FLAX-CULTURE.
The depressed condition of agriculture, consequent on the low prices obtainable for all kinds of produce, has led the British farmer to turn his attention to the growth of crops hitherto neglected or unthought of. This is exemplified by the interest now taken in the cultivation of tobacco and the inquiries being made regarding it, with a view to its wholesale production in England. It is doubtful, however, if in this case the British farmer will be able to compete successfully with his American rival, the latter being favoured by nature with soil and climate specially suited for the growth of the ‘weed.’
There are other plants, however, which claim our attention, and amongst these the flax plant. This is perfectly hardy and easily cultivated, and is free from the bugbear of American competition. It is grown largely in Ireland, especially in the north, and at the present time is the best paying crop grown in the island. The following figures show the quantity of fibre produced during the year 1885: Ireland, 20,909 tons; Great Britain, 444 tons. As far as the British Islands are concerned, Ireland has practically a monopoly in the production of this valuable article of commerce. It was formerly grown to a large extent in Yorkshire and in some parts of Scotland; but of late years, was given up in favour of other crops. It can now be produced to show much better results than formerly, flax not having fallen in price so much in proportion as other farm produce. Compared with the requirements of the linen manufacturers, the quantity grown in the British Isles is very small, and had to be supplemented by the import from foreign countries, during 1885, of over eighty-three thousand tons, value for three million and a half sterling. Two-thirds of this quantity is imported from Russia, the remainder principally from Holland and Belgium.
The manufacturer will give the preference to home-grown fibre provided that it is equal in all respects to the foreign. We can scarcely hope to compete successfully with Holland and Belgium, as flax-culture has been brought to great perfection there; but we can produce a fibre much superior to Russian, and if we can produce it cheap enough, can beat Russia out of the market. The average price of Irish flax in 1885 was about fifty-two pounds per ton; the yield per acre, where properly treated, would be from five to six hundredweight on an average. In many cases the yield rose far above these figures, reaching ten to twelve hundredweight, and in one instance which came under the writer’s personal observation, to eighteen hundredweight. A new scutching-machine—a French patent—is now being tested in Belfast, and it is stated that by its use the yield of fibre is increased by thirty per cent. Should this apparatus come into general use, it will add greatly to the value of the flax plant as a crop. In continental countries, the seed is saved, and its value contributes largely to the profit of flax-culture there. Any difficulty that might exist in this country with regard to the preparation of the fibre for market might be met by farmers in a district banding together to provide the requisite machines, which can now be had cheaper and better than before.
If flax-culture is profitable in Ireland, it can be made so in Britain; and if only half of the eighty-three thousand tons annually imported could be grown at home, a large sum would be kept in the country which now goes to enrich the foreigner.