Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-07-25
A Talk About Flax.

There is no country where flax can
be grown so cheaply as in the Western
States. The Illinois State Board re-
ports the expense of growing the crop
as varying from six to thirteen dollars
per acre. This includes the use of the
land, cost of blowing, narrowing, SOW
ing, seeding, c%utting, stacking, thresh-
ing and marketing. The variation in
the estimate is due principally to.a diff
| ference in the rental of land and in the
price of labor.
In 1881 the Department of Agricul-
ture estimated the acreage of flax in
| nine Western States, beginning with
Ohio, at about LIZ. 600 acres. We
have not at hand the estimated acreage
of last year, but presume there is little
or no Increase, from the fact that farm
ers in many localities, especially where
the remunerative dairy has been intro
duced, have abandoned the growing of
a crop that had come to yield but a few
bushels of seed per acre, and whose
straw had no market value for fibre or
fodder. The causes OF non-productive-
ness are not hidden in the least. The
seed has simply run out" and the
crop was not grown in a proper rota-
ton, So that flax fields had been robbed
of the food most needed by the plant.
But ever had the quantity of seed
been double what it came to be in, say,
the dairy district tributary to the Elgin
market, flax for the seed alone could
not compete with the dairy, and it
would hardly have done so had there
been machinery for working up the
fibre in every village. Still, where
such s%pecialties as dairymen are not
introduced and where farmers a grow
flax for the seed, and make a fair profit,
this crop might be made doubly valu-
able if the fibre could be utilized.
This is the great need of the industry,
and the wonder is that capital does not
seek this avenue Of investment. The
demand for articles made from fax
fibre is always large. In addition t.,
what we make up into the coarser ma
torials, such as Irvine, thread, tagging,
and the like, this country imports
linen goods from Europe to the amount
of nearly , 5000, 900 per annum.
Taking into account the fact that we
can grow as good flax a any country
in the world, and do it at half the cost
that it takes to produce it in the old
| world, this stands out as n of the
most remarkable cases of Indifference
to money-making on the part of Ameri-
can capitalists of which we have knowl-
edge.
We do not believe that for a series OF
years farmers can make great money by
growing fax for the seed alone. We
can hardly be expected to argue that it
pays in the long Il to grow any crop
4Lo+ oSLo,1,k, 1,~J n~I oc,a ',.of,1r,S
anything to make the loss good. 10 be
remunerative for a series Of years tho
crop of seed should bring a price THAI
will enable the grower to purchase the
manure which IS needed to keep up the
fertility. Judicious rotation would
help materially, of course, but the av.
erage yield of flax seed per acre of late
years gives little promise Of profit an.
loss supplemented by a sale Of the
fibre.
Flax is easily grown. The main
things are to choose ground as free as
possible from weeds, to prepare it thor
oughly for the seed-bed, and to procure
clean, fresh, plump seed. The land
must be we'll drained, and Il sandy loan
is preferable; a clay subsoil will answer
if there is good, dry loan above. Clay
soils are too compact. Harrow and roll
before sowing so us to have a smooth
surface. Ii for seed alone, three pecks
of seed per acre is ample; if for 10th
seed and fibre, q bushel is none too
much. The seed should be covered
with about an inch of dirt. Sow when
the soil is well warmed up and in good
ccnd:tionfor working Farmer.
--~o ~---
DIR. G. L. Parmelee and wife, Of
Hartford, Conn. expect to tragel 1000