Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-01-20
millions WASTED
| IN STRAW FIRES
Department of Agriculture Made
Careful Study Of Flax Fibre
Situation.
Situation.

Approximately 1,40O. 900 tons Of fax
straw are burned or permitted 10 go
to waste each year on American
farms. At the same time the country
is annually importing large quantities
of flax waste from foreign countries
for paper and board manufacture. The
inconsistency of this situation has
lead specialists of the department To
investigate the feasibility of using
homegrown straw in the paper anu
fibre-bOard industry.
Results Of Investigation.
The results of this investigation
have lust been published in Depart
ment Bulletin No. 322. AT the pres
ent time about 100000 acres are de-
voted to the raising of flax, chiefly'in
North Dakota, Minnesota, South Da-
kota, and Montana. The flax is grown
primarily for the seed from which
linseed oil is manufactured. The an
nual crop amounts to about 20,c0O,0OO
bushels of seed and is valued at ap-
proximately 100000.
The crop also yields approximately
/ 600, 900 tons OF straw, but Of this
only about 100000 tons are put to any
profitable use. The utilization of the
remaining 100000 tons, says the bull
letin, would be of immense economic
importance, since it's producing
possibilities are equal to the annual
production Of wrapping paper and
more than doubled the annual produc-
ton of writing paper in the United
States Its sale, it is estimated.
would represent an added revenue to
the farmers of about $5,009,00N an
nually This additional profit would
be very powerful factor in maintain
ing the flax crop in our agricultural
system and would probably result in
the establishment of paper-manufac-
turing industries in sections where
there are none at present. 1t would
also aid in making our paper industry
more independent of foreign raw pa
per.making materials and would pro.
duce keener realization of the latent
value of some of our enormous crop
wastes.
Pioneer Crop.
Flax in this country has always
been pioneer crop, being sown on
the upturned virgin soil. If planted
again on the same land, 1t does not
do so we'll unless other crops have
interviewed and the land has been put
back into grass. The old idea, how
ever, that the fax crop is very ex.
hausting to soil fertility is an enron.
eous one. AS a matter of fact, fax
does not tax soil fertility as much as
either wheat or oats.
The investigations OF the govern.
ment specialists have already been
carried to a point where it has been
demonstrated that domestic flax tow
can be used in the manufacture of
fibre counter boards which are now
used largely in shoe factories. In co.
operative commercial tests counter
boards made of this domestic faxytow
have been actually sold to the trade
at the regular price for counter
boards, viz. to az cents pound,
Demand for Tow.
The demand for flax tow for this
purpose, if fully developed, would
open market for about 100000 tons
of stray annually. This, of course. is
very small quantity compared with
the total supply available. 1t is pro-
posed therefore, to extend the inves- Z
tigation into the manufacture. of
wrapping and writing papers. Should
domestic flax straw for writing paper
be able to compete successfully2swith
foreign material, market for, be-
tween 100000 and 100000 tons Of
straw per annum would be opened
and an additional revenue obtained
for the flax region of about 81 100000
per year. At the present time over
$2o0G0O0 worth of RACES is being i'm
ported each year into the country.
chiefly for use in the manufacture of
writing paper. Similar possibilities
are offered by the wrapping, paper and
paper.bag industries.
Warns Farmers.
Z Under present conditions, however,
the department considers it advisable
to warn farmers that careful investi-
CATION does not reveal real demand
for domestic fax straw as great as
IhV PioAOtClo VI CCIldlu schemes
have represented 1t to be. For this
reason flax growers should be careful
not to engage in an enterprise which
might leave on their hands large
quantities of unmarketable produce.
On the other hand, it seems obvious
that the most advantageous method
OF assembling the material for mar.
ket is to establish number of small
tow mills throughout the fax region,
and 1t is suggested that farmers may
find 1t advisable to act comparatively
in this matter For example, grow.
ers within smile radius might Oper.
ate a tow mill Of sufficient capacity
to handle the entire amount of straw
within their area Under this arrange
ment 1t should be possible for the far.
mer to market the tow at a price
which would yield him fair return
for the straw that is now permitted
to 60 to waste.
After two or three weeks Of severe
illness. Sever Berger, one of Cavalier
county's pioneers. passed away at Cut
Bank, Mont, to which place he moved
about two years ago. Sever Berger