CIHM Microfiche Series (IMonographs) ICIMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canadian Instituta for Hiatorical Microraproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions liistoriquaa TMhnicai and B i b l iographic Notat / Nolat lac t iniqii ai at biMiotrapliiqiMi Tha Imtituta hat attamptad to oMain tiM batt oriflinal copy availaMa for fifcnint. Faatiirat of this copy wMch may ba biWiotrapliicaNy iMiqiia. «nMcIi iMV ahar any of tha imaiat in tha raproduetion. or which may liflmficantly chania tha usyal mathod of f itaiint, arc chackad baiow. L'Inttitut a mierofiton* la w i a i M a w aMmpiaira ^'N lui a M poHiMa da M prooirar. La* dtoih da eat axamplaira qui lont pa«t-4tfa Mwiqya i 4 dans la nathoda normala da f iMMfa lont indiquat ci-daoous. □ Colowrad cover*/ Couvartura da c ou laur D Covar* damagid/ Couvartura □ Covar* ra*torad and/or laminalad/ CoMvartura ra*taiir«a at/ou pal l iCM H a □ Covar titia miisini/ La titra da couvartura manqua D D D 13 D CokNirad map*/ Carta* ftegraphique* an coulaur Colourad ink (i.a. othar than bhia or Mack)/ Encra da coulaur (i.a. autra qua Maua Colourad platM and/or illustration*/ Ptanchas at/ou ilhutratiom an coulaur Bound with othar malarial/ RaM avac d'autras docwnantt Tiflht binding may cauta ihadowi or distortion alonfl interior margin/ La raliura larria paut cauiar da I'ombra ou da la dittonion la long da la marg* intiriaura D Blank laavas addad during raitoration may i within tha taxt. Whanavar poMiMa. tha*a hava baan omittad from filming/ II ta paut qua cartainas pagM Manchai aioutiai tort d'una rattauration apparaittant daiH la taxta, mait, lortqua cala Mait pottiMa. cat pagM n'ont pat M f ilmtet. □ Colourad pagat/ Nga* da co ul au r ^j vmc'; men are commencing to farm with little or no knowledge of their wet ^, the soil, the climate or those laws of nature and plant life with which they Imust work in harmony if success is to reward their efforts. The hrst crop that most of these men will attempt to grow is flax. It is to assist in wme measure these newly arrived settlers that this bulletin has been 1 prepared and it is not intended to be a comprehensive treatment of the T^ ^ Information upon the subject has been drawn from many soirees, but acknowledgments are due ia particular to Dr. Wm. Sai^^cers, Director of Experimental Farms, Ottawa; Mr. Angus M«^ay, Super- intendent of the Experimental Farm at Indian Head ; Professor BoUey I of the North Dakota Agricultural College, and Mr. Thos. Thompson, ,of Thompson, Sens & Co., grain commission merchants, Winnipeg. Much of the matter presented in the following pages is derived from ' their bulletins, reports, addressee and correspondence. A. F. Mantle, Deputy Minister of Agriculture. THE FLAX CROP Flax is one of the oldest .i 'ir domesticated plants. Its knon history dates back to early Biblical araes. The Egyptian mummies al found wrapped in linen and mention is made of linen in connectic with the erection of Joseph as virtual ruler of Egypt. It was probab introduced into America in the days of the Pilgrim Fathers and ht been widely grown ever since. It can be grown in practically all pari ^ of the North American continent where farming is carried on,^ bv* thrives best in those latitudes constituting the north half of the Nort^, Temperate Zone. Partly for this reason and partly because tho»j states are among the ones most recently settled r xtrnsively, move tht^' three-quarters of the flaxseed produced in the United States is g.'ow in North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dal-ota. In the same was#3 about nine-tenths of the flaxseed grown in Canada is produced il Southern Saskatchewan. The tables presented below reveal the growir importance of Saskatchewan in the flax raising industry of Nort America. tt • j o Production of flax in Saskatchewan and the United States each year since 1902 and in Canada in 1901 and 1910, illustrating tl ^ increasingly important position occupied by Saskatchewan as a prc|> ducer of that grain : SASKATCHEWAN. Tear 1910. 1909. 1908. 1907. 1906. 1905. 1904. 1903. 1902. Acreage Yield 396,230 319,100 264,728 128,528 76,006 25.315 15,917 31.644 16,694 3,044,138 4,448,700 2,589,362 1,364,716 710,689 398,399 166,434 286,697 163,709 Acre yield 7.68 13.9 9.78 10.68 9.36 15.78 10.45 9.02 9.80 Average ylel 10.33 CANADA. Tear Acreago Yield Acre yield I 1 1910 476,877 23,086 3.802.000 172.222 7.97 7.46 i 1901 4 UNITED 1 STATES. TMr Acrnf* Yield Acre yield 810 2,916,000 2,742,000 2.679.000 2,864.000 • 2.506,000 2,686,000 2,264,000 2,233,000 8,740,000 14.116.000 4.8 .909 [908 25.866.000 26.806.000 26.861.000 25,576,000 28,477.000 23.400,000 27,800,000 29.286.000 9.4 9.6 907 9.0 ,906 10.2 [905 11.2 1904 10.3 1908 12.2 1902 7.8 Average yield for nine yean. 9.8 Why Flax is a Popi "t Crop. There are three good reasons for supposing that the rapid Increase ^n the flax area of Saskatchewan revealed above will continue. One Us the very satisfactory price that has been realised for flaxseed for a lumber of "ears past and particularly during the last twelve or fifteen nonths. 