CULTURE OF FLAX FROM THE SEED.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2133, 8 March 1870, Page 2

CULTURE OF FLAX FROM THE SEED.

We take the following valuable information from the Southern Cross, relative to the cultivation of flax from the seed : “ Mr Cox visited Kawhia some ten or twelve years ago for the express purpose of instituting inquiries among the natives as to whether or not that plant could be produced from the seed-pod ; but from the missionaries nor the Maorics could he obtain any definite information on tha subject. Notwhli tandinr this, however, ho still continued to experiment with the view of sowing the prob cm. He tried every experiment that suggested itself, but without success ; in every case the seeds were found to have Inin the ground without sprouting. In ordinary c ses the seed is released from the pod and falls “o the ground, where it lies without germinating for months. On examination, Mr Cox found that the seed was covered with a bright coating, which effectually preserved it from the softening influence of moisture, and prevented the kernel from nominating. The olive seed possesses the same property, and is made to germinate by pas-ing through the stomach of a bird, the >ecd being forced by the animal heat to which it is exposed in the operation. The flax seed, however, so far as he ascertained, is not eaten by any b rd ; but the flax plant is produced from offshoots. Mr Cox then continued his experiments, with

the object of substituting some process for that which the olive seed is known to pass through before germination; and at length he hit upon the following plan ; —He procured some healthy seeds, and placed them in cold water, when it was found they floated on the surface. He then placed the vessel containing the water upon an American stove, the heat of which was increased so as to heat the water to 110 degrees of Fahrenheit. At the same tune lie set the seeds in motion so as to fully expose them to the action of the warm water, arrd continued to watch the result for three or four hears. At the end of that time one of Hie seeds sank, and Mr Cox knew that the vexed problem was solved. Within, half-an-hour every seed had sunk, and they were then removed ; and next day, a box having been procured full of soil, the seeds were placed in it, and sprinkled lightly with mould. The box remained some time in the yard of his house at Freeman’s Bay, and after about six weeks’ careful tending he found that several of the seeds had sprouted from onesixteenth to one-eighth of an inch. The green visible above the ground unmistakably showed, by its shape and hue, that it was young flax. On further examination it was found that about a dozen seeds out of s une thirty had germinated. Mr Cox, at this juncture, was most unfortunately called away at a moment’s notice to proceed with the erection of a mill in the Waikato ; and upon his return he found that the box had been overturned by some cows or goats that had got into the yard, Mr Cox had counted about thirteen varieties of flax seed. Settlers in the bush who have not a thermometer can regulate the heat of the water in which the flax seeds are put by placing in their hands. The moment the heat begins to get uncomfortable it should be reduced. Mr Cox considers it of the utmost importance to properly regulate the heat, as 30 or 40 degrees in excess of the heat required—llo Fahrenheit—would probably kill the seed. ”