It is supposed that we were originally indebted for this plant to those parts of Egypt which are annually inundated by the Nile; but the time of its introduction into this country is unknown. Its utility is incalculable. To it we are indebted for the linen we wear, for our sheets, table-cloths, and numerous other indispensable articles of clothing and domestic economy; and although cotton might, in some degree, supply its place, those persons who have been accustomed to the comforts of linen would be little desirous of the exchange. The cultivation of flax is pursued to considerable extent in some parts of the British dominions. The seed imported from Riga and Holland is generally, though perhaps erroneously, esteemed the best. It is sown in March or April; and the plants, when nearly ripe, are pulled up by the roots. These, if flax and not seed be the object of the crop, are either placed in small parcels upon the surface of the land, for exposure to the sun, to dry; or they are immediately conveyed to the place where they are to undergo the process called watering. For this purpose they are loosely tied in small bundles, placed in pools or ponds of soft and stagnant water, and allowed to continue there several days. By the fermentation which takes place, the bark or flaxy substance becomes separated. They are then taken out, and thinly spread upon the grass, in regular rows. Here they are occasionally turned until they have become so brittle, that, on being rubbed between the hands, the flax easily and freely separates from the stalks. They are taken up, and bound in sheaves, to be either sent to a mill, or to be broken and scuttled, as it is called, by a machine contrived for that purpose. The flax, by the above process, having been separated from the stalks, it subsequently undergoes various dressings, according to the purposes for which it is to be used.