1 ..other is the comparativfly small bulk of the product of an acre of thit irop as compared with wheat or oats ; this is an important onsideration to men who must haul their grain 40, 50 or 60 miles to tie nearest railway station or who must store it on the farm until the Boming of winter affords them an opportunity to market it. The rhird vreason is found in the- fact that flax is the only grain crop that gives a satisfactory return as a rule when grown upon virgin prairie land in the same season that the land is first ploughed. Many assert that this latter practice— growing flax on freshly ploughed breaking— is poor farming and that the person following it is no farther ahead at the £nd of say, three years than if the breaking had been left fallow Ithroughout the first season. This may or may not be true as a general rule- it is a practice that will not be recommended in this bulletin, in any case The fact must be borne in mind, however, in this connec- tion that many of the settlers taking up virgin land in Saskatchewan ave little capital and few resources. Any method of farming that offers to such men a reasonable certainty of quick and profitable returns is worthy of their serious and perhaps favourable consideration jrovided no permanent damage to their virgin farm is involved. Such men can perhaps afford to sacrifice a little advantage m later avears, if such must be, in order to sccuro the speedy returrs that the Cowing of flax on newly ploughed breaking offers. For this reason, iprovided the flaxseed used is free from the seeds of noxious weeds and from flax wilt, this practice is not to be unhesitatingly or sweepmgly Dudemned. , . , « ^ vi I The only bad effect attributed to the growing of flax upon freshly Iploughed breaking is on the decomposition or rotting of the prairie sod. pt is freely asserted by some that the mechanical condition, or tilth, of Ithe field which has undergone this treatment) is not as gowl for a iccade afterwards as it would have been had the field been left fallow throughout he first summer. The truth probably is that its mechanic condition is greatly impaired and will remain so until it has be summerf allowed. Breaking properly cond..v,ti'd is only a summerfalk ing of the prairie. If this operation, ect in motion by the first plougl| ing, is interrupted and suspended by the sowing of a crop and il subsequent growth, it is evident that the advantages and results of sumraerfallow cannot be looked for. Moisture cannot be stored in tl: soil, decomposition of organic matter (roots, leaves, etc.) cannot pr as quickly and generally and the preparation and storing up of availabM plant food cannot take place. These three processes, of vital importan<^ ^ to succeeding crops, are almost dependent upon and inseparable froijj the sumraerfallow in the western half of Saskatchewan. If, instead cj- the suramerf allow, flax is being grown, moistui «» used instead of store<, 1 decomposition arrested instead of hastened, ami plant food assimilate-"/ by the crop instead of made ready in the soil — the effpft upon succee^l' ing crops is almost certain to be felt. Should the mon lis of ,Tnne an^3 July be wet in the following summer these ill offectb that follow tly 'I growing of flax on ntwly plou!?hcd breaking i ght not »«• met "^^^ otherwise they are almost certain to be in evi'' nee. In \ lew ' "" iii K it worth the while of large companies and farmers having c; taW/ men who need not sacrifice the future to immediate returns — to soy^ even clean flaxseed upon their newly ploughed breaking? r\ Flax and the Wire Worm. Mention should be made, too, of the value of the flax e, Saskatchewan as a means of circumventing the'wire worm. Ob of the heavy soils of the province — /lotably in districts along tk . Line and the Ontlook-Macklin branch of the Canadian Pacific Rai ^^ and the Goose Lake branch of the Canadian Northern Railway- presence and activity of wire worms have made the successful growi of wheat during the first one or two years an uncertain undertaking The win; worms are the larvHJ or an early stago in the development i click beetles. The eggs of these beetle: are laid about the roots c grasses and other plants and the wire worms which result from theT^ take two years to oome to full growth. They are slender, yellowisl'j| shiny and tough wi^h six legs under the fiont of the body and a 8ucke:ja like foot under the end. When full jr . >wn they are about an inch IoBj «| and a twelfth of an inch wide. No treatment of seed grain has prove^ i eflFeotive against these insects which eat right into the kernel of graii. i itself and do not feed upon the stems or other parts of the plants