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 true blue flowers. Most "blue" flowers are really a shade
of purple.
Under the former 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.
L. usitatissimum is grown both for seed and for fibre. The seeds produce linseed oil which is one of the oldest commercial oils and which has been used for centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing. The use of flax seed and flax seed oil (high in omega-3 linolenic acid) as a nutritional supplement is increasing.
Dressing Flax
Under the former 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.
L. usitatissimum is grown both for seed and for fibre. The seeds produce linseed oil which is one of the oldest commercial oils and which has been used for centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing. The use of flax seed and flax seed oil (high in omega-3 linolenic acid) as a nutritional supplement is increasing.
Cultivating Flax
The soils most
suitable for flax, besides the alluvial kind, are deep friable loams,
and such as contain a large proportion of vegetable 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, from growing weakly, affords only a
small produce.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.