National Gazette

For the National Gazette.
To the Farmer, who is desirous to promote
Domestic Manufactures.

Your enquiries in the National Gazette,
No. 127, respecting the best culture of
flax, merit every attention. In my travels
through the states, I have been astonished
not to see more system in the culture of
this important production, which I have
paid particular attention to, and have journeyed many miles at the seed time, harvest, and dressing of flax, to inform myself
of every particular, and to compare the
management in America, with that in other
countries.

The practice, generally, in America, is
to sow a plot of a half, a whole acre, or
more, on as good ground as the farm affords; but without much attention to its
previous crops or management, and to
sow at the rate of one bushel of seed to the
acre. Sometimes a plot, which receives
the washings of the farm-yard, is made
use of, and produces a great crop; that is
to say, 300 wt. or more of flax, from the
swingle, and 10 or 12, or more bushels of
seed: But most generally, the averaged
crop in the common management, is from
70 to 110 lb. of swingled flax, and five or
six bushels of seed per acre.

In my various experiments, I have, in
the same field, in the same year, on similar
soils, and with the same management
in all other respects, sowed at the rate of
one, two, three and four bushels per acre;
and have proved to my entire satisfaction,
that it is most profitable, with proper management, to sow four bushels of seed per
acre, American measure. The prudent
farmer will be particularly cautious in
sowing none but the best and cleanest seed.
To cultivate flax to most advantage,
(when you cannot make choice of a spot
washed by the overflowings of the farm-
yard, or such other spot as may be peculiarly
adapted to the purpose) plough in a
portion of your wheat stubble, soon after
harvest: In September, October, or November,
cross plough it, after giving it a
plentiful coat of manure from the farm-
yard: Leave it rough in the furrow all
winter: In April, May, or June following,
as most convenient, cross plough, harrow,
and roll it, and plant potatoes in
rows, at the most convenient distance to
tend them with a single horse; which I
suppose to be two and a half or three feet.
Before turning the earth over the planted
potatoes, cover them as plentifully as you
can, with farm-yard manure: Attend
them as usual, only observing that the first
ploughing ought to be from the rows of
potatoes on each side, so as to leave a narrow
comb; then pass a narrow harrow
through the rows, and this will return the
fine pulverized soil to the roots of the potatoes
for them to grapple in—the next
ploughings must be to the rows: Let no
weeds go to seed among them—you will
have a great crop of potatoes: Gather
them in a dry season, and your ground
will be in the highest order, clear of all
weeds, for a crop of flax, which must be
sowed (after two good ploughings, two
rollings and harrowings) as early as your
ground is dry enough, at the rate of four
bushels of clean seed per acre; and on the
same day, 3, 10 or 12 lb of clean red clover
seed per acre—roll both in at the same
time. This management will secure you
the best crops of both. You may cut your
clover in September the same year: An
addition of two or three bushels of plaster
of Paris per acre, after sowing your seed
and rolling it in, or after taking the flax
off, (preferring the former,) will make
you ample returns.

The peculiar advantages in sowing four
bushels of seed to the acre, are, 1st, your
flax is finer: 2d, It is of a longer texture,
because it does not branch so low down as
thin sown flax does: 3d. It is not so liable
to lodge—because it is not so top-heavy: 4th,
you will have a treble crop of
fine flax: and 5th, if you leave the flax
unpulled, until ripe, it will yield a due
proportion of good seed, so as to compensate
for the quantity sown; for no climate
surpasses that of America in this respect.
Letting the seed ripen will, however,
greatly exhaust the land, to the injury
of your clover; whereas by pulling your
flax whilst in bloom, or as soon as it begins
to ball, leaves the soil very little impoverished
by this crop, and your flax is
the finer for it.

This management is very similar to the
most approved practice in Ireland, where
they sow as high as seven and eight bushels
of seed to the Irish acre; which is
nearly equal to one and three quarters, American:
for this purpose they prefer a
strong stiff soil, and sow flax as early in
March as the ground will permit, after two
spring ploughings. Every farmer knows
that the ground, before ploughing it the
second time for flax, must be so dry as to
pulverize kindly, and not to clod after
harrowing; yet a day ought not to be lost;
for the lint will be good in proportion to
your early or late seed time; extra seasons
excepted.

By attention to the particulars here stated,
you may expect from 300 to 400 lb.
and more of fine flax from the swingle per
acre, if you will pull it before it seeds, and
in proportion to the fatness of your soil
and the season.

The Roller is an instrument not sufficiently
known in America: It is of capital
use in preparing all clear grounds for seed;
in a dry season, a judicious use of it may
make the difference of a good crop, especially
where the soil is light: for, rolling
your grain immediately after harrowing it
in, in a dry season, compresses each grain
nearly alike, and retains the moisture, and
makes the grain vegetate equally. Flax
in particular ought to be rolled immediately
after sowing; for, as already mentioned,
it causes the grains to vegetate equally,
which prevents after growth; the
good effects whereof are visible in every
after process of breaking, swingling, hatchelling,
pinning, &c.

A TRAVELLING FARMER.

Jan. 23.