Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1902-08-21
/: Tn and Hbcut the $tate+ IL
Flax DoEsN'r HURT LAND.
Flax Ii Not as Hard on Land ns
Wheat-It IL the Flax wilt Funxus
Which Causes the Trouble.

FLAX Ii Not rs Hard on Land as
Wheat-It is the Flax wilt Funxus
Which Causes the Trouble.
There IS an innate belief ON the part
of the great majority Of farmers that
flax as a crop, is very destructive to
the fertility of the soil. This belief
would at first seem to be we'll founded.
The flax crop has been raised for thou
sands of years, but its history indicates
that, practically, there are only two
ways in which any continuous success
may be had with the crop. 1t must
either be grown upon new or virgin SOD.
or upon land which has not been seed
ed to flax for a considerable number OF
years. In Holland, North France, Ire
land Belgium and Germany, the best
farmers say it should not be sown on
the same laad more often than once m
twelve to fourteen years. Some Belgl-
UNI farmers claim they can get good
crop as often as once in seven years,
provided they sow a very clean, perfect
type OF seed. Now, we at the agrtcuit-
ural college happen to start in this
| state at very favorable time to work
with this flax trouble. We have found
that the flax plant is not particularly
hard upon land; that we can get better
crops of wheat after fax than after
wheat, oats, barley, or perhaps any 9TH
err crop excepting a cultivated one. Our
chemist has found that flax does not
take more fertility from soil than does
wheat indeed, not quite so much Our
agriculturist has found that consid-
cradle better crop can be raised afte!
flax than after wheat, and in the bio
| rfy1 yxoh have found that
the real cause why flax seems to DC
hard upon land, why, for example, flax
cannot be raised year after year upon
the same land without making the soil
flax-sick, is a fungus parasite which
grows upon the flax plant and pro-
duces a large number Of spores, which
get into the seed at threshing time ny
falling off from the sick, wilted ano
dried-up straws. We find that TINS
fungus develops in the soil, and stays
.here a number of years, living upor
the decayed matter of the soil, where II
can attack the young flax when tnt
next crop Of fax is put upon the lana
Hence, farmers have supposed that, a:
the flax plants quickly die off. there
must be something lost from the sol
by the previous crop which the Ha'
| needs for food. Many experiments
prove that this is not the case. Here Il
an example: If one takes enough o
this flax-sick soil, where flax plants WI
no longer grow, to make a good-sizet
pot experiment. or small bed, an(
steams the soil for such bed thorough
ly, one can then plant treated flax see'
upon such steamed soil and grow per
feet crop of flax to complete maturity
without any disease. The steamlnl
kills all life that is in the soil, but 1t
not sufficient to make any materia
change in the SOIL 1t is thus proven
that there is something alive IN tn
soil which attacks the flax plant an
kills it. 1t is also proven that the sol
is yet fertile enough to grow goo
crop of flax, if only we could get RID
tie fungus, which, experiments sho'
us, can prodlce the disease whenever W
place it in the soil. The common wa
of putting the fungus into the new Sol
is by way of the seed. If you do no
know how to select seed from your GRO
as it IS now growing, so as not to SOY
more fax-wilt fungus into your lane
write to The college. H. l.. Bolley.