The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1918-10-31
WANT FLAX GROWN
ON LYNDEN FARMS
Chamber OF Commerce OF Belling.
ham Offers Contracts At Good Fig
ure Per Ton

Contracts are being offered this
month to LyIden farmers at from
$50 to $42 ton as an inducement
to them to plant a portion of their
acreage to flax. The Bellingham
Chamber of Commerce. which is
back of the movement to introduce
flax growing in this county, IS max
ing the offer.
Provided four hundred acres can
be signed up. mill for handling the
crop will be established in Belling-
ham and with the growth of the in
torest in the movement, other mills
will be provided at Lynden and var
ious points in the county, IL enough
acreage can be assured to warrant
1t.
Already several farmers in the
Lynden district have agreed to try
out few acres of flax. G. w. Bollen
on the Earl Anderson farm had some
acreage in flax last year, and has
contracted again this year with the
Chamber of Commerce.
For unthreshed flax not less than
2S inches and up to 32 inches and
not to have in excess CT fifteen per
cent of weeds and foreign matter
therein, the contract Offered is at the
rate of $40 per ton. For flax from
32 to SO inches long. and not having
more than ten per cent OF weeds, $35
a ton is offered, and $40 ton for
flax over SO inches long and con-
tanning not more than five per cent
of weeds and foreign matter. A bon
us of two dollars a ton is given for
all flax representing fields of five
acres or over. which averages over
and above 2k tons to the acre.
!, The gross proceeds in the Lynden
upland district should run better
than 500 an acre.
This is the only crop. except peas,
that the farmers can contract for a
year ahead" declared T. e. McCros-
key, the Chamber of Commences flax
expert, today. ''and flax offers the
Lynden farmer a splendid rotation
crop.
"Lynden need take a back seat for
no country in the world as far as
flax growing is concerned. The fin
est flax can be grown right here in
the Nooksack Valley, and l am not
excepting the famous Courtrai dist
rict of Belgium. The flax grown in
Lynden has the greatest tensile
strength. and l have examined flax
from all over the world-Russia, Ire
land, and other points.
II hear occasionally the argument
around here that flax Injuries the soil.
This is not true. 1t has been found
upon investigation that an average
crop of flax removes less plant food
from the soil than does a crop of
corn or oats. Flax plants have del
icate root syc.ems which occupy only
the upper few inches of the soil while
the plants of oats and corn have
more vigorous root systems which
may penetrate the subsoil. Hence,
oats and corn may obtain from the
subsoil a portion of the food mater
ials essential for Liant development,
but flax plants necessarily must OBJ
tain practically their entire nourish-
ment from the upper few inches OF
surface soil which the roots occupy.
Undoubtedly, then, more of the a.
valuable plant food in the upper 5
or inches of soil is removed by
flax than by the deeper rooted crops.
Therefore in preparing flax stubble
for the succeeding crop, care should
be taken to plOw deep enough to
bring up some of the subsoil in Or
der to replcnish the surface soil with
available plant food.
''As a rotation crop. flax for this
section is one of the most profitable.
and one of the easiest to handle"
Contracts have been left at the Of
flee of the Tribune and at the Lyn-
State Bank. They may be signed at
either place. Bulletins giving in
formation about the crop may also
be obtained there.
Mr.. McCroskey will be glad to con-
fer personally with anyone interested
in flax growing. He may be reached
at the Bellingham Chamber of Com
merce.