as ^i most other insect pests. Wheat and oats are most subject to attack fro* wire worms, bu^ happily, flaxseed appears to be almost immune. Whii the reason or reasons for this immunity are we cannot state definitel.n j but thi-re present themselves for consideration. It may be that the flaa^i seed itself by its smooth gelatinous exterior resists the attack of the wirJ worm; it may be that the seed is distasteful to the worm; or it may V^j that the flaxseed being usually sown nearer the surface is out of th^i sphere of activity of the insect in quest.ou. The fact that flax is practL j cally immime from this pest is an important one and has certainly beejjj of untold benefit to many farmers in the areas referred .;o above. I e I Preparation of the Soil for Flax. I Flax can be grown upon almo«t any land in Saskatchewan. Soil lat will produce profitable cropa of any other grain will usualiy do at Lst aa well when sown to fiax. This plant is not so particular about |e kind of soil — whether heavy or light, clay or sand, chocolate loam I black mud, deep or shallow — as it is about the condition the soil is in. I will respond to a fertile soil and does best in this province on the heavy lep clay loam lands, but it will respond even more to a soil that has been loroughly prepared for the crop. Flax is a fast growing crop by habit Lt has a small and delicate root system. For these reasons it requires I find liberal supplies of plant food available for its use at the outset. I is not a vigorous feeding crop, such for instance as oats is. It Iquires a deeply stirred <»eed bed that is firm almost to the top and has l^t suflScien* loose soil on the surface to cover the seed uniformly, perefore virgin prairie land, timothy or rye grass sod, summerfallow f com land all make good forms of preparation fir flax. These are Citable also because they tend to insure a seed bed free from weeds, lecause it requires to grow rapidly yet is not a gross feeder, or a good fustier," flax does not thrive when in competition with weeds. Flax liould not be sown upon land fall ploughed to a depth of about f e Kches and which is dry, lumpy, and full of weed seeds that have not '•nninated ; this is the worst possible preparation. If none of the forms |; preparation named above is available, it may be sown upon land ■seed the fall before for the purpose of insuring early germination of leed seeds and spring ploughed to a depth of three or four inches about me middle of May or after a good growth of rubbish has been secured. Inch land should be packed, rolled, or in some manner made firm nmediately after ploughing and before being seeded. Whrn flax is to be gown on new land in the same season as it is roken the best meithod of preparation will u>ually be found to be as Mlows: ploufih the prairie sod from four to five inches deep and follow !ith a packer, roller, float, disc harrov loadi d with stone or some other Viplement that will press the inverted sods firmly back on to the subsoil, f the breaking is being done prior to May l.'ith the field may be disc- arrowed to a depth of about 1% inches, care being taken to avoid ^tting to the bottom of the sod or tuminjr s'ods grass side np. Follow Be disc harrow with a drag harrow untn a well pulverised seed bed is ftcured and then leave the field until the time for sowing the crop shall give come. By these means the best seed bed possible under the cir- mmstanees will be provided. If the breaking is being done between Hay loth and June 5th the preparation of the seed bed should be as At forth above u,) to the point of disc harrowing. As the season i» fcw getting late it would not be advisable to take time for the more Borough method. In order that the seed may quickly g. riiiiuate and ■art to grow it had better be sown at once in the well packed sod, with 1 disc drill if one is obtainable, if not with a sharp shoe drill. The ||ed will then be in moist soil from the start although the desirable soil Ihilch will not have been prepared. The drill should be followed Btimediately by a "float" or "planker" or by the drag harrows inverted, laded lightly with poles and fastened together. This treatment will cover the seed to a greater degi ■ provide •ome loose earth on tl nirfaoe. The important point ; aeae methods of preparing newl, broken prairie for flax are that v^. iurrows be well pecked immediateh after plouj^ing and that all tb() operations follow one another with M delay. Varieiie$ of Flaxued. The wor' of improving flaxbced has not been carried on so widelj and energetically as has been the case with wheat, oats, and barley. Th< existing varieties are not so clear cut in their chkracteristics and in iU opinion of some observers are not very firmly fixed 'n typt. TW creation of new varieties having desirable characteristics in a markc degree, and the improvement of existing older vaieties by