The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1884-10-23
Flax Culture in the Northwest

Flax Culture in the Northwest.
st. Paul Pioneer-Prcss: There is not
much use in telling the farmer con-
tlnually that he should study diver
sifcation of products unless he can be
given from time to time some practical
hints as to the manner of diversified
ton. In some sections he has already
discovered, in others he is RAPIDLY
learning, that exclusive devotion to a
single crop is not winning policy. In
bad years it leaves him short as to
amount of product; in good seasons it
makes him competitor in a market of
ruinously low prices. This has been
the experience Of the great majority of
those who yielded to the prevailing
idea that the Northwestern farmer
could raise wheat and nothing but
wheat. But if there is to be change,
1t Is OF no use to preach diversiEcation
IN general terms. What the farmer
wants to know is specifically to what
ne should devote portion of his atten-
ton and labors. A great deal has been
said about the advantages and profits
of stock raising and dairying, and a
great deal more remains to be said.
But If we are to have diversified aeri-
culturc-and on no other foundation
can solid, enduring, prosperous agri-
cultural interest be built up-wc want
more items than this. We want good
long list of occupations and of pro-
ducts among which the labor of the
farmer may be distributed with safety
and profit. 10 point out some of these
and the opportunities they have to
offer is to perform a substantial service
for the farmer of the northwest.
In this connection it will be well for
our agriculturists to give little thought
to the progress and the profits of flax
culture; an industry which has grown
with extraordinary rapidity in this Sec
ton, and the promises to occupy per-
manently an important place in our
agriculture The growing of fax, if
not itself carried to extremes, offers to
the farmer one avenue Of escape from
the danger which gather about the re-
lance upon any one product. Flax
culture in the United States is very
recent innovation. Up to about 1865,
such mills for the manufacture of lin
seed oil as existed in this country were
largely supplied with their raw mate
rial by the importations from England
and the east: The flax industry began
with the efforts of the mill men to OBJ
tain a domestic supply, and for this
purpose quantities of seed were dis
trlbutcd among the farmers, and the
Of the plant urged by every
that might be able to over
come their constitutional conservatism.
AS western mills came into existence
the samc'p policy was followed, and loans
or even gifts of seed were made to
farmers to induce hem to assist in the
enterprise. 1t took but few years to
convince them by money returns that
they had found a profitable occupation,
and the cultivation of flax has annually
covered a wider area and been more
followed. The plant has
been found to flourish remarkably in
the rich new soil of the northwestern
states, and the product of see has now
reached proportions which aston
iSh those who have not
made a study of the subject.
Estimates of the entire crop of the
United States vary widely. 1t is as
sumed, however, that last years yield
aggregated from $4,000 to 1850, 900
bushels, and that the crop now being
marketed Will, by reason of an increas-
ed acreage OF 20 per cent and better
average yield, reachcd from S,OO0,C0O
to 9,OO0,O0O bushels. But the most re-
feature OF this production is
that the crop of Minnesota and Dakota
comprises probably one-half the entire
yield of the United States. In Mime
sofa the crop is put at 100000 bush
els, while that OF southern Dakota alone
will reach from 100000 to 100000
bushels. The reasons for this sudden
spring into prominence lie very near
the surface. In casting about for some
product by which to supply the nee! of
(!ivcrsifying agriculture. farmers were
induced to make a trial of flax. The
results were such as to encourage them
to the utmost. A feature Of peculiar
adaptation to new country in its Gull
ture is the fact that it can be grown
Immediately after breaking. Usually
the work Of breaking ground is unpro-
ductivc except as a preparation for the
future, but it is found that flax can be
so"n as Il breaking crop with excellent
results, the first years yield frequently
paying all expenses, and sometimes
leaving a comfortable margin toward
paying for the land itself. The plant
yields here more abundant|y than at
the east. producing on the average an
equal or greater number of bushels to
the acre than wheat. AS the price this
season has remained steady at from 81
to S1.15 per bushel, with crop of from
fifteen to eighteen bushels per acre, it
is not to be wondered at that farmers
who have tried the experiment of flax
culture are remarkably well satisfied
18th pecuniary results.
There is no reason why the culture
IF this plant should not be much more
universal than it is. Gu: soil is excel
cntly adapted to it, it thrives well in
northern ATTITUDES, producing abund-
unity across our northern boundary,
ind it is even less subject than grain
products to climatic dangers. About
he only thing to be feared is an excess
'ivel' wet harvest season, which ruins
he seed by softening and decay. But
his is less threatening than the dam
gers which menace other products,
While the prospect that there will be a
demand for flax seed at good
prices is excellent. We still import
arGc quantities of oil and seed which
It is possible for our farmers to pro-
luce, while it is probable that other
portions of the plant will be more care
July utilized in the future than at pres
,nt. The fiber, elsewhere considered
Inc most valuable portion. is here al
lowed, to a great extent, to go to
waste. A few mills for manufacturing
It into tow to be used for upholster-
ng purposes exist in the Northwest,
md the fiber for this purpose is worth
from $50 to $25 per ton. But there
seems to be no reasons why, with care
jul cultivation and harvesting, the
same plant should not furnish the aver
age quantity of seed and also supply
he long fibers that are used in the