Abstract
AN interesting account of the history of flax production in Great Britain and the possible line of its development was given by Mr. G. O. Searle at the Annual Conference of the Textile Institute held in London on June 3-5. Though demands are increasing, the production of flax in Great Britain has fallen. In 1864 the total acreage in flax was 320,000, but in 1930 only a tenth of this, since when it has been even lower and rather variable. With the exception of a few hundred acres in East Anglia, flax-growing remains a peasant industry centred in Northern Ireland. Careful selection and breeding has resulted in the production of varieties yielding nearly fifty per cent more fibre per acre than the older commercial seed.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
The Flax Industry in Great Britain. Nature 137, 1079–1080 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/1371079b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1371079b0