The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-03-06

The Chicago Times says: Some pa
pers in Iowa and Kansas are endeavor-
Ing to convince the farmers Of those
states that fiaxseed will no longer be q
paying crop. They predict that the
the next two or three years rs rapidly
as that of wheat has since 1880. Their
predictions are based on fears of over
production.
While the demand for tiaxseed in
this country Is large, there Is little
prospect that its production will be I'M
dertaken in most of the states. It has
never been raised in any of the south
ern states to any considerable extent.
1t Is not promising crop for farmers
In the older settled states. The pro-
ductiveness of their fields have been in4
jured by long cultivation, and the soil
Is full of the seeds Of weeds. Other
crops pay better on high-priced land.
Flax Is q suitable crop for farmers In
the northwest for many reasons. It is
easy to market. A carload of flaxseed
brings much more money than the
same bulk of corn or any Of the small
grains. The cost of seed for given
amount of land is comparatively small,
as only half bushel Is required for an
acre. A paying crop can be obtained
from land that has been broken for the
first time. Flax is more remunera-
tive crop than corn to raise on newly
plowed prairie land, even in localities
where the seasons are long enough to
produce good crops of corn. It Is es-
pecially adapted to regions where a
corn crop can not be raised, or cannot
be depended upon, or where 1t can
only be raised on soil that is under
high degree of cultivation. A farmer
in any Of the states or territories west
of the Mississippi river can at least re-
alize enough from crop Of fiaxseed to
pay the cost of breaking the land, and
expense Of seed, sowing. harvesting and
marketing. This is all O farmer In any
part of the country can reasonably ex-
p psSs "a cr sa IF - ssseed has sold sor
enough to pay for the land as well as
for preparing It. II the growth OF the
fax-plant is exhaustive to the soil, it
has the effect Of subduing tough turf
and putting 1t in condition to be easily
worked with view Of preparing 1t for
the production of corn or small grain.
Flax il source of wealth to the far
mers of the northwest. The amount
of oil-cake exported last year was 524,
847, 1871 pounds, which sold for "a, 115,
1853. Flax will do better In soils con-
tanning an excess of alkali than any
crop grown by farmers. Its production
on soil Astounding In alkali is recon-
mended. That FAX Is an exhaustive
crop all acknowledge. Its production
can only be continued on what are
known rs very strong soils, such as are
found in the valleys Of rivers subject to
overflow. The exhaustion Of the fer
tility of soil by the production of fax
may, in great measure be prevented
by the return Of the plant to the soil
from which 1t was produced. This may
be best accomplished by judiciously
feeding the straw to stock and apply
ing their manure to the fields.
Farmers who expect to raise large
crops of good flaxseed should be care
full about selecting the seed they SOW.
For a century flax was raised in this
country chiefly for the fiber of the
plant, that was used for making cloth,
and not for seed It was accordingly
sown very thick, a bushel and half Of
seed being sown on an acre. Very
thick sowing causes the plants to grow
tall and slim, and to produce but q
small amount Of seed. Growing plants
for special purpose has the effect of
modifying their character. They at
length have hereditary peculiarities.
Much of the flax grown in this country
is produced from the seed of plants
raised for fiber. The first seed was
sown In the states bordering on the
Atlantic ocean. aud the bark Of the
| stalks was manufactured into cloth In
the houses of farmers. AS the fax
plant moved west 1t was cultivated fol-
new purpose. What we want now is
plant that will produce seed. La
India, where flax has long been raised
exclusively for the production OF seed,
the plants are said to be only IL inches
high, but very productive OF seed.
DIFFICULTIES OF AGRICULTURAL Elk.
PERIMENTs.
When, however, we come to look for
the results OF oil this work, we find
them surprisingly nfeager In compari.
SON with the expenditure OF time and
labor which they have cost. That many
valuable results have been reached
goes without saying; but. relatively,
their number is small, while the mum
Der Of uncertainties and contradictions
IL remarkably great. The weakest