Flax

? Flax
Common Flax
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malpighiales Family: Linaceae Genus: Linum Species: L. usitatissimum
Binomial name
Linum usitatissimum Linnaeus.

Common flax (also known as linseed) is a member of the Linaceae family, which includes about 150 plant species widely distributed around the world. Some of them are grown in domestic flower beds, as flax is one of the few truly blue flowers. (Most "blue" flowers are really a shade of purple.)

Under the dwindling Cronquist system of classifying the flowering plants, flax and related plants were placed in an order Linales. Modern classifications place them in the order Malpighiales.

In addition to the plant itself, flax may refer to the unspun fibers of the flax plant.

Usage of Flax

Flax, or Linum usitatissimum, is grown both for seed and for fiber.

Flax seed

The seeds produce flaxseed oil. After processing by solvent extraction, flaxseed oil is called linseed oil, which is one of the oldest commercial oils and has been used for centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing. The use of flax seed and flaxseed oil (which is the most concentrated source of the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid) as a nutritional supplement is increasing.

Consuming one to two tablespoons of ground flax seeds (from a coffee or spice grinder) or one teaspoon of fresh flaxseed oil daily is a possible alternative to oily fish or fish oil supplements (also high in omega-3 fatty acids) for vegetarians/ vegans, and for those who are concerned about high levels of heavy metals (such as mercury) in fish. One tablespoon of ground flax seeds and three tablespoons of water makes an excellent replacement for one egg in baking by binding the other ingredients together, and ground flax seeds can also be mixed in with oatmeal, yogurt, water (similar to Metamucil), or any other food item where a nutty flavor is appropriate. Flaxseed oil is most commonly consumed with salads or in capsules. The health benefits of ground flax seed are also due to the lignans and dietary fiber it contains, in addition to omega-3 fatty acids.

Flax fiber

Flax fibres are amongst the oldest fiber crops in the world. The use of flax for the production of linen goes back 5000 years. Pictures on tombs and temple walls at Thebes depict flowering flax plants. The use of flax fibre in the manufacturing of cloth in Northern Europe dates back to pre-Roman times. In the USA, flax was introduced by the Pilgrims. Currently all flax produced in the USA and Canada are seed flax types for the production of linseed oil or flaxseeds for human nutrition.

Flax fiber is extracted from the bast or skin of the stem of flax plant. Flax fibre is soft, lustrous and flexible. It is stronger than cotton fibre but less elastic. The best grades are used for linen fabrics such as damasks, lace and sheeting. Coarser grades are used for the manufacturing of twine and rope. Flax fibre is also a raw material for the high-quality paper industry for the use of printed banknotes and rolling paper for cigarettes.

Cultivating flax

The major fibre flax-producing countries are the former USSR, Poland, France, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

The soils most suitable for flax, besides the alluvial kind, are deep friable loams, and such as contain a large proportion of organic matter in their composition. Strong clays do not answer well, nor soils of a gravelly or dry sandy nature. But whatever be the kind of soil, it ought neither to be in too poor nor too rich a condition because, in the latter case, the flax is apt to grow too luxuriant and produce a coarse sort and, in the former case, the plant affords only a small produce from growing weakly.

When grass land is intended for flax, it ought to be broken up as early in the season as possible, so that the soil may be duly mellowed by the winter frosts, and in good order for being reduced by the harrows, when the seed process is attempted. If flax is to succeed a corn crop, the like care is required to procure the aid of frost, without which the surface cannot be rendered fine enough for receiving the seed. Less frost, however, will do in the last than in the first case, therefore the grass land ought always to be earliest ploughed. At seed time, harrow the land well before the seed is distributed, then cover the seed to a sufficient depth by giving a close double time of the harrows. Waterfurrow the land, and remove any stones and roots that may remain on the surface, which finishes the seed process.

When a crop of seed is intended to be taken, thin sowing is preferable, in order that the plants may have room to fork or spread out their leaves and to obtain air for the blossoming and filling seasons. But it is a mistake to sow thin when flax is intended to be taken, for the crop then becomes coarse, and often unproductive. From eight to ten pecks per acre (125 to 160 kg/ ha) is a proper quantity in the last case; but when seed is the object, six pecks [95 kg/ha] will do very well.

Flax should be pulled when the lower part of the plant begins to turn yellow, and when, on opening the pods, the most forward of the seeds are found in a soft state, and the middle of the seeds is green; while the seed is quite soft, the flax should be spread on the ground in bundles of about as much as a person can grasp with both hands, and it should remain so till the upper part is dry; in fine weather it will be dry in twenty-four or forty-eight hours; the bundles should be then made up, with the dry part inside, and set up in stocks of ten bundles each, to stand on the ground till the whole is dry, pods and all; the seed will then be ripe and the flax in the best state, and may be stacked, housed or worked; great care should be taken to keep the root ends even.

When flax is pulled it ought to be immediately put into water for retting, so that it may part with the rind and be fit for the manufacturer. Standing pools, for many reasons, are most proper for the purpose, occasioning the flax to have a better colour, to be sooner ready for the grass, and even to be of superior quality in every respect. When put into the water it is tied up in beets, or small sheaves, the smaller the better, because it is then most equally watered. These sheaves ought to be built in the pool, in a reclining upright posture, so that the weight placed above may keep the whole firmly down. In warm weather, ten days of the watering process are sufficient; but it is proper to examine the pools regularly after the seventh day, lest the flax should putrefy or rot, which sometimes happens in very warm weather. Twelve days will answer in any sort of weather; though it may be remarked, that it is better to give rather too little of the water than too much, as any deficiency may be easily made up by suffering it to lie longer on the grass, whereas an excess of water admits of no remedy. After lying on the grass for a due time, till any defect of the watering process is rectified, the flax is taken up, tied when dry in large sheaves, and carried to the mill to be switched and prepared for the hackle.

Dressing flax

The process is divided into two parts: the first part is intended for the farmer, or flax-grower, to bring the flax into a fit state for general or common purposes. This is performed by three machines: one for threshing out the seed, one for breaking and separating the wood from the fibre, and one for further separating the broken wood and matter from the fibre. In some cases the farmers will perhaps thrash out the seed in their own mill and therefore, in such cases, the first machine will be, of course, unnecessary.

The second part of the process is intended for the manufacturer to bring the flax into a state for the very finest purposes, such as lace, cambric, damask, and very fine linen. This second part is performed by the refining machine only.

Take the flax in small bundles, as it comes from the field or stack, and holding it in the left hand, put the seed end between the threshing machine and the bed or block against which the machine is to strike; then take the handle of the machine in the right hand, and move the machine backward and forward, to strike on the flax, until the seed is all threshed out.

Take the flax in small handfuls in the left hand, spread it flat between the third and little finger, with the seed end downwards, and the root-end above, as near the hand as possible; then put it between the beater of the breaking machine, and beat it gently till the three or four inches, which have been under the operation of the machine, appear to be soft; then remove the flax a little higher in the hand, so as to let the soft part of the flax rest upon the little finger, and continue to beat it till all is soft, and the wood is separated from the fibre, keeping the left hand close to the block and the flax as flat upon the block as possible. The other end of the flax is then to be turned, and the end which has been beaten is to be wrapped round the little finger, the root end flat, and beaten in the machine till the wood is separated, exactly in the same way as the other end was beaten.

Trivia

1. Common flax is the national flower of Belarus.
2. Flax is the emblem of the government of Northern Ireland
3. The flax plant appeared on the reverse of the UK one pound coin to represent Northern Ireland in the late 1990s