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Flax is an economic plant of great antiquity; indeed, historical records indicate that it was the first plant definitely cultivated for fiber purposes. The Swiss Lake Dwellers grew it, and the Egyptians made from it textiles of remarkable quality. The flax plant is now grown in certain regions where it has been in continuous cultivation for hundreds of years. In America, on the contrary, flax as a fiber plant has had a comparatively brief but interesting career. Starting as the only textile fiber of the northern colonists, it moved westward with the early pioneers only to be abandoned for other fibers, especially cotton. The production of good textile fiber from flax requires so much care and painstaking labor that it has not been profitable in this country. Although no longer a crop of importance in America, there has been a recent revival of interest in the possibilities of flax-fiber production. If the present need for hand labor and time can be met by machinery and more rapid chemical and bacteriological methods, flax-fiber production may again become an industry of some importance.Flax fibers from different regions of the earth vary in quality, and in the markets command a wide range of prices. The fibers differ in length, tensile strength, flexibility, degree of fineness, and luster. Somewhat similar differences occur not only under dissimilar climatic conditions but frequently in the same local area.I t was the original purpose of the writer to determine the causes of variation in the fibers. This has involved a study of fiber structure, of the method of fiber-formation, and of the subsequent changes in the fiber during the life of the plant. An attempt also has been made both to explain the relation between certain practices of growers and the conditions inside the growing plant, and to secure further information on the physical structure and chemical nature of the individual fibers.Little is known of the ancient methods of cultivation and of fiberpreparation. Modern efforts have failed to improve the traditional slow and laborious methods. Our best fiber today is produced in the same fashion as that followed for centuries before the Christian era (29).Flax is planted thickly upon well prepared soil of good quality. The thick planting favors the development of tall, thin, and unbranched stems, which are the most desirable for fiber purposes. The plants are well cared