What was and in Ulster. remains an art has become
also a science. Just as in the new glasshouses at Rothamsted the climate of any part of the world may be imitated, at any rate in respect of warmth and moisture, and, indbed, less perfectly in light, so apparatus may artificially supply the flax with the atmosphere supplied by nature over the Ulster fields. In the past the seed with its most valuable properties was sacrificed to the fibre ; but both may be made available to the advantage of the grower, and through him to the rest of the world. We grew flax very successfully during the War ; and no serious drawback was discovered either from the angle of the farm or the factory: How many producing industries have softly and silently faded
away—perhaps for no good reason I May instance the Farina factory (for our spare potatoes) at King's Lynn and the flax factory at Peterborough ? Fears are being_ expressed that the many sugar factories which have saved farming in the Eastern Counties may go the same way if practical sympathy is withdrawn. Too many people argue that a failure in the past is indication of unsuitability. They forget that discovery and invention, enlarging their sphere every week, continually create essentially new conditions. We can switch on optima with a flick of the finger.
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