Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1863-03-04

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FIR Il the return of only an equal amount
II ,nerosAntable QUALIFY. she cannos be ex-
pscted to stipuistc price for the balance
OF THE. crop, lbeyop the ordinary average,
taking azeNid6 Of years into SECONDHAND
tide up& tl.is bssis thar the business has
bSen CONDUCTED shitherto, end it is still |
centinud to the acceptance of majority |
OF the frmers in the largest fix growing |
districS In this connection we would |
add, that with good seed to SOW, there Is |
nothing like fax as preparatory crop for |
wheat The testimony of Ohio farmers,
where Hsx has been extensively grown feszi
over a quarter of q century, Is explicit on
this point, and to this fact Neawould call
the especial attention of our Illinois and
Wisconsin farmers, whose wheat growing
for some time has been so discouraging.
TIME OF CUTTING
Flax should be cut as soon as the bolls
begin to turn brown, and while the stalk
is vet green. If LETT standing too long
there viii be great lose of sseed in hsrve
ing.
MODE OF CUTTING.
A few farmers answered our question
on this head, /" with cradle, but large
majority said, /" with machine" And
from the number Of reaperr mentioned as
working well, We are persuaded that al
most all our standard machines can be
used TO advantage in cutting fax. When
| it is raised principally for the seed there
| is no necessity for binding it q great saw
ing Of time and expense as compared with
harvestil q wheat when Eve or six men
are required TO bind after the reaper) but
may be simply raked off into gavels and
| lie until dry, when it is ready for thresh-
| ing or stacking. AS, while standing, it is
| less liable to damage from heavy showers
| than wheat, SO now when cut, it wit bear
| a heavy rain with little detriment, if
| turned over afterwards, 80 as to prevent
the bolls from getting into the dirt
| Should the weather continue wet, it can
| be quickly dried in an interval of sunshine
+! (there being 10 leaves to retain mOisture)
| and then stacked, using hay for topping
| off, in which shape it may stand If neces-
| sary, until cold winter weather, before
| threshing- it is better to thresh
| early. so as to have September ap' Octo-
Der for dew rotting the straw.
MODE OF THREsHING.
"With fall y said few, Germans, in
| the vicinity OF Chicago, who have raised
| some of the finest crops on record, but the
rest were divided almost equally between
=" treading out with horses and Z" q ma
| chine" In some sections, and those
where they had raised most, and for the
| longest the, they report no difficulty in
using machines with some slight altera-
| tons, to suit better the nature of the
crop; but we are of opinion, in view of
Ell the answers received, that, for the or
! binary run of farmers, and the small
amount raised by each, /" treading out !"
may be safely recommended as the sim
| plest and cheapest method. When this is
done, however, great care should be used
| to prepare floor SO that the seed shall
be kept from getting mixed with dirt,
| which is a great and serious fault with a
large proportion of that which is brought
to this market. Then. too, an ordinary
| threshing machine will give you only tam
gled flax, which is always OF less value
| than straight, SO that if the straw is
heavy. it will pay better to bind in bun
dies and tread out, th0s keeping the straw
in good shape for spreading to rot and to
sell as straight fibre. The good sense ard
peculiar circumstances OF each farmer will
suggest the best mode for him-although,
tor large operations, the machine must of
course be the method.
CLEANING SEED 5t---..5-
Is an item in raising flax that must have
more attention from our Western farmers
| than it has hitherto received. Until lately
! the makers of tanning mills had little
| 10 experience with it, and so furnished no
screens suitable but now, several of them
| furnish flax screen, with which a large
amount of the toul seeds can be removed;
| and there is certainly no excuse tor trans
| porting prairie dirt, at high rate of
tn fheaH of ho int n o
market and the great annoyance OF the
manufacturer, who has to separate every
particle OF it before crushing the seed.-
| The difference of price between lots OF
seed belonging TO different parties is main-
| ly determined by the manner IN which it
has been cleaned by the farmer.
D.. YIELD PER ACRE.
The average yield of seed may be stated
| at ten to twelve bushels per acre. Some
report tifteen-the lowest nine. The lar
| gest yield of which we have heard was
twenty-three bushels to the acre, but
| scores of farmers reported fifteen to TWEEN
| ty bushels, in 1861.
The average yield of straw is one and
| half to two and half tons--when cut
yielding about one ton of rotted straw, for
which there Is now an active demand
chimes for breaking out the fibre are i'm
proved and multiplied. ESQ
Messrs. Walworth, Hubbard & Co., of
this city, who have invented and con-
structed powerful breaker, are now pay.
ing from eight to twelve dollars per ton,
according to quality, delivered in Chicago,
and will contract with responsible parties
for the delivery of large amounts the ensu-
ing autumn.
COST OF PRODUCTION.
In reply to our inquiry on this point tie
answers are almost unanimous, "a bout
the same as wheat" Some say that Gin
regard to preparation OF ground and SOW
ing, just the same as wheat. Harvesting
less extensive, bat cleaning trifle more"
SO that it may be safely put down as cost
ing less to raise flax than wheat
CERTAINTY OF THE CROP.
On this point there is perfect agreement
from ali sections. One man SAYS: "I
have raised it for over twenty years, and
nine years in succession upon one piece of
land, and never knew it to fail" Anoth-
er reply, signed by several farmers, says:
Ii Gown in season there is no crop more
certain" Another: 6 If put in early
think it sure CROP" and one in southern
Iftypnla w &,