selectionJ operatioxiS that are now exercising widespread influence upon even tH •^at mass of our seed supplies on the farms in the Hse of wheat, oat UA. d barley— lines of work that have not prc^preu J very far up to tl present time. 1a cfBjBequence there are not, in the commercial supplies of throujaout the country, any clearly defincvl varieties. The source fror wbiclT most of the flaxseed grown in Saskatchewan today has its in Russia. There the crop is very largely grown both for seed and fibi though the experience of that country has been identical with that of ti United States, namely, thait flax is a new land crop and cannot be profitj ably grown for its seed for mpre than a few years in succession. Aftei investigating the flax industry throughout Europe, Professor BoUey Botanist of tb ) North Dakota Experiment Station ha& come to the con dnsion that all the field flex now being grown may be included in tw< species One of these is the common small-seeded, field flax (Linuti usitatissimutn, L.) ; the other includes the big-seeded varieties (Linuti humille. Mill). The first named species include several varieties th cfaar?oteristics of which are not too sharply def ed, such as the blm flo«di«d, the white flowered, and the white seeded. The big seed specie is mostly grown in southern Europe and the Argentine (a heavy pro ducer of flaxseed) while the small seeded species is grown in the norAeri latitudes. Practically all the flaxseed grown in Saskatchewan is o the common small seedesUMlKied. The ImpoHance of Good Seed. Since the average farmer need not as yet trouble himself abou what variety of flax he shall grow, his task in securing good seed fla woulc seem to be simpler than is the case with wheat or oats. As matter of fact, however, the securing of good seed flax in large quanit ties is & most difficult matter. In order to show in concise form ji what a group of experts consider to be the requisite characterialtics good seed of the flax plant and what relative importance should b attached in their judgment to tihe several characteristics, a score card fo seed flax — the first that has ever been drawn up — is reproduced belov this score card was prepared by the faculty of the Saskatchewan Coi ^ of Agriculture for use in connection with the seed fairs of Saskatchewa held last winter. It has also had tire advantage of revision by Profea.. o BoUey. 8 SCORE CARD FOR SEED FLAX. Purity. Ponlble seor*. Freedom from weed seeda 20 Freedom from other klnda of srain and useleu Impurities 10 i Quality of Orain. Freedom from evideiice of flax wilt and other diseases. ... 20 Grain sound, well ripened, free from frosted or otherwise damaged grains 15 Containing a high percentage of oil as indicated by glis- tening surface and slippery feeling when grasped by the hand 12 Colour, glossy dark brown, uniformly bright, not weathered 6 Orain uniformly plump, relatively large. The measured bushel well above standard weight 18 Weight per bushel pounds. Total 100 (Standard weight per bushel, 56 pounds.) It will be noted that the two most important characteristics of good [ flax are its freedom from weed seeds and from evidences of flax wilt. Prevalence of Weed Seeds in Seed Flax. It is important that any grain intended for seed shall be free from seeds, but it is doubly important in the case of flaxseed. With lie possible exception of wild oats the seeds of our worst noxious weeds in be almost entirely removed from wheat, oats or barley provided Icient time is spent on and care taken with the work of separation. the case of flax, on the contrary, wild oats is almost the only noxious eeed seed that can readily be separated from the grain. Certainly the Is of half a dozen of our most noxious weeds — including stinkweed id sevteral of the mustards — can be separated from flaxseed only with be greatest diflSculty, if at all, by the farmer's fanning mill. When it iS emembered, too, that most of the seed flas^^wn upon virgin land, lie importance of securing and using onl^^K^I^ftnest seed is further Imphasised. Indeed, it may well be questioned whether, in view of the ^bove facts, freedom from weed seeds should not receive an even larger lotment of points on the score card than it already has. If a supply seed flax that is free from the seeds of noxious weeds cannot be Bured, it is far better to let the new land lie fallow throughout the ler in which it is broken, than to pollute that land at the very itset of its usefulness with trash that will cause trouble and loss and ^or^ as long as the field is under cultivation. Every farmer has some and most have some noxious weeds ; but no man should, on that [>unt, wilfully add to the number by deliberately sowing seed that :>ntain8 them. There are thieves in the world and always have been, kut civilised nations cndfavour to reduce the number and check their |peration rather than ul berately