Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1901-02-08
Flax or. Seed.

.ante-dates the. time when the
thoughts and knowledge Of men
were bequeathed to the genera
lions which have fallen. The
mummied remains Of prehistoric
races of people are found en-
shrouded in linen fabrics and the
more Industrious, or perhaps hon
ored ones, have quilts and linen
thread beside them in their tombs.
In considering the history of flax
and in noting the early and con-
tinued interest in the plant and its
products, I am always filed with
wonder and surprise to see SO little
progress from the standpoint of
production. In the livestock
world one can produce a giant or a
dwarf, a speedy animal or a slow
one, a gray, a sorrel or a bay, to a
business certainty, and one
might go on enumerating through
out the entire list of animal kind.
With wheat, oats, corn, barley
and buckwheat, there are a num-
Der of varieties with characteristic
forms and habits Of growth, but
with flax the world seems to have
been content from the time of the
mummy until the present day to
30 on growing a kind described by
the boy who was leading a non
descript mixer, who when asked
what the breeding Of the animal
was, said "she has none-she is
iiest aSAeow." Mr.. President, we
have been growing "jest flax"
since man first learned to cultivate
it. Professor Hayes, of Mime.
sofa, is on this program with a
paper entitled Breeding Flax"
and I will leave it for him to tell
what does exist in fax varieties
and what kinds can be made.
If he can make you understand
as thoroughly as I did, when I
looked at his breeding plants last
summer, while his men we're har-
vesting the individual pedigreed
plants, you will be convinced that
the mummy and his successor
should be ashamed of themselves
to have left it to SO late a genera
ton as this to produce types and
breeds in SO plastic plant as fax
seems to be in his hands.
For seed, then get what Prof.
Hayes tells you to, or make the
man who supplies you. seed, give
you some evidence that it is a good
seed of a good kind, which has
descended from good ancestral
seed for as many generations as
possible. Then see that it is free
from weed seed. Flax seed is &C
cused, and I believe rightfully &C
cused, Of being the medium for
distributing more bad weed seed
than any other grain. Examine
fax seed by spreading upon a
board or upon a sheet of white
paper. That will enable you to see
the weed seed if they are present
Flax likes good land. Good
wheat land is good land to grow
fax seed upon. Rich land viii
grow a good crop of fax, medium
land a medium crop, a poor land
poor crop.
Whether land is poor, medium
or rich, it is we'll to make gooe
preparation for it by forming
clean, mellow seed bed. Flax il
not a strong weed fighter, especi
ally when tits young, and for tina
reaso should be given an eve
start with them. Land, which i
not we'll prepared, has weeds grow
ing undisturbed, which will b
able to distance the fax plants il
their seasons race, as the latte
are handicapped by being oblige,
to start growth from dry seec
Spring plowed land is sometime
held to be better for plants tina:
that which has been fall plowec
and I believe the reason for such
conclusion comes from the earl
weeds having been buried, thu
allowing the fax an equal chance