EUROPEAN FLAX

Temuka Leader, Issue 1418, 14 November 1885, Page 2

EUROPEAN FLAX

{Lirnum Usitatissimwm). TO THE EDITOR, Sir, —Having heard that many farmers in your neighborhood intend growing flax for the fibre, the seed to be used for oil-presa purposes, I thought a few remarks from one who has had experience both in the growth and manufacture of that fibre might be acceptable and useful to, at least, some of the growers. The flnx plant may be grown in any temperate climate, but does best were the frosts are not very severe nor the rains very heavy, and where the soil is of a deep loamy and slightly sandy nature. (Some hold that a deep soil is not necessary). As to kind of seed ; in Ireland Riga (Russian), and Dutch are the sorts most used, although the English seed sometimes does very well; American has also been tried, but the results were not at nil satisfactory. My ad rice would be to procure seeds of the b ft st brands of Riga and Dutch, and sow some of each, but on no consideration use American, as should you do so you are certain to have a fibre of a very poor quality. Some of the best shippers and brands are- -for Riga : Jacobs, Mitchell, and Rucker, etc; for Dutch: M.B.M, D. & V., and T.P.J.T., etc. Bs careful to order through a respectable house, and thus make certain of obtaining what you pay for. A large proportion of the bad crops in Ireland might be traced to the farmers being so foolish as to sell their empty seed barrels and coverings, which are refilled with inferior seed by dishonest storekeepers, and then sold as the genuine article. To guard against this I would advise every farmer here to destroy or keep his empty barrels from the very first. Should the cultivation of flax succeed storekeepers here will no doubt import seed, and although we know in New Zealand they are proverbial for honesty, still, *n the principle of “ lead us not into temptation,” I would remove the empty barrels over which they might otherwise stumble. Having obtained your seed, the next thing is the sowing of it and the choice of ground. Up to th° present time there is a great diversity of opinion in Ireland as to the place it should take in the rotation of crops. Some always sow it after two grain crops, following upon a crop of potatoes, or other green crop ; others sow on broken len, and in County Down it is very generally sown on potato ground. Same with seed : one likes Riga best, another prefers Dutch, but no records are reported •ad do trustworthy trials made. la my