add to their number, because they aot be entirely eliminated and because it would cost lees to abandon lie attempt. There is one source of clean flax available to all. This is tbtj seed plot on the home farm. Each fanner who intends to grow flat as one of the regular crops on his farm, particularly as a crop witj which to subdue new land, should plan to start a seed flax plot on whici to grow his next year's supply of seed. By growing the seed on a smahn plot it becomes quite possible, even under the labour conditions of thlH average Saskatchewan farm, to go through the crop on the seed plcR^I carefully several times during the growing season and pull what weed-*! and other foreign plants may be found growing there. The laboujT involved in this task will be amply rewarded by the increased return from the crop grown from the seed secured in this way, aside fron the satisfaction of growing a crop that will be practically free fron weeds. ^i The Disease Known as Flax Wilt. J« If the most important requirement of seed flax is freedom froiff weed seeds, the next requirement is freedom from wHt. Flax wilt is Pi fungus disease of the flax plant discovered many years ago, and experi mented with in a variety of ways ever since, by Professor Bolley. j* characteristic of flax in America has been that the yield speedily droppec^ from a highly profitable to a distinctly unprofitable level when the crof was extensively grown without rotation in any district for a short ten? of years. In consequence the crop has become nomadic in character^ constantly seeking new localities, and has been used almost cxclusivelf i as the first crop sown upon virgin lands that were being brought unde" cultivation. It was commonly thought that flax must be very exhaus tive of soil fertility or at least of some element in the soil essential to th^ production of the crop. Others thought that by growing flax som/ deleterious chemical compound was formed in the soil that rendered th^ field unfit for the production of that crop in future. It was left t) Professor Bolley to unearth the real cause of the trouble when he di8> covered about ten years ago, that— to use his own words on the subject— "Flax sick soil is occasioned by the presence of a fungus, Fusarium lini^ Bolley, which may be introduced to new soil areas by way of the soetter I advantage. I Harvesting the Flax Crop. I When grown for seed, flax should be cut when the seeds are full I and ripe, of a good rich characteristic bright brown colour and rattling I freely in the boll when shaken or moved. It is not advisable to leave I the crop standing after it is fully ripened. Some recommend this in I order that the leaves of the plant' may be killed off by frost. There is I some risk that the flaxseed may also be injured, and that the crop may 13 not be siifficienltly dry when threshing time comes, if cutting has bee| deferrc'l until the season of short days and lamp mornings ha arrived. The essential thing is that the crop lie dry when threshe Because of this and of the tenacious nalnre of the st^aw, it is no necef! Ty or customary to use twine when cutting flax with tl bind( Some farmers Bim-ily run the crop through the binde exactly as in the case of > at, for instancf^ but using no twinfl in the knotter. Others removf the knotting dbfioe, place in positioi the flax harvesting attachment that is obtainable for every make oj] binder sold in the province, and harvest it in that way. Still other remove only the trip, packers and discharge "^rms of their binders an.in commisBion firm of Thompson| Sons & Co., supplied the writer a some interesting data on the markets of the world. As his firm probably has oeen for many year the largest seller of flax on the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, Mr. Tlroma Thompson is well qualified to speak upon this subject. Following ar some extracts from Mr. Thompson's letter : "Our opinion has b'tberto been that the farmers of Western Canad<| will never under ordinary conditions go extensively into growing flax. Thi^ opinion (R baBe-1 on the experience and observation of over twenty-eight yeary in the grain business west of tlio Red river and close contact with the farming community (\'\ring that period. "In the t cly days of settlement between twenty and thirty years agoJ flax was not grow? anywhere In the West except in the Mennonite settlementf] In Southern Manitoba. These people had no doubt been used to growini flax in Russia, where they principally came from. For some years they wer(| the only source of supply for such Canadian demand for flaxseed as wa extent at tiiat time, except for the little grown among the German anij Dutch settlements In Ontario. Later on, Germans and other settlers froo continental Europe who settled in the neighbourhood of Balgonte and othe^ districts in Saskatchewan (Assinibola at that time) began to