CULINARY.
FLAX (Linum usitatissimum). The use of flax has a greater antiquity than any other com mercial fibre. It was cultivated and manufac tured by the Swiss lake dwellers in the Stone Age in Europe, well preserved specimens of straw, fibre, yarn and cloth being preserved in the museums. Our name for this cloth, "linen," is derived from the Latin linum. This ancient flax, however, was from another species, Linum angustifolium. The Egyptians produced and used flax thousands of years ago and the Chal deans and Babylonians carried its use to the highest state of textile development. Three thousand years ago the Phoenicians extended the culture and the Greeks and Romans made it a household industry, and it became the aristo cratic fibre. It is claimed that the ancient Mexi cans knew of both flax and hemp, and its cul ture in this country goes back to the earliest date of our civilization. A bast fibre, it may be considered, next to cotton, the most valuable and universally employed textile in the whole range of vegetable fibres.
While the plant can be grown in nearly every portion of the temperate world, it is produced commercially throughout Europe and in portions of Africa and Asia, Japan and the Australian colonies. It thrives in Canada, the United States and Mexico, and in some of the South American countries. Good flax has been grown as far north as Alaska and the flax of Archangel, in Russia, is famous.
Its cultivation was brought to this country by the American colonists, the records showing that considerable quantities were grown in eastern Massachusetts as early as 1630. Its growth was early extended to other States, though for the most part it was a household rather than commercial industry. In the. middle of the last century three-quarters of a million pounds of flax were produced in the United States — Vermont, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey leading in the culture. With the increased use of cotton fine flax culture steadily declined and while, as late as 1869, 13,000 tons of flax were produced, a very small proportion was fine line, the bulk being mere tow for the bagging factories. A year or two later, when jute was admitted free of duty, the industry collapsed. At the present time we are growing flax to the extent of a million acres annually, but for the seed, for linseed-oil manu facture and not for the fibre. The straw, which
is rough and coarse, is largely thrown away, although in recent years attempts are being made to use the rough product for paper.
Good commercial fibre could be grown in many localities, notably in Michigan, Wiscon sin, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington. In a series of government experiments, conducted by the writer in the Puget Sound region of Wash ington, flax straw was produced from which was hackled out a fibre valued by experts at $500 per ton. Very little line-flax is produced at the present time, however, our commercial supply coming, previous to the great war, from Russia, Holland, Belgium and Ireland; a little comes from Italy and Canada.
Nearly every country producing commercial flax has established grades and marks, save the United States and Canada. In portions of Rus sia the grades bear the names of the districts where grown. The grades of Archangel flax are known by the terms first, second or third Crown, etc., and first Zabrack, second Zabrack, while Riga flax is graded from the standard K as HK, PK, HPK, HSPK, etc. French flax is known by the districts where produced and Irish flax by the counties where the flax is grown (consult
The culture of flax requires a deep, well tilled soil, in high state of fertility, such as moist, deep, strong looms upon upland; a wet soil is disastrous and clays are therefore avoided; and a soil filled with the seeds of weeds is equally fatal to flax culture. The land must be deeply plowed and reduced to fine tilth by harrowing and rolling. In the preparation of the soil, especially in Europe, a systematic rotation of crops is practised, flax occupying the same land not oftener than once in 5 or 10 years. Imported Riga seed gives the best re sults, although Belgian Riga (Belgian seed pro duced from one sowing of Riga seed) gives a fine fibre. The common seed of the oil-mills should never be used for fibre culture. When flax is grown for the production of seed alone, to be sold to the oil-mills, the ground is seeded at the rate of two to three pecks to the acre. For fibre culture one and a half to three bushels is the proper quantity per acre.