opinion what you must decide upon is—to sow on the ground that is freest from weeds, as labor here is too expensive to do much hand weeding, and nothing is more injurious to the fibre than weeds being mixed with it in the scutching, and if once grown in it they cannot be afterwards taken out. The average quantity of seed sown per jfinglish acre is 2£ bushels, hut judgment must be used here, as much depends upon the quality of the seed and the suitability of the soil. It is much better to bow too much than too little, as when thick the fibre is generally straighter and finer. The middle or end of September, I imagine, will be the bear time to sow ; this would be ready to pull by the beginning or middle of January. The right time for pulling is when the base of the stem is commencing to turn yellow, and when the seed ball is firm and of a dark green color inside. The seed at this stage is suitable for the oil-press, but not for sowing. When growing for fibre it does not do to let the seed mature, as while (be seed is ripening the fibre deteriorates, becoming dry and losing its natural silkiness. When pulled tie up in bundles of about 201 bs weight each, keeping the root ends together and perfectly even ; put these bundles into ateep holes immediately—these holes should be filled with soft water. If soft water cannot be obtained, spring water, which has been in the holes some time exposed to the action of the atmosphere and thus softened, should be used. Hard water will not do, as the fibre does not clean aod is of a harsh nature. Put the flax into the holes on its root ends slightly off the perpendicular, the bundles leaning against each other ; cover over with straw to shat out the light, and put stones on the top to keep the flax down. The time it should remain in the hole will depend on the quality of the water and the heat of the weather; from 6 to U days about. When ready to come out the fibre will peel off the stems freely ; not a bad plan is to break the stern in two places, about 4m apart, and if it draws out easily free of the fibre it is sufficiently watered. Then throw ofi the stones and go into the water ; don’t run the water off, throw out the bundles, first rising each in the water. If you run the water off all the scum and dirt is left on the flax and injures the fibre. The success of the crop—the quality of the fibre—depends fmalnly on the farmer knowing when the flax is sufficiently retted. Should it be two little watered (he fibre will be harsh and brittle, and will not dean in the scutching process ; if too much it will be soft and weak, and will yield poorly when scutched. As in everything else, the happy medium is what must be arrived at, and, if possible, hit. Having now got all out of the water take it to a close cropped paddock, open the bundles, and spread the straw out in straight rows. If spread sufficiently thin it wi'l not require to he turned. Let it remain on the grass for say one or two weeks, but here again the farmer must judge for himself. If it gets ton long on the grass it will be nifty and weak ; if too short a time it will not clean. Shoo'd it be found when spread that it has not been long enough in the water give it longer on the grass. This will go a long way towards rectifying that mistake. When taken off the graes it must again bs tied up into bundles as before, roots all evenly together, and left in stocks in the field for a few days. The straw should be stacked some time before being snitched. It both yields bel'er and gives fibre of a better quality. Of course the seed should be removed as soon as the flax is pulled and previous to it being put into the water. Having now followed the flax as far as the farmer has to do with it, I add a few remarks from the “ Textile Manufacturer,” in which are given the conclusions arrived at by M. Alfred Renouard, fils, after examining carefully into the causes of some of the diseases of the flax plant. “ The flax plant is subject to many diseases, some of which are of great importance to the manufacturer, while others are less so, though they all affect the farmer, as influencing the quality or the quantity of the fibre to be obtained, or both. “ What is called fire, blackens the plant in its upper put and makes its yellow in its lower part. This is caused by long strong manure, containing too much ammonia, and the too frequent planting in the same soil that has been manured in that way. “Reddening of the extremities of the plant is caused by too ranch drought, and this effects the fibre so much that the parts which have been attacked are difficult to set. “ Rust is manifested by brownish patches. It has nothing in common with what is called rust in other plants, and which generally is produced by an insect or a fungus. Observations have led ino to the conclusion that this is noticed mostly in the neighborhood of the sea. and is caused by fogs, which leaves drops of w ter on the plant. These drops are then evaporated by the rays of the sun, and thus leave after them the black or red spots which are so damaging to 'he quality of the fibre. Sudden heat kills the plant in part before it has arrived at maturity. The portions thus affected get yellow, and there is consequently a reduced production of useful fibre. “ Continued heavy rains often destroy the tips of the branches, and cause new ones to spring up near the ground or in the middle. The fibre in this case rakes a bad color, and is much depreciated in value. Only timely occurrence of fine weather can save it from complete destruction, In some cases the plant thrives too rapidly, and the flowers disappear long before the plant is ripe and the fibre consequently matured. This occurs when the farmers put too much manure on the ground, and thus causes too great a heat and the presence of insects. “ Fungi are perhaps the most fatal pests to which the fl ix plant is subject. We need not inquire into their origin or the cause of their attacking this plant, about which there seems to be a diversity of opinion, but will merely state tint the disease consists in the growth of numerous small fungi on part or the whole of the stem, which after a few days lay the fibre bare, and then attack this also. Where this malady is discovered in time, and the plant has already sufficiently advanced, there may be a small percentage of usable fibre left, which, however, must be looked upon with suspicion by the spinner. If the fungi are thoroughly developed, the best thing the farmer can do is to pull the plant up and destroy it, for where they ere Introduced

into the storeroom they may do incalculable damage. It is rather remarkable that these fungi are found only on blue flax and never on the coarser kind, wh'ch has white flowers, nor on flax which haa been grown from seed freshly imported from Riga.” In conclusion I would impress upon the fanner the necessity of Obtaining the best brands of seed irrespective of price ; Sowing in ground free from weed* ; Having soft water for retting purposes, whether naturally soft or made soft by exposure to the weather; Light and even spreading on the grass, You will see by extract from diseases that the fungi are never found on flax grown fiom freshly -imported Riga seed. This is a very strong reason for using Riga seed. The writer knew a gentleman about 20 miles from Ashburton who had a very promising-looking paddock of fl >x a fe w years ago totally destroyed by these fungi. I believe the seed was American, but of this I am not certain. I would recommend every farmer to sow as much, end no more, fi x than he has suitable land for, and no more than is certain he will he able to thoroughly attend to. No half measures will pay in flax growing ; either give it all the attention it requires, and for which it will repay a hundred fold, or let it alone altogether. Properly attended to it will bring back a large sura per acre ; grown haphazard, little or nothing. That it is a paying crop, witness what it has done for the districts in France, Belgium, and Holland, where it is carefully cultivated ; aod flax, and flax alone, has been the cause of the prosperity of the north of Ireland compared with that of the south and other parts. Where a farmer has a large but young family he could not do better than let the children earn pocket money by weeding his flax paddock or paddocks. lam certain that flax growing here, if gone into judiciously, will go a long way towards giving that helping hand to Canterbury and other parts which they seem at the present time so much to require.—l am, etc., A Well Wisher to the UNDERTiKiHO.