easily  drawn  out  should  any  weeding  be  done. 
Flax,  like  Beans,  is  not  cut  but  pulled,  and  experience 
teaches  the  exact  time  when  the  plant  is  ready  for  pulling ;  too 
soon  or  too  early  will  injure  the  quality  of  the  fibre.  The  seed 
must  first  be  removed,  then  the  bundles  or  “  beets  ”  of  Flax 
require  steeping  Now  here,  we  think,  co-operation  might  come 
in  Why  each  farmer  should  have  the  trouble  and  anxiety  of 
preparing  the  proper  soaking  places,  with  a  supply  of  suitable 
water,  we  do  not  quite  see.  There  is,  for  instance,  so  much 
difference  in  the  action  of  various  waters.  There  is,  too,  a 
danger  of  under  or  over  soaking,  that  these  operations  must  of 
necessity  be  better  done  where  the  water  supply  is  of  the  best 
and  the  supervision  constant  and  scientific  The  drying,  too, 
appears  to  be  conducted  in  rather  a  haphazard  manner.  We 
think  it  is  possible  and  feasible  to  dry  the  Flax  by  some  method 
which  would  render  the  farmer  'ndependent  of  the  weather. 
Flax  that  is  grown  for  the  seed  is  inferior  as  a  fibre,  as  the 
seed,  taking  longer  to  come  to  maturity,  injures  the  quality. 
The  seed,  either  mixed  or  pure,  makes  excellent  food  for  all 
animals  on  the  farm,  and  the  farmer  has  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  at  any  rate  in  that  form  there  can  be  no  fear  _  of 
adulteration,  a  fact  of  which  he  is  not  at  all  sure  when  using 
cake  made  even  by  the  best  crushers. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM 
By  the  time  these  lines  are  in  print  little  harvest  will  be  left  to 
secure,  and  the  farmer  will  in  many  cases  be  looking  with  complacency 
on  a  well-filled  stack-yard ;  but,  generally  speaking,  the  weight  of  straw 
has  not  been  a  heavy  one,  and  though  the  yield  of  grain  may  be  quite 
satisfactory  the  straw  will  break  up  in  the  thrashing  machine,  and  make 
up  but  small  heaps  for  winter  food  and  bedding.  The  straw  of  Oats  and 
Barley,  though  deficient  in  bulk,  is  very  fine  in  quality,  and  every  morsel 
should  be  consumed. 
No  time  should  be  lost  now  in  getting  the  horses  into  the  stubbles, 
either  ploughing  or  dragging.  Where  there  is  much  twitch  we  prefer  the 
drag,  which  tears  it  up  whole  instead  of  cutting  it  into  small  bits,  the 
tendency  of  the  plough.  A  very  .little  work  done  with  the  land  in  its 
present  diy  state  may  save  much  labour  next  spring.  If  the  weather 
holds  up  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  kill  all  kinds  of  rubbish  during  the 
next  month,  and  those  who  take  full  advantage  of  the  opportunity  may 
have  great  cause  for  self-congratulation  next  summer  if  a  wet  season 
should  have  visited  us. 
The  spring  cultivators  recently  introduced  are  excellent  implements 
for  autumn  fallowing  if  the  land  be  not  too  hard,  but  if  it  is  impossible 
to  use  the  cultivator  the  chilled  plough  will  be  the  thing  to  turn  to.  A 
very  wide  furrow  may  be  turned  only  about  3  inches  deep,  the  Bentall 
used  across  the  ploughing  will  break  it  up  ready  for  the  harrows,  which 
will  complete  the  work. 
It  was  an  old-fashioned  custom  after  harvest  to  send  men  over  the 
stubbles  to  fork  out  the  twitch  where  the  clumps  to  be  found  were  only 
few  and  far  between,  it  was  a  most  excellent  plan  ;  but  we  fear  that  one 
result  of  the  long  depression  has  been  greatly  to  reduce  the  number  of 
farms  where  such  an  operation  could  be  completed  with  any  real  satis¬ 
faction.  At  any  rate  it  was  only  autumn  fallowing  on  a  small  scale, 
though  more  independent  of  the  weather. 
Turnips  are  growing  wonderfully,  and  will  now  be  a  good  crop. 
Mangolds  have  also  done  very  well,  and  quite  made  up  for  the  bad  start 
they  made. 
MBTEOROLOaiOAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamdbn  Squabs,  London. 
Lat.  SI®  33' 40"  N. :  Lon^.  0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
el 
1896. 
August. 
[  Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
1  Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperaturt- 
Dry, 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Gratis. 
Inohs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inohs 
Sunday 
16 
80'151 
88-7 
64-7 
N. 
61-0 
73-3 
46-8 
120-4 
40-5 
Monday  . . 
17 
30-164 
69-2 
62-9 
N. 
61-2 
74-3 
47-1 
114-1 
4l-9 
0-182 
Tuesday  . . 
18 
30-029 
68-1 
66-7 
S.W. 
61-9 
63-0 
86-6 
79  2 
53-1 
0-037 
Wednesday 
19 
29-873 
60-0 
64-6 
N. 
61-0 
70-8 
60-6 
106-2 
46-7 
0-146 
Thursday . . 
20 
29-929 
61-8 
67-2 
N. 
60-6 
72-1 
52-8 
113-8 
61-8 
Friday 
21 
29-898 
61-7 
67-8 
W. 
61-0 
68-4 
63-4 
107-1 
48-7 
0-173 
Saturday  . , 
22 
30-098 
6. -2 
68-9 
N. 
60-1 
69-3 
50-7 
lSO-0 
46-8 
— 
30-020 
61-4 
55-7 
61-0 
70-2 
51*1 
108-7 
46-9 
0-507 
REMARKS. 
16th.— Overcast  early  ;  bright  and  sunny  after,  with  occasional  cloud ;  fine  night. 
17th.— Dull  and  generally  overcast  till  11.16  a.m.,  then  bright  and  generally  sunny  after  ; 
cloudy  at  times. 
18th.— Dull,  overcast,  and  rainy  all  day  ;  fine  evening. 
19th.— Bright  sunny  morning ;  duU  afternoon ;  heavy  rain  in  evening, 
20th. — Fine  all  day. 
21st. — Morning  bright;  steady  rain  from  1.45  p.M.  to  3.25  p.m.  ;  duU  remainder  of  day. 
22nd- — Bright  early  and  to  0.30  P..\l.,  then  overcast ;  evening  fine,  with  lunar  corona. 
A  nearly  average  week  both  as  regards  temperature  and  rainfalL— Q.  J,  Symons. 
