Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-10-20
Farmers and Flax Culture.

Farmers Of Delaware and Of the Eastern
Shore will be deeply Interested in the
establishment Of plant at Fix Mills,
Md, for the handling Of nax--for it's
cure and preparation in readiness for the
textile mills in this country and abroad.
Tho work on the new plant is well under
way, it is said, and it is added that IT is
TO be the first, or central, plant Of a large
number 20 he erected in this country, in
all sections where fax may be grown.
BY the recent discovery of process
for curing flax, reducing the time hitherto
requisite from n period of months, to
as many hours, this fabric, IL is said, can
be produced at remarkably low cost,
cost, indeed, that viii make il the most
formidable competition that cotton has
ever encountered
The part that win concern the farmers
Of this section, ls the announcement by
heads of the enterprise, that they will
look to our agriculturists for their suIpiy
of raw material. Those of this State
and these across the Maryland line will
be solicited to plant fair percentage OF
their lands IN fax, and 20 harvest IL when 1T
is ready for processing.
II is proposed TO pay such rate for
the harvested crop that il viii reach ale
most double the value Of other things
grown by the farmer The chiefs of The
big enterprise sny the cultivation Of fax Is
easier than that of any Of the staples Oh
the farm. II is easily planted, like
wheat OF oats, for example, and harvested
by machinery, almost entirely without
manual labor.
IT is declared al~o that fax docs not
impoverish the soil TO any degree-at
least less than almost any Of the other
crops grown on the farms Of this sect1un.
In addition To this desirable quality, 1t Is
said flax chokes out all noxious weeds, and
is used in some sections of Che county
for this economic purpose. Il grows SO
sturCily and thick that no noxious weed,
however deeply seeded the land may be
with them. can survive the chcclSingproc-
ess.
Apparently. the culture Of fax has every
thing to commend il, especially tho inn
portant fact that il VIII yield more than
twice as much in dollars and cents as any
cereal or forage crop.
The inability of Russia 20 produce fax
while she is still fighting and the failing
of in the product Of the fibre in Ireland
has created scarcity in the product, so
marked indeed. that the British govern
ment is said to he offering subsidy ON he
production, to encourage a return 70 It's
cultivation
Bv the new treatment fax viii be, as
SAID before, rs cheap as cotton and Will
largely take the place Of that staple, SO
il is thought, when the details Of the propo-
srtion are carried out. 1t is the intention
to eventually induce farmers from all
sections of the United States to raise flax
and to establish plants in all parts Of the
world by which it may be treated by the
newly discovered process, through which
chemical manipulation takes the place Of
the laborious and tedious manual labor.
Without going into a more lengthy ex-
PLANTATION Of the project here livery Even
ing desires only 70 emphasize the probable
field that VIII be opened TO our farmers fer
an increase Of the value Of their crops
They viii lie asked 70 plant several thou
sand acres IN fax IN early spring, that may
be harvested in about seventy days and
be followed by another crop on the same
soil If such is desired. 1t seems as if this
viii be an opportunity for the farmers to
multiply the products Of their lands, for
experiments have been made, It is sald.
that prove the soil needs Of fax 10 be fully
met by our land in Delaware and through
out the Eastern Shore