The San Saba weekly news. (San Saba, Tex.) 18??-1???, 1891-08-14
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
MIGHT NOT FLA& GROWING
PROVE PROFITABLE
There is n DemanI FOR Llnsced Meal 90
TAX" Care OF Your Implements
1he sIiISinE Stool and
Household Hints.


he cultivation OF fin & was gradu-
ally abandoned rs the cheaper cotton
abres began 10 take thcplace Of linen
FOR many domestic uses, and the farm
ers felt that the same amount of labor
expended IN growing other crops would
provide them with money to buy cot
ton from California o linen from
Europe. 1t was also considered 10 be
q crop that was very cxhausting to the
soil, and it might have been better to
devote land and manure to the produc-
tiou of corn. that could De eaten, than
to fax. But it Is poss be that with
the improved labor-savi 10 machinery
OF the present day anC the case of
obtaining fertilizers, which will restore
10 the land the elemen 5 taken from
it by tho crop, or furnish them in
advance before the crop is grown.
that this may once more become an
important part of agriculture in those
sections where land and labor are not
too expensive The demand for the
seed for its oil. and for the meal
(linseed meaD for feeding purposes.
will assist to make the crop more
profitable than when grown for fibre
alone, says a writer in the Ohio
Farmer While in the western states
1t Is often grown upon Iewly broken
god. il likes mellow ard rich soil
and does best sl that which has been
worked one Or two years If there are
not too many weeds. 1t Is sown when
the ground gets fairly warm and set
tied in tho spring, or about corn
planting time, and may be put in
broadcast or in drills, the latter being
preferable. The drills should be about
nine inches apart When sown for
seed alone, from half bushel to three
pecks of seed TO the ace is used.
which makes branching plant, but to
get good fibre it is better to have it
much thicker. and two bushels broad
cast or bushel and a half in drills
will be none too much, and It would be
better to increase that amount Keep
down the weeds until the crop shades
the ground enough to prevent them
from growing
When the seed is nearly ripe, it is
pulled mot cut if fibre is the princi-
pal objecD and tied in bundles. and
put up in small stacks for drying.
Then If must be threshed, and for this. /
If not done by the hand fail, ma
chine is needed which will only thresh !
the heads and leave the Straw I'M
broken.
The best process is the 'rotting."
This is sometimes done b,Y exposure /
upon the grass to dow and rains. but
the better way is resort t., the ponds /
and brooks. 3 clear space free from
weeds and foul matter should be
chosen, and the bundles laid in butts
downward and lightly touching the
bottom. There it remains from five TO
ten days, or until the core will come
out of the fibre easily when the stalks
are broken. Now take out by hand.
or with the wooden barley fork, and
stand up to drain, for which one dav
and night OF good weather, should be
sufficient
Then comes the '.grassinlEn which
is opening the bundles and spreading
evenly upon clean grass field. turn
ing once Or twice day to improve the
color. 1t should be ready 10 take up
again in from three days ID week.
much depending on the wss. leE. Next
follows the '.braking, w1is'h Is best
done by a set of fiuted roller, in a ma
chine made for that purpose; then the
'.hatchelling" and the separation Of
fine and coarse fibre, and the spinning
and weaving. The flax mill or linen
mandatory should be prepared to
take it in the bundles. and perform all
the subsequent labor by machinery
after it is taken from the grass. In
fact they might take the stalks after
threshing and perform the labor of
''Potting" and bleaching better than
the farmer.
The needs to successful glowing of
fax are good. strong soil. We worked
before the sowing of the seed, with
plenty well-rotted old manure. and
then an application of from ADO to 500
pounds per acre OF mineral fertilizer
largely composed OF pot; sh and
phosphoric acid which would be much
cheaper than one with a large, or even
the usual, percentage of nitrogen
Then heavy. bright-lookinE plump 1
clean seed is needed. the imported
seed being considered r2thtr better
than the american grown. Like many
other crops. flax requires to b. attend
ed to at the proper stages of growth, {
and q little neglect may cost heavily
a good crop is estimated 10 be about
500 pounds Of fibre and ten ID fifteen
pounds of seed, or about so per acre.
Should fibrelia be tho desi ed pro-
duct of the mandatory, the process
Of growing ard handling would be
much simPlified. as the seed can be al
loved to get fully ripe, giving larger
yield. 1t can be cut by mower or J
reaper instead of being pulled, and I
there need not be the care in t1reshing 5
Or the labor OF rotting and bleaching, S
as the fibre can be used in short {
staple instead Of the full length, as was
desirable under the old method. Flax z
ioes not grow well upon the slime soil :
several years in succession, and from c
i've 10 eieSt years should elaps. before
the crop upon the same field.
Pan Feaths,..
In going into the poultry business =
lon't start with too many breeds. a
Select the breed that You think will 7
uit you aad stick 70 il until yoa make
money out OF il. u