Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1891-05-15
FLAX AND LINEN.

The following interesting informa-
ton about fax was furnished by the
secretary Of the Minneapolis Board of
Trade:
Practice and time are necessary
to become proficient in this
branch Of husbandry. The farm
ers of the Northwest have the in
telligence, and experience will soon
enable them to produce as fine fiber
as is produced in any other country.
The best fiber is that produced by
hand. and the farmers of the North
west could find profitable employment
for the long winters here by prepar-
ing one or more acres of fax, as de-
scribed above, and packing it away to
hand scutch during the winter. Every
family could earn from 500 to $500
each season in this way. There will
be cash market in Minneapolis for
all the fiber the farmers can produce,
and it will pay them another year to
SOW their flax thick on rich old
ground, see that it is free from weeds,
harvest it at the right time, thresh it
30 as to save the straw straight
and rett and scutch it themselves, or
to sell the straw to the flax mills.
It is an error to suppose that Ire
= land grows more fax and produces
more linen than other countries. The
latest correct statistics show as fol-
lows: Flax grown on the Continent
of Europe, 100000 acres; Ireland,
: $4,000 acres; and in the United
States, 1,294,812 acres. Of this
Minnesota raised 1926 acres; Da-
kota, 4sS,993 acres; Iowa, 265,000
acres; Nebraska, 150,922; besides
large acreage in the western part Of
. Wisconsin. Ireland last year pro-
duced only $4,000 tons of fiber and
imported $4,000 tons from Russia and
Belgium, and this imported fiber is
better than they produce at home
Ireland manufactures less than one
fourth Of the linen produced in the
world.
The impression that fax cannot be
raised for seed and fiber both is
wrong. The fact is that Ireland is
the only fax fiber producing coun-
try in the world where they do not
save both the seed and the fiber.
There are two reasons for this: First,
the humidity Of the atmosphere pre-
vents the seed from maturing until
too late to get the fiber from the straw
the same year; and second. the far
mers as class are too poor to wait,
80 that they pull the fax as soon rs it
will do for fiber. The best fiber and
the best and handsomest linen in the
world comes from Silesia, a province
Of Prussia, where they save the seed
and fiber both. The largest linen
mill in tho world is in Jnra-
dova,. Russia, where they employ 1000
hands in one mill, and make very
fine linens. The climate and soil in
these countries are identical with that
Of this section of the Northwest.
Within a radius Of 400 miles of
Minneapolis there was raised this last
year over 100000 acres of fax, all
suf which could have been worked in
~ fiber fit had been properly put in
and handled, aud would have been
worth in cash to the farmers over
100000 in addition to the seed.
The average in Minnesota last year
was 10.40 bushels, aud brought to the
farmers about 100000 cash. The
fiber from the straw, which was nearly
al burned up, would have been worth
IN cash about 100000.
The future of the linen industry for
The Northwest il great. Minneapolis
10 taken the lead in this by estab-
fishing linen mills with a capital of
eco, 600; and the erection Of other
mills il being considered. In ten
years this fax fiber and linen industry
will Ii Of q much Importance to
4 Mime rSnl;s end the onfira Northvo.t