ralne flaxseed ii; moderate quantities. "The Mennonites in Southern Manitoba were given practical encourage-j ment to raise flax by the Livingstons of Baden. Ont. (now the Dominioi Linseed Oil Company), because at about that time tbe;i had embarked in th^ oil crushing business and the domestic Canadian market was increasing. Th^ Livingstons supplied seed to the Mennonites and in other ways encoura them to grow flax. An oil mill was also built at Winnipeg by Boddy Noakes, the requiremcitB of seed for which helped to make competition buying and stimulate the production of flax on the Mennonite reserve in th4 early years of settlement. The growing of flax, however, never seemed to commend itself to settlers from Bastern Canada or from the United Kingdom| We remember well, along in th« early '90*8, when from some cause the prio lot flax advanced conaiderably and at one poin* was as high as |1.86 per Ibuibel in Dulutta, that the public presa, ever reauy to advine the farmer how ■be should farm, recommended the growing of flax as something that would ■abound to much profit. Quite a number toolc the advice of the inexperienced ■ press writers and tried growing a little flax. They bought seed at ♦2.50 to 1 9 3. 00 per bushel, but money was scarce and many only planted 10 tc ~0 acres I too small a quantity to make it worth while bothering with. Then the I following season f '-- prices were away down again, the little patches of flex I got very poor attention in harvesting and threshing and that was the end of Iflax growing in Manitoba with all but the old Mennonlte settlers. It was not I until the American settlers began to come into the West by the Soo Line that I any important increase in flax prowing in Western Canada began to take ■ place. Their method was to sow flax on breaking and no doubt the chance of I getting a quick, good paying crop in this way has encouraged the growing of lit even when the price was only moderately high. I "Up till the time when production began to increase by the growing of I flax in the newer parts of Saskatchewan the yield of flax in all Canada pro- Ivided very little surplus for expert. In fact the Livingstons up until four or I five years ago always iD>ported some from Duluth. Up until two years ago Iflax came into Canada duty free. There Is now a duty of 10 cents per bushel I which in practice comes to about 6 cents per bushel owing to a drawback on ■ cake exported. The oil crushing business in Canada has never grown to a I great Industry, probably because the oil required for domestic use in the I earlier days was not large and there could be practically no demand for oil- Icake. In the eastern part, where the bulk of the oil would be needed. It could I be easily imported from Europe at probably less cost than it could be manu- I f actured from home grown seed and the fact of the moderato cost of imported loll and the habit of getting it from that direction no doubt tended to stifle I any pro" able efforts to raise suflicient seed to employ the manufacturer, so I that it was not until the West began to open up and the general development lot the whole country called for Increase in supply of oil that the manufac- Iturer began to apprehend the opportunity of business and then before he I could get an adequate supply of seed to enable him to supply and push the I trade he had to coax* and encourage the grower to raise it. The great I development all over Canada in the last few years in the mat tor of rs'l- Iways, general building and manufactures must have increased the demand I Immensely for linseed oil. but even yet, we do not think Canada requires I much ovjr one million bushels of seed to supply her own requirements. I "The principal oil crushing plant In Canada is that of the Dominion I Linseed Oil Company at Baden, Ont., and they have also a small plant at I Montreal, built four yeers ago. There are other two plants at Montreal, the i Canada Linseed Oil Company and the Sherwin-Williams Paint Company. I The only other crushers in Canada which we know of are the Canada Paint I Co. (formerly Boddy & Noakes), and the Manitoba Linseed Oil Company I with plants at Winnipeg. The Winnipeg mills use around 125,000 bushels f of seed per year each and we estimate that the Dominion Linseed Oil Com- l^pany and the other eastern crushers will now use among them 750.000 I bushels or perhaps fully more than that. I "We think It was not until the season of 1907 that the flax crop in I Canada began to assume more than domestic importance and it was not I until the crop of 1909 that it became so large as to provide a considerable I surplus for the export market. The crops of 1909 and 1910 have each ■ been approximately 5,000,000 bushels and nearly all of this has been pro- Iduced In the Province of Saskatchewan. The large Influx of new settlers I Into Saskatchewan with their method and habit