Cultivation the cultivation of the flax-plant for the sake of its fibre may be dis cussed under the following heads: Soil.—Assuming that the situation be in accordance with the remarks made above on the subject of climatic influence, land in "good heart" will produce the largest yield of fibre, and of the best quality ; poor land will give weak fibre. Heavy land, with favourable weather for pulverizing the soil, will give rich orops. The land must always be in good condition, and dean. Peaty land without a olay subsoil, as well as sandy land with a gravelly bottom, is unsuited, and will give but a poor yield of fibre. Medium and alluvial soils are the best—a nice dry loam, neither too light, nor too clayey. In the puldere of Holland, the vegetable mould of the Bocages, the peat of Connaught, the limestone of central Ireland, and the clay-slate of 'Ulster, good flax is grown ; but the soils best suited for it are alluvial deposits. In all cases, perfect drainage is an essential condition. Five examples of celebrated flax soils from Russia, Belgium, Holland, and Ireland contained respec tively :—Silica, 82.21, 83.93, 60.94, 69.32, per cent. ; lime, 2.36, 1.19 per cent.; alumina, 6 • 93, 1 • 29, 5.66, 7. 81, 3.31 per cent. ; iron, tmces, traces, 45, per cent. The average composition of three highly favourable soils was found to be :—Silica and sand, 69.0; oxide of iron, alumina, 7'0; phosphate of iron, ; carbonate of lime, 1.7; magnesia, &c., organic matters, 6• 9 ; water, 9 • 2 per cent. The organio matter was rich in nitrogen. Land selected for flax should be as fiat as possible, so as to produce plants of uniform length, this condi tion having an important bearing upon the value of the crop.
Tillage.—This will depend upon the nature of the soil. Stubble land should be ploughed deep in the autumn, and if light, be allowod to remain till seed time ; medium may need a second ploughing, not less than 2 months before sowing ; heavy land must certainly have a second ploughing, and may even require grubbing. The second ploughing should be shallow-3-4 in. Potato ground must only have one shallow ploughing-3-4 in., and, if the soil be light, this should be done only 4-6 weeks before sowing ; if heavy, it may be done earlier, so as to expose the ground to tho frost. When the sowing-season arrives, all weeds should be removed, previously to har rowing, by men with spades or grapes, and ohildren to gather. After this, the ground is harrowed fine : if in ridges, up and down only ; if flat, across also. Ground in ridges is not cross-harrowed, because that would draw mould into the furrows, and leave too loose a bed in the furrows and brows. If the land is sufficiently dry, either naturally or by drainage, the flatter it is the better. The extent of the pulverizing depends on circumstances : on light and medium Boil, excessive pul verizing is injurious ; with a deep ploughing in the autumn; and, if necessary, a shallow winter ploughing, moderate harrowing will leave sufficient fine surface mould to give a good bed for the aced ; deep pulverizing on such land would ruin the crop, unless the season were unusually wet.
Heavy land, on the contrary, cannot be pulverized too much. After each harrowing, the land is picked clear of weeds and large stones ; previous to sowing, it is rolled once.
Sowing.—This is said to be done best on the rolled surface, though some farmers first give a single stroke of a seed harrow. A dry, calm day must be chosen. Flat ground needs tracking out, to guide the sower, by poles, or measured and traced by a man's foot. The best time for sowing depends upon the situation : land near the sea may be sown early ; inland, too early sowing may encounter late spring frosts, which injure the young plants, and make them branch—the worst evil that can befall the orop. Early sowing is done in the hope of having an early harvest, but this is often prevented by the weather. The best authority on flax growing in Ireland, Michael Andrews, Secretary of the Flax Supply Association, advises the sowing in that country to be completed before the last week in April, so that the flax may be " abraird," or well above ground, by the 1st May. When it is intended to lay down land in clover and perennial rye-grass, these should be sown immediately after the flax, and before it is harrowed in. Italian rye-grass should be sown only on the surface, after pulling, in wet weather.
The kind of seed most suitable is subject to variation : on heavy land, or after a green Dutch seed is best ; on light and medium soils, Riga seed is preferable. The quantity of seed used depends upon the kind sown, and upon the quality of seed and fibre required. Dutch seed produces finer fibre than Riga; but this point is influenced by the thickness or thinness of the sowing, the fineness of fibre increasing in direct proportion to the thickness of the sowing. In Ireland, where the moist climate does not admit of such thick sowing as on the Continent, 2 bush. an acre (3t bush. an Irish acre) is the usual quantity ; but a trained sower should be able to regulate his seed so as to produce exactly the class of crop required, without reference to the measure of seed used. Riga seed contains many weed-seeds, which should be removed by passing it through specially prepared flax-sieves of perforated zinc. Dutch seed seldom needs this cleansing.
After sowing, the seed is harrowed in by two strokes of the seed-harrow, once up and down, and once across. If dry, rolling may at once follow, across the field ; on potato land, extra rolling will be needed. The prospect of the crop is best when rain falls immediately after the sowing, as this makes a strong and even sprout ; but where weak spots appear, a dressing of soot or stimu lating artificial manure may be applied in wet weather.