The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-06-02
FLAXFIBER INDUSTRY
DEPENDS ON EsrABLlSHMEyT or
LITTLE LOCAL INDUSTRIES.
The Plan Adopted By the wemen
Interested In Its Develepneat.
In Oregon.
Mrs. ". P. Lord In oreron,an.

Mrs. W. p. Lord In Oregonian.
In the Oregonian Of March 81 an article
entitled Flax Fiber for Market reads
as follows: III farmers desire TO take up
the cultivation Of nax for fiber there -
no necessity OF excessive plants for the
purpose OF preparing the straw for the
market The retting is simple process.
within the knowledge Of any practical
farmer. BY a little experience" Ard then
the writer proceeds to give the cost Of the
necessary machinery for the farmers USE
The Irish fax brake. with scutch,nx at
tachment. can b& had for $50 in New
York Another. one to work up tangled
straw can be obtained for $675"
flax for fiber IL a crop that will never
De grown on large scale on OREGON
farms for the reason that to grow ii sue
cessfuliy requires q rotation--once in S
to years. A farmer cuitiyating say 500
acres would not wish to put In one-third
OF that land in fax, but would probably
take say ten or fifteea acres. which would
De all he could conveniently handle So 1t
would not pay farmer even to purchase
the machinery our correspondent seems to
think OF such small cost. President Mil
Ter. OF the state agricultural college adj
vises using fax instead OF summer fall
low. In an ordinary season the crop is
harvested in August. and the field can
De Immediately piowed and put In some
fail-sown crop. Flax Is said to be ex-
haustive Of the land but extensive expert
ments at the Minnesota station indicate IL
takes no more from the soil than wheat,
oats barley or kindred crops. Though
1t poisons the land for an Immediate re-
sowing OF max. 1t clears It for other CROPS
On farm near the penitentiary. twenty
years ago. max was grown and shipped to
bcitast. receiving from there the highest
praise. The owner Of that land tells me
that the fax was raised on land exhausted
by constant wheat-growing and. without
fertilizing. they had a superb stand OF
max. some OF the fiber measuring forty
four inches In length. The following sea-
SON the land was put In wheat again. and
yielded forty-five bushels to the acre
much more than before 1t had been given
over to fax.
We t1nd the following. bearing directly
on this subject. in the report of Special
Agent Dodge Of Washington, d. c.
This operation tretting) is not strictly
the work OF the farmer. for in this coun-
try the industry must be developed on the
lines OF practice that will be essentially
American. In this age everything is re-
duced to specialties so far as possible. cost
of production being reduced by co-opera-
ton.
This brings us to an important consid-
Grafton. which may be called one OF the
most urgent needs OF the FAX fiber indus
try in the United States. Something more
is required to set the industry on its feet
than for a body OF farmers to undertake
to grow the plant for fiber. There Is a
necessity for a class Of skilled workers
who will come between ene farmer and the
manufacturer in carrying on the opera
tons OF retting and scutching. II Is fu-
tile to expect the farmer TO ret and scutch
his FAX. II Is not done on the farm in
foreign countries. nor in Canada, save to
a very limited extent, and X cannot he
done here It is done largely in Russia
and low-grade fiber, requiring most care
full sorting by the buyers Is the result
AS the case staros. the farmer Is
hardly In position to grow fax, save in
an experimental way, until he Is sure
of a market. and the manufactures. that
IS. the spinner. is not In a position to
make offers OF purchase or 10 name a
price. because he Is not sure that the
farmer can grow fax of the proper stand
ard.
''Does this mean a deadlock between
grower and manufacturer. an insur-
mouatahie obstacle that will doom for
ever the American fiax-fber industry,
Not at all. II simply means that what
Isolated farmers cannot accomplish alone
must be accomplished by the establish
ment OF little local industries. To Dor
row a foreign term. the future fiax in
dustry OF the United States must be
communal; that is to say. capital must
establish scutch mills In localities where
fax may he probably grown farmers Of
the neighhorhood agreeing 10 produce five,
ten or twenty acres OF straw each. under
the direction, II need be- Of the managers
OF the mills. TO insure the growth of a
ms ~ ax-t hzf will yixy he
standard Of fiber"
"One good scutcA mill will prepare the
fax grown on a score or more of farms.
and as the work il accomplished under
one direction. the product will be far
more even ss 10 standards than would
Re possible were IL prepared by twenty
different men. The scutcher has money
interest in the matter OF TIE production
OF properly grown straw by the farmer.
and Ia in position to AID hin. by hints
and suggestions. In Canada and in
Northern Michigan lin the nclehbornood
of Yale. where there are successful scntch
nillsl the practice Is 70 sell tfls seed 10
the farmers az the mills AT n fixed price
per hushei. the farmers agreeing to SOW a
certain number of acres OF fax the stra ~
Of which the managers Of the scutch mills
agree tn take ar fixed price per ton, in
some cases $40 being named. And in no
dustrv be established.
This establishes three divisions %
iahor-the growing OF the crop by the
farmer the rssting and scutchfng hy the
purchaser ar factor. and the spinning and
the weaving by the manufacturer"
The plan referred TO here Is the one
adopted BY the women interested In see
ing this great industry developed IN our
state II Is a simple matter 20 equip one
scuschtng plant especially as the farmers
are responding nohly. and are willing in
every way 80 do their part. Few have sn-
piled FOR over FIVE acrez-giing II al IN
stances their best and eieanast iand--and
NE are confident az result the coming
fall ira: will attract great attention 70
our state and be n matter of personal
devotion to her beloved Oregon. We were
in hopes that leading capitalists would
take I'D this matter and place Oregon In
frA with other states dsvotfrE attention
ard thought TO home industries. bar they
"a rot see the way II do Il this year.
II seems very unwsse 20 lose the whole
year nv snsctsnu. while manufacturers
are almost knocking az Cur doors 10
xzsrk ur this crop Ten thousand dol
fars would - ample 20 SOW S1 afr~x.
which as far az xe know. would NJ al
re can procure wed for this year. az the
supply Is very limited X would b. greatly
10 our advantage to purchase more seed
than we shall need for this season as
chs demand for such ssei another wear Is
likely Z, ~ large in ether sfases besides
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