of raising flax and the great ■ advance In the price of flaxseed in the last two years have combined to I cause the large Increase in production. The one cause without the other [would not In our opinion have tended to an.vthlng like such an Increase in I Western Canada. I "The big Increase In the price of flax has also arisen through a com- Iblnatlon of circumstances which have developed almost simultaneously. In ■ the first place the increae in all kinds of public works all over the world I and increase In manufactures and building of all kinds which started a few I yean ago and which has probably reached its culmination for a time, caused la large Increase in the demand for many commodities, oils and tat sub- I stances among the rest. I "In the midst of this incren<;ed and Increasing demand the production I of oil seeds began two years ag -> sustain a considerable decrease through I partial crop tailnres. First the c on crop in the southern Jnlted Stages in 15 I 1908 and 1909 waa very abort owing to drjr weather and that meant si bil Atfcri se In the production of cotton aeed oil. A gradual and heavy adtancl In the price of cattle, hogs and sheep waa the result of a decrease in nun ben and it caused animal fat to become dear and the supply to decreaifl The principal growers of flaxseed are North and South Dakota and Minna aota and contiguous states in the United States, also Argentine and Indfl and a moderate quantit7 is grown in Russia and Central Europe. ImportinI Europe gets its supply mostly from the Argentine and ladia, as for so^ years the United States has used a.l the seed produced within their bordeia and a little more. In 1909 ard 1910 the flax crops in Argentine and Indil were much below their average. In Europe they were about normal. ThI United States has been using che last two or three yoars about 27,000,001 bushels per year, but for the years 1907, 1908 and 1909 the esttmatel yields after harvest amounted steadily to 25,800,000 bushels per year, bta last year, 1910, the crop is estimated at not over 15,000,000 buataels. In creased demand for and lessened production of flaxseed, combined with thi lessened pro uction of otuer kinds of oleaginous products, brought about M natural advance in prices, and this has been intensified as regards flaxseel and linseed oil by the large and powerful seed and oil interests in thI United States taking hold of *he trade in a speculative way, so that pricM for flaxseed during 1910 have touched tho highest poinis ever recorded The high prices for flax during the present year are liable to make flax growl ers increase their acreage and with nor jial weather a very large increase ia production might occur, and pcvhaps by the time next year's crops arl ready to m&rket, prires misht be 50 per cent, lower than they are at preseni or even less. | "The United States buyers in the last two months have bought somi cargoes of Indian flax frou British merchants, getting vessels on the was to Western Europe diverted across the Atlantic to New York, Philadelphial etc. They have also bought t!iree to four million bushels of the Argentinl crop. This year all our Wpitem seed over domestic requirements is bp'nJ taken by United States buyers for use in the United States, while durina 1909 most, if not all, of our seod which went ior export went to the Unite! kingdom, Belgium, France and 'lermany. 1 "The duty on flaxseed enter ng the United States is 25 cents per bushel of 66 pounds, but owing to a drawback on oil-cake exported, the duty doel not come to over 19 cents per busbel. On this basi the price of our seed iJ store Fort Willlan. usually rune i^.bout 20 cents per bushel under the pricJ of the same gr&de at Duluth." 1 Possibilities of Utilising Flax Straw. I The question of what economic use the half million tons of flaJ etraw which Saskatchewan now produces annually might be put to i\ an important one. As long ago as 1896 experiments in the working of Western flax straw for its fibre were carried on by the Domini^ Government through the Director of Experimental Farms. TwJ extracts from the report of these tests will indicate the nature of thq findings : I "At the conclusion of the test the Messrs. Livingston reported that tt J Hax grown at Nappnn, Ottawa and Agassis had produced a profitable proporl lion of fibre of good quality, but that the samples grown at Brandon anq Indian Head had given but a small yield of fibre, which was of poor quality] Their opinion was that the fibre pi aduced from the flax grown on these twq Utter farms was not suflicient to pay the cost of working." 