Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-11-12
The Flax Crop.

over most OF the w oStorm states the
fax crop bas probably returned more
dollars for the amount of time and labor
invested than any other crop of small
grain. A great many yields have been
reported Of from fifteen to twenty
bushels, which at the current price OF
one dollar and twenty cents per bushel
probable that farmers will plan for a
much larger crop next year.
In view of this fact we wish, now
that farmers are making their plans for
the next year, to drop a hint or two.
There is possibility that some men
who, seeing the good results this year
and having no experience themselves,
may arrange to 60 into the business
heavily next year and come out,
as men have often done, COM
pletely "haxed" There are several
kinds of land on which it will not pay
to grow flax, or at least to risk it. 1t
will not pay to risk it on poor land or on
foul land, or on land that has not re-
ceived good culture. Slipshod farming
will not win in the flax business. To
make flax profitable the land must be
rich, not merely naturally, but must
and especially of nitrogen. To deter
mine the value of clover roots to crop
of flax we sowed two plats adjoining,
one of which had been in clover and
mown in 1889 and the other in corn that
year. The treatment in every other
respect was alike and the result
was four bushels per acre in favor
of the clover plat. The only differ
ence in the cost of these two plats was
the cost of threshing four bushels, 50
that it will be seen that the net profit
on the clover plat was many times that
of the other. In short the value Of the
clover roots was over 81 per acre.
Hence, if profit on land is wanted
when it is sown in fax, do not fool away
time on poor land. Neither will it pay
weedy and foul it should be plowed
early and narrowed thoroughly and re-
peatedly until the weed seeds near the
surface are killed.
Flax can be sown quite early or late,
and still have time to mature, and
there is no use rushing i'll the crop I'M
til the ground is ready.
Neither will it pay to sew flax and not
take every precaution to have the seed
all covered, and as near the same depth
as possible. If some is covered deep,
some is very shallow, and others not
covered at all, the seed will come up
unevenly and some will be ready to
shatter when the rest are only in bloom.
This involves very serious loss and can
be avoided only by thorough prepare
ton.
Heretofore fax has been grown only
on the new lands of the West and
Northwest. It has travelled in company
with spring wheat. 1t is even more
exhausting to the land than spring
wheat, though why it should be we are
at loss to fully understand. Bushel
for bushel it makes heavier draughts on
the land. The straw is in all probable
ity more exhausting, but the quantity
grown per acre is less in about the same
proportion. 1t is not crop that a
farmer can grow year after year on the
same land. If the price holds up it
will no doubt find place in the rotation
along with clover and winter wheat.
Flax is one of the grains of which the
American demand exceeds the supply,
and hence it is not at all likely that the
price will fall below the point where it
is profitable to grow it on good land
HODpSfP06