The Diseases of the Flax Plant

Abstract

Most of the flax cultiveted in Great Britain is grown in Northern Ireland, which provides fibre for the linon made in Ulster. In normal times the home grown fibre is inadequate, and most British linen industry has been most of that used in the the grown fibre for the supply of homi of that used Belgium, Holland and the U.S.S.R. Wars, when outside sources of supply were cut off, the acreage under flax increased greatly, reaching peaks of about 110 and 124 thousand acres in Northern Ireland in 1918 and 1944 respectively, the peace-time average for 1936–39 being about 22 thousand acres. Though often highly profitable, it has been an uncertain crop. Unaccountable failures and fluctuations in yield revealed the need for a much better understanding of the troubles encountered in flax growing. It was for this reason that, at the request of the Flax Development Commission, Prof. A. E. Muskett, Dr. J. Colhoun and their colleagues of the Ministry of Agriculture at the Queen's University, Belfast, undertook a study of the pathological problems involved. This book is an outcome of their work on the identification and control of flax diseases. The Diseases of the Flax Plant (Linum usitatissimum Linn.) By Prof. Arthur E. Muskett and Dr. John Colhoun. Pp. 112. (Belfast: The Bursar, Queen's University, 1947.) 21s.