Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1906-05-11

SetthoS u IilC uuSNSGuGSS sSOL the SOIL,
to set the binder so that the straw
was severed six inches above the
iground. "A field OF fax which Yields
one and one-haIf tons when cut in
this way would yield at least one-half
ton more if it were possible to run the
knife close to the earth. On the basis
Iof prices previously referred to, pre-
lparing the land in the manner describ-s
ed would add 450 per acre to the value
of the crop.
BY pulling the fax instead of har-
vesting it with a binder a still further
Increase would be secured, but the.
expense Of this method makes it Inn
practicable except on small patches.
From two and one-half to three tons
are often obtained when the flax Isl
pulled, but the cost of pulling is large
ly increased over the cost OF cutting
and binding with a binder.
In this connection itsis worthy Of
note that a machine for pulling fax
i is receiving attention from inventors.
Several machines have been tried but
none has proven successful. At least
none has been produced that, will
leave the straw in the required con-
dition for binder Irvine manufacture.
Ilt Is not unlikely, however, that out
LOT the success of flax Irvine manufac-
lture will grow successful efforts to.
produce fax-puiling machine which
lean be used to advantage in fields of
/ flax grown for binder Irvine purposes.
For the present the self-binder must
be used as the only practical means
i of harvesting the crop. For binder
tWine purposes the flax must be bound;
lcarefnlly, as loose straw cannot be
fused. Afterscutting and binding, the
1 flax should be carefully shocked, Civ
ing it an opportunity to become thor
1oughly cured SO that it can be either
Ibaled or stacked. When it has been
Thor oughlys cured 1t can be sold for
leash at the nearest railroad station
i where a. buying agency has been es-
.ttablished. It must be marketed be-
fore it has, been exposed to the wealth
1 Ter long enough to become weather.
beaten or stained. Besides the saving
4 effected by disposing of his flax crop
4 in this way the farmer is enabled to
realize more promptly on the crop and
avoid the trouble and expense Of
threshing. Usually the seed price is
thigh early in the season and by wait
ling until the flax is threshed the
q farmer runs the risk of decline. ~
3
said that the farmer will never achieve
best results until he adopts the crop
Il rotation system. In every crop of
FLAX, there is fungus growth called
Il flax wilt, which makes consecutive
Icrops undesirable Succe ssive crops
Il of flax can be raised on, the same piece
1of land, but after the first year the
yield is ateTially smaller and the
II Equality of both straw and seed poor
Ter. The flax wilt produces no effect
upon the soil Injurious to other crops,
Y However. IT has been proven BY care
full experiment that flax wilt, is only
aprominsnt where a large amount Of
lstraW remains on the ground and !. is
dplOWed under. There lis very little
appearance Of fax wilt where fax is
lpuIled. This makes low cutting,
which leaves only small amount OF
tstubble, especially desirable. a piece
4 of land on which a crop Of FAX is
Praised one year can be s0wn to wheat
Il the following year with the best re-
suits, hut it is best to raise other
HcrOps on the ground before flax ID
slagain soWn. By q system Of rotation
good crops Of flax can be raised every
4 year. or course, this isstrue Of every
Iother crop, and one of the most
serious mistakes made BY the average
American farmer is his failure to fol
d low a system of rotation with all ops.
Crop rotation may therefore be add
ed to the list of changes the average
i farmer must make in his methods of
raising flax if he would achieve the
most profitable results, and the whole
may be briefly summarized as follows:
Rotation of crops.
Early sowing.
Increase in quantity Of seed used.
i Use Of high grade seed.
4 Careful cultivation Of soil. 53s
Rolling OF land To make even.
4 Cutting straw close to surface.
Protection Of shocked fax before
marketing. - ". IA
By al opting these methods the farm
er who has heretofor raised flax for
the seed only will materially increase
the earnings of mis- farm operations.