FLAX expelled from his benefice. He continued to preach as opportunity offered, in private dwell- ings, obscure neighborhoods, or forests, till 1687, when, the royal license being granted to worship without molestation, he resumed his public labors in a new church erected by his people. Most of his works, which are held in high esteem and have been many times reprint- ed, were composed during the period of his persecution. "Husbandry Spiritualized" is one of the most popular ; among his other chief works are "A Treatise of the Soul of Man," "Divine Conduct," "The Fountain of Life," " The Method of Grace," " A Token for Mourn- ers," &c. An edition in 6 vols. 8vo appeared in London in 1820 ; " Select Works," 1833. FLAX, the common name of the plant linum usitatissimum, and also of its most important product, the filaments obtained from the fibrous covering of its hollow stems, used from the remotest times in the manufacture of linen Flax (Linum usitatissimum). thread. The coverings of the Egyptian mum- mies testify that the linen mentioned by the most ancient writers was the product of the flax plant. The seeds furnish linseed oil ; and of the residue, after this is expressed, is made the oil cake which is extensively used for feed- ing and fattening cattle. On account of its mucilaginous character, flax seed is also em- ployed in medicine, its infusion in boiling water having a soothing effect in cases of inflamma- tion of the lungs, intestines, &c. ; and when ground to meal and mixed with hot water, it forms an excellent emollient poultice. The flax plant is a slender annual, from 2 to 3 ft. high, bearing small lanceolate leaves distributed al- ternately over the stalks. These terminate in delicate blue flowers, which are succeeded by globular seed vessels of the size of small peas, containing each 10 seeds, brown, oval, and flat, and remarkably bright, smooth, and slippery. The husk of the seed yields 52 -7 per cent, of a pure gum soluble in cold water ; and the inte- rior portion yields the peculiar oil already re- ferred to. The plant, now cultivated in almost all parts of the world, is supposed by many to have been first known in Egypt, or possibly in the elevated plains of central Asia ; but though no doubt a native of warm climates, the fibre attains its greatest fineness and perfection in temperate regions. The seed is richer in the tropics. Near the northern limits of its cul- tivation the product of the flax is abundant, but the quality is inferior. The flax of Holland and Belgium commands a higher price than that of Russia. This difference is owing partly to the extreme care given by the Hollanders and Belgians to its preparation. The Irish, who have cultivated the crop from an early period, and who seem to possess as great natu- ral advantages for its culture as any people, rarely furnish so valuable an article as the Bel- gians. The greater part of the importation is from Russia, and the countries bordering on the Baltic. The rich soil of the valley of the Nile is well adapted for its cultivation, and the product of Egypt is increasing under the en- couragement given by the English, who find it more economical to procure their supplies fron foreign countries than from their own. The New Zealand flax is obtained from the leaf of an endogenous perennial plant, pJior- mium tenax, which is a native of New Zealand and Norfolk island. The leaves are from 2 to 6 ft. long and from 1 to 3 in. broad, and have a fine strong fibre, which was once used by the New Zealanders for making dresses, ropes, twine, mats, cloth, &c. This species of flax has been imported into Great Britain, where it has been chiefly used for making twine and ropes ; but its importation is now unimportant and its price low. Flax appears to have been cultivated in New Netherland as early as 1626. The seed of flax was ordered to be introduced into the colony of Massachusetts in 1629, and flax was cultivated in that state soon after the war of independence, particularly at a distance from the coast. Manufactories for making sail cloth were established at Salem and Spring- field in 1790. In Virginia flax was annually cultivated, spun, and woven by Capt. Matthews prior to 1648. Bounties for its production in that colony were offered in 1657. Flax was among the products for the encouragement of whose cultivation the British parliament made considerable grants to the patentees of Georgia in 1733, 1743, and 1749. Early attention was given to the cultivation and manufacture in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. According to the census of 1870, the total amount of flax produced in the United States was 27,133,034 Ibs., of which 17,880,624 Ibs. were produced in Ohio. 3,670,818 in New York, and 2,204,606 in Illinois. The total amount of flax seed was 1,730,444 bushels, of which 631,894 were the product of Ohio. In 1872 85,863 acres were sown with flax in Ohio, which produced 733,384 bushels of seed and
