Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 8, ELE-FOR

FLA
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FLA
Follows an ejlimate of the Expence, Produce, and Profit of a Scots Acre of FLAX,—fuf>pofing the feafon favourable,,
that no accidental Ioffes happen, and that the farmer is neither unfhilful nor negligent.
Ground rent, labouring the ground, and leading the flax
Linfeed from 2I. to 4I. per hogftiead, the medium
3s. 4d. per peck — —
Clodding and fowlng — —
Weeding — — —
Pulling, rippling, putting in, and covering in the
water — — —
Taking out of the water, grafling, and flacking
Breaking and fcutching, at 2s. per ftone —
Total
expence
Produce at 10s. per ftone.
Linfeed fold for oil at is. per peck —
The chaff1 of the bolls is well worth the expence of
drying the feed } as it is good food, when boiled
and mixed with bear, for horfes.
Total produce
Balance for profit — —
A medium crop.
L. 2 io o
1 16 8
for 11 pecks.
020
0120
o 14 o
080
300
for 30 ftones.
L. 9
8
L. 15 o o
for 30 ftones.
O 16 o
L. 15 16
L. 6 14
A great crop.
L.
10
1100
for 9 pei-ks.
020
080
o 15 o
0 12 O
4 0 0
for 40 ftones.
L. 10 17
L. 20 o o
for 40 ftones.
o 18 o
L. 20 18
L. 10
An extra crop.
L. 5 o o
1 6 8
for 8 pecks.
020
nothing.
100
018 o
600
for 60 ftones.
L. 14
8
L. 30 o o
for 60 ftones.
IOO
L. 31
L. 16 13 4
The above eftimate being made feveral years ago,
the expence and profit are now different ; but the pro¬
portions of each are probably the fame. There is
nothing ftated here as expence of the canal in which
the flax is watered j becaufe that varies much according
to circumftances.
It is a certain faff, that the greater the crop is, the
better is the quality of the fame kind of flax.
The advantage of having both a crop of flax and a
crop of turnip the fame year—or of fowing grafs feeds
along with the linfeed—and of reducing the ground to
a fine garden mould, free of weeds, ought to be attend¬
ed to.
For Cambric and fine Lawn. The ground muft be
a rich light foil, rather fandy, but cannot be too rich.
It ought to be ploughed in September, or the be¬
ginning of October, firft putting a little hot rotten
dung upon it. In January it ought to have a fecond
ploughing, after a hard froft j and when you intend
to fow it, plough it a third time, or rather hoe it, re¬
ducing the clods very fine j but make no furrows : the
land muft be made level like a garden ; but never work
the land when wet.
The feed (hould be fown the beginning of April,
and about double the quantity that is generally fown
by our farmers; if the land be very rich, it will require
rather more than double.
As foan as fown (if the weather be dry) it will be
neceffary to roll the ground.
The lint muft: be weeded very clean when about
three inches high ; diredlly after which you muft fet
forked flicks, of about one and a half inch thick (which
ought to be prepared before), every four or five feet,
according to the length of the poles you are to lay upon
them ; they ftiould be well fixed in the ground, the
forked part to receive the poles about fix or feven inches
above the lint; each row of poles ftiouldbe two, three, or
four feet afunder, according to the length of the brufti-
wood you are to lay upon them.
The poles ought to be from to to 15 feet long,
and ftrong enough to fupport the brufh acrofs the
poles; take the longeft brufh wood you can get, the
more branchy the better, very thick, filling up the va¬
cancies with fmaller brufh, and any of the branches
that rife higher than 18 or 20 inches ought to be
lopt off to make the brufh lie as level as pofiible :
any fort of brufh will do except oak, as that tinges the
lint.
Your lint muft be pulled as foon as the feed is fully
formed, which is a few days after it is out of the bloom,
before the lint turn yellow.
It muft be pulled above the brufhwood, and every
handful laid upon it as foon as poflible : if it is fine
weather, leave it four or five hours in that manner : then
carry it to a fereen near a barn, to put it under a cover
in cafe of rain ; there it muft be fpread four or five
days, and always put in the barn at night, or when it ap¬
pears to rain : the bundles muft be opened in the barn,
or made hollow, to prevent it from heating.
Thefe operations muft be performed until the lint is
perfeflly dry, and out of danger of heating ; taking
care all the time to keep the roots as even as poflible,
and if poflible keep it from rain or wet : if you cannot
prevent it from being wet, it will be better to leave it
on the grafs till dry; becaufe when once wet, the put¬
ting it under cover before dry will make it turn black;
a thing which muft be prevented at all events.
If any of the lint upon the border, or through the
piece of ground, be coarfer than another, it muft be fe-
parated from the reft.
The