Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-08-10
FLAx.cULTURE FOR FIBRE.
Report of Interest to Virginia with Re-
spect To IL.
from Our Regular Correspondent

WASHINGTON. August S.-The Depart
ment OF Agriculture has just issued a re-
port on fax. culture fo5 fibre in the United
States, as well as other countries, in which
mention of decidedly interesting nature
is made Of its culture IN Virginia. IL
says: Lee county, IN the Old Do
minion, is the centre of q fax in
dustry, q remnant of the old house
hold linen manufacture OF our grand
mothers day. The department has had
knowledge Of the fact that fax is still
grown and manufactured by farmers in a
few localities, chiefly in the middle south
ern States, the VIrginias especially,
though no previous efor: has been made
10 learn the details of the industry.
Recently. however, the Census Office
has had considerable correspondence with
citizens of Lee county relative to the
matter. and it is from this correspondence,
kindly placed at the disposal OF the De-
partment of Agriculture by Mr.. John
Hyde. special agent in charge of ag-
gricuiture. that the following inter
esting facts are Cleaned. The re-
turns OF the census enumerator5
having shown not little fax man.
ufacture in this section, where the exis-
tence of linen-mills was not known, letters
of inquiry were sent out, the replies show
ing quite an extensive home manufacture.
In the nTSJ OF JDeSt replies III ~ slhltu ithl
considerable number of the farmers OF
the section raise flax, which Is manufac-
tured by their families into linen of good
quality. They break, skutch. spin. and
weave on machinery made by themselves,
and all of il is used at home for home
consumption"
The following extract from another COM
munication embodying the chief intorma-
ton relative to tins industry will suffice:
4. ....r. 10 ralt, - "a
fax product by Lee county, in my opinion
there are various reasons why the flax
grown in this country III the year pre-
ceding the last census was very valuable
by the acre.
I'D There were at that time no rail-
roads in the county, but there were then,
and there are yet. plenty of mountains,
hills, and bad roads. over which goods
brought into the county had to be trans
ported by wagons from twenty to fifty
miles. Consequently the people, who con-
same more flax products than they pro-
duce, had TO pay the merchants an enor-
mons per cent. on nearly all goods, In
GLIDING linens, ropes, thread. and other
products of flax and very naturally they
valued their own homemade linens, etc,
(Which were OF better quality, but coarser
than those bought from the store) IN &C.
cordance with the prices they had to pay
the merchant tOr similar gOOuS.
"(2) Generally very small patches of
fax are raised on choice spots of land A;
consequently very good preparation of
land, seeding in the right time. and har-
vestIng with care, can all be attended to
in a much better manner than could be
done if the farmer had large areas In flax
for this reason the Weld per acre is much
greater on small patches than it would be
If large areas were raised.
30 The fax is watered in swathes on
the ground by rain and dew, broken on a
bench-shaped wooden break. cleaned on a
board set in the ground with ia wooden
knife, then hacked on an iron-toothed
hackle, spun on little Wheel" and
woven on a homemade wooden loom, or
manufactured on wooden rope works into
linens, ropes, thread, etc, by the pro-
ducers at homo when they have not much
else to do but to eat and drink the pro-
ducts of their farms, which are not con-
sidered very costly, and therefore they do
not consider that there has been much
cost attached to the manufacture of tn cir
linens. etc. If linen can be made without
much cost and save paying the store
prices the material used is valuable.
THE foregoing reasons hope will give
some light upon the fact that the fax
product of Lee county, Va. was oonsid-
cred so valuable per acre. Ii was the case
that all, or at least nearly all. the flax
raised in this county was used IN the
manufacture of homemade linens, etc. SO
tar as | am informed, no flax from the
county was sent to any factory"
While thisreport was gong through the
the press / visited this interesting section
OF Virginia for the purpose OF investigating
the methods of culture in vogue, the
preparation of the fiber, and the home
manufacture of linen. the results OF which
will appear in a future bulletin. Beauti-
full examples of scutched and hacked flax
were obtained; also samples OF linen IN
variety and of the rude appliances used in
preparing the fiber and manufacturing IT.
Altogether, the fax industry of Lee county,
Va, declining as IT is. forms most in
teresting study in connection With the sub
iect of fiax-culture in the United States. F"
North Carolina also produces considera-
Bile fax, but the details are not given in
the report as IN the case of Virginia.
The report further saws;
"In the fourteen States having 1000
acres or upward in fax the average value
OF all fiax products per acre range from
o.. SO in North Dakota to $l2.62 in New
York and $3.50 in Wisconsin, Michigan
and Virginia, each with smaller area in
flax. average $3.50 and SLABS per acre, re-
spectiyely. All the States having high
average value of fax products per acre are
comparatively large producers of fibre.
with the exception of Vermont, whose 20
bushels of faxseed were the product
OF single acre of land, and Cali
fornia, which had an average Of
1853 bushels per acre. raised mainly
on the highly productive lands of the
county OF San Luis 0bispo The best of
the great flaxseed-producing counties Of
Minnesota, Iowa. or Nebraska shows an
average value of fax products per acre of
acre IN ST. Clair county. Mich. the county
containing the Yale fax-mills. with S2S SO
per acre In Washington county, n. Y,
much OF the product Of which is used in
the manufacture of twine. and SSi.5s per
acre in Lee county. Va. a county in which
theirs still fingers that domestic manufac-
ture Of linen which was formerly SO i'm
portant an industry not only in Virginia,