The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-28
CITY NEWS.
FACTS ABOUT FLAX
Agricultural Dept Yearbook Ex-
haustively Reviews the Culture
Of This Product.
Minneapolis and the Northwest Are.
Prominent in the Cita-
lions Used.

The northwest, which produces more
than nine-tenths of all the haxseed
grown In the United States, Is specially
concerned with a report upon FlaXseeu
Production" in the forthcoming yearbook
Of the national department OF agricul-
ture.
According to advance sheets of this re-
port, just received by The urnal.
''the flax crop, says Charles M.
Daugherty of the division of statistics, lis
one of the curiosties Of agriculture.
Because the flax plant is the source OF
two products extremely valuable; yet the
full value Of both products Is never real
lied from the same crop. The flax straw
produces the linen fiber renowned from
time immemorial for It's strength, fineness
and beauty; the aaxseed provides an oil
indispensable for the manufacture Of
paint, varnish. printers ink, patent
leather, oil cloth and linoleum. But if
flax is cultivated for it's fibre, the most
effective methods Of cultivation will i'm
pair the quality Of the flaxseed and reduce
the quantity. And if the plant is grown
for It's seed the fiber will deteriorate-
AT the present time Europe, and es-
pecially Russia, produces flax for its
fiber The nited States, Argentine and
British India cultivate the plant almost
exclusively for seed Yet flax was In
troduced into the country for it's fiber
alone It was one of the first agricultural
products transplanted from the old world
to the new. For a period of more than
$50 years after the landing at, Plymouth.
or until cheaper cotton clothing began to
supersede garments made Of linen, the
culture Of flax as a basis for the making
Of homespun, the famous household
product, filled an important part in the
material progress Of this nation.
Cotton Supersedes Linen.
The invention Of the cotton gin, in
1892, put permanent check upon the
American production of flax for fiber. and
Indirectly gave an impetus to that cult1va-
ton of the plant for seed which has made
the United States the leading f1axseed
country Of the world.
During many years, nevertheless, the
flax seed mills of America were largely
dependent upon seed imported from India.
The greater expense Of transporting the
foreign seed was more than offset by the
increased quantity and the superior quail
ty Of the oil obtainable from the Indian
product. But new variety of seed in
creased the value of the American crop.
Flax began to be cultivated in western
states upon very much larger scale.
And then, a dozen years ago, for the
first time in half a century, American
mills ceased to import faxseed. The
practice has never been resumed, except
on rare occasions, when imports have
been demanded to relieve a speculative
shortage.
Not only has the f1axseed crop increased
from year to y%ar, but it has also migrated
annually toward the west. Whenever the
flax plant had exhausted to a certain de-
gree, the soil Of one district, the crop was
abandoned there, as no longer profitable
In like manner f1aXseed was cultivated by
settlers among the pioneer crops on the
new lands Of the west.
In 1S49 the United States produced $780,
900 bushels of flaxseed. Ohio, with one.
third of all the crop. was the leading flax
seed state. Twenty years later the ma
tional crop had doubled Then Ohio. still
. the principal producer, was almost eclipseG
by Indiana.
North Dakota Holds Record.
In 1879 Illinois led In 1889 Minnesot,
grew more faXseed than any other state
Ten years afterward North Dakota re
ported much the largest crop, a pre-emi
hence that has been so extended during
the last thirteen years that In 1902 Nort
Dakota produced twice as much seed a
Minnesota, the next state in line, an
more than hall of all the faxseed raise
In the United States. gs=.
7 Meantime two flaXseed districts had be
come defined. In one was grown the so
called northwestern crop In the othe
the southwestern crop. Among the north
toned, was most productive last veal
Then came Minnesota, South Dakota
Iowa and Wisconsin. In the Southwestern
district the order was Kansas, Missouri
Oklahoma, Nebraska and Indian Terri
tory. ~
The northwestern district producin
more than nine -tenths of the America
crop, has enjoyed a further advantage owe
the southwestern district in the superic
quality Of the northern seed. This an
other conditions have arrested the cultiva
ton of fiaxseed on southwestern farm
Fourteen years ago the southwestern crc
was 2,S46,062 bushels, or II per cent Of tt
American product; in 1902, the southwes
ern fields reported only 1,S56,240, or a lit
more than per cent of the whole crop.
The improved eeed rEer'. ned recalls tt
following facts: Up to the last quar.
of the nineteenth century American fla.
see, from the ua' ufacturer's roint
vie. vas | lof one variety. DC .ssion
attempts ~ t'ansr laEt seed from E,itis
.Indi. ha' rs.ulted only III a rapid r,
vision to the old American type. But SOC
after the cultivation Of faxseed had bee
undertaken on an extensive scale in Soul
Dakota a Russian elnigrant. according
some authorities. an agricultural e.
perimenter, according to other record
introduced new variety of foreign fla:
seed. This new seed SOON brought ty
which, lacking some chara cteristics of II
original stock was larger in grain al
richer in oil than was the old America
seed To the improved plant, no dout
was partly due the subsequent extensi,
Of flaxseed culture in the northwes
where the crop now consists entirely
the larger, richer seed
Southwestern states, however, have h,
little success with the new seed. TIL
continue to raise the old time, small v