Flax

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

a well known plant cultivated for its fiber and seed. The botanical name is linum, the first syllable of which appears in linen, linseed, lining, line, linsey, and lint. The Scotch speak of lint in the bell, when we say flax in blossom. The flower is regular, and delicate of color, giving rise to the expression, "eyes as blue as flax." The color of the ripened straw is a light yellow, however, as may be implied from "flaxen-haired." The origin of flax is not known, but it has been in cultivation, especially in the countries of Europe, since the dawn of history. The inner bark yields the celebrated fiber from which linen cloth and thread, cambric, linen-lawn, and lace are made. Ireland is celebrated for its linen industry, the moist, mild climate of that country seeming to produce flax fiber of the finest quality. Flax is an annual, sowed broadcast every spring. It matures in about seventy days. The methods of harvesting, retting, and breaking, are similar to those employed for hemp. In America flax is raised chiefly for its seed. Ground flaxseed yields linseed oil and oil cake. The former is used in the preparation of paints; the latter is fed with excellent results to stock. Flaxseed is thirty-eight per cent fat. A bushel of seed yields nineteen pounds of oil. The world's annual production of flaxseed is about 100,000,000 bushels. The following is the Orange Judd Farmer's estimate of acreage and production of flax in the United States for 1909: Acres. Bushels. Wisconsin. . . . . . 30,000 360,000 Minnesota. . . . . . 466,000 4,660,000 Iowa. . . . . . 27,000 270,000 Missouri. . . . . . 25,000 200,000 Kanasas. . . . . . 55,000 440,000 Nebraska. . . . . . 15,000 135,000 North Dakota . . . . . . 2,009,000 20,090,000 South Dakota . . . . . . 499,000 4,491,000 Other states. . . . . . 121,000 1,210,000 Total. . . . . . 3,247,000 31,856,000 The world's annual production of flax fiber is from 1,300,000,000 to 2,000,000,000 pounds. The United States exports flaxseed and imports flax fiber. The principal flax-producing regions aside from those already mentioned, are Canada, Mexico, Argentina, British India, Algeria, and all the countries of Central Europe. The flax region of Europe extends from Ireland to Russia. See Linen ; Hemp ; Paint FLAX CROP OF COUNTRIES NAMED, 1907. Country Bushels. United States 25,851,000 Manitoba 317,000 Saskatchewan 1,365,000 Alberta 50,000 Mexico 150,000 Argentina 32,509,000 Uruguay 863,000 Austria-Hungary 1,425,000 Belgium 300,000 Bulgaria 2,000 France 613,000 Ireland Italy Netherlands 392,000 Roumania 159,000 Russia (European) 20,568,000 Servia Sweden 22,000 British India 17,008,000 Russia (Asiatic) 1,276,000 Algeria 12,000 Grand Total 102,882,000