1 "As the evidence obtained in 1896 as to the small quantity ond pooJ quality of the fibre obtainable from fiax grown in the North-West ^rovincea of Canada was in harmony with the general opinion of experts who haq worked with similar material in Uke climates in the Western States, it waa regarded as conclusive and It was not thought necessary to continue tha experiment farther." The matter by no means dropped at that point, however, foi private parties, inventors and the like, have seen the economic possij bilitiee in the eoormous quantities ox flax straw annually burned anfl 16 liaTe prasittently endeftvonred to dense metlhodB and maohineiy wherebj Binen might be maniifaetared from Western grown flax straw. Tlie ■oUowing extract from the report of a committee appointed by the ■xiduBtrial Burear of Winnip^ to investigate this and related indnstriea Krill be of interest and may be regarded as the latest pronouncement Lpon this important question: I "Tour committee left Wlnnlper on February 6 sad arrlTed In Dulath Ium followlnc momlnr In this cUy is lor-\ted one of the most Interestlns Esctories thst we visited. It Is sn experlmenUl plant of the Western Linen ■(Ills s company formed for the purpose of working out patented processes Eor produclns linen yams, threads and fsbrlcs from flsx etrsw, but partieu- Etfly straw grown in the North-West. I "James BroUn, manager of the Wostem Linen Mills, showed us through Ithe plsnt. a factory that, with the machinery In use, has cost the men who Kngaged in this enterprise about $60,000. Mr. BroUn went Into the matters ■of material, processes and production with us very thoroughly, and gave us ■every opportunity to see the plant In actual operation. We were thus able Ko see the flax straw as It was taken from the threshing machine, treated and ■worked upon wholly by machinery, until it was turned out in finished pro- IdttcU of yam, twine and linen fabric. Stated briefly the processes of the ■western Linen Mills comprise mechanical operations which take the place of Ithe slow, tedious work that is done by hand in the flax flelds and mills of the "old country. »id produce yams, threads, twine am fabrics that are in great ^demand all o\er our West and which are now imported heavily from Eastern ■Canada, Great Britain and the United SUtes. We saw these processes ■actually worked out and brought back samples of the products which are on Iflle here for inspection. Mr. BroUn also gave us figures which enable us to ■report that the processes in use by the Westem Linen Mills take 70 per cent. Itrom the flax straw in the flrat operation, 50 per cent, of the remadnlng pro- Iduct in the second, or degunning process, and a further reduction of 40 per ■cent, in the third process, finally producing 108 pounds of yam from a ton U}t flax straw, and has a market value of 22c per pound, or $23.76 per each ■ton of atraw that is put through the machines. Besides this, there are by- Irroducts of tow and mattress and paper material which are worth $1S more, "o." a total of $39.00 derived from every ton of flax straw trea* •«. The cost of this flax straw laid down at the factory in Duluth Is $12 per ton. "The bearing of all this upon our own agricultural and industrial life is very important. Bear In mind that the processes of the plant which we saw at Duluth take the 1'x straw just as it comta from the fleld^ — cut by machine, threshed by mac''lne and in all the disorder into which it has been thrown; no pulling nor any costly hand work whatever. Half a million tons of such flax are burned every year on our Westem farms. There is a splendid I market at our very doors for every sort of the flnished product produced. ■Flax experts accustomed to old country processes have declared that the i Western straw from flax raised ir seed is not good for spinning and that flax straw cut and threshed bj machine is of no value for factory pur- k poses. The new processes we Investigated at Duluth prove that our flax straw [that is now wasted in such enormous quantity is a good, merchantable pro- [duct and one capable of being converted into goods for which we have an I unlimited market at hand. An interesting point was that the Westem Linen ■ Mills processes have been worked out by shrewd capitalists and that no less I a man than John D. Rockefeller is a stockholder in this concem. together ■with several New York men of high standing in the financial world. I Binder Attachments. I "At Minneapolis we called upon the Ware Binder Attachment Company, ■ This company's product is right In line with the utilisation of flax straw I because the Ware binder attachment is one that is made for the express pur- i pose of using binder twine made from flax atraw. As you are aware that all I of the binder twine now used in the West is brought In from the United SUtes land Eastem Canada and a factory in Winnipeg for producing this twine I from flax straw, together with a parent plant for manufacturing a binder I attachment to make the use of linen twine practicable would be a combina- I tion that must give splendid results in Industrial growth and the profitable I employment of what is now a sheer waste."