WHEN Pharaoh trembled to behold the plague of hail, "and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous," he repented, and be-sought Moses to "intreat the Lord;" and Moses spread abroad his hands, " and the thunders and hail ceased." Then it was found "that the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled." This passage establishes the cultivation of flax in Egypt 1,500 years before the Christian era, and over 500 years before the time of Homer, who speaks of it as representing an important domestic industry. Herodotus describes the Egyptian priests as wearing linen garments, as in after-times was the custom of the priests of Israel, as ordained in Exodus xxviii. The common annual flax bearing blue flowers was, in all probability, the plant grown for fibre from the earliest times in all parts of the Old World.

Whatever may be the economic relations of the crimson flax, there can be no mistake as to its rank as a garden plant. It is certainly one of the most splendid hardy annuals known, and is capable of becoming a perennial under suitable management. Its average growth is twelve to fifteen inches; the leaves are elliptic to linear, the upper ones the largest. The flowers are in a loose terminal panicle, each measuring about one and a half to two inches across, salver-shaped, the colour deep carmine or crimson, the claw of each petal streaked with white lines, and divided from the limb by a transverse mark of red-brown; the sepals have white margins. Thus it will be seen that when the flowers have been admired for their fine form and rich colour, some entertainment may be derived from a minute examination of their structure.

To grow this plant to perfection is an easy task. The first step to be taken is to insure a true sample of seed, for worthless kinds of flax are sometimes sold for it. The soil in which the plant makes the finest growth is a free, fertile, sandy loam, but any soil in which summer flowers usually thrive will suit it. The seeds should be sown in a pan in a frame in the month of March, and be carefully nursed until the plants are large enough to handle, when they should be planted out six inches apart. From the time the seedlings appear they should have plenty of air and light, for if at all drawn or weakened in the early stages the bloom will be less satisfactory. A sunny open position should be chosen for the bed, and a few waterings must be given if the weather is dry when they are newly planted out. If sowing in a frame be not convenient, the seeds may be sown where they are to remain some time in April, or if the soil be naturally dry and warm, in March, and in due time the plants must be thinned to six inches apart. They require no support and no special attention, and dryness with heat will do them no harm if they have been assisted in the early stages to become well established.

In common with most other plants, the crimson flax is greatly benefited by systematic removal of the flowers as their beauty declines, to prevent the growth of seed. But if seed be wanted, they must be allowed to run their course, and the round seed-pods must be gathered when nearly ripe, and be spread in the sun under cover to finish, when the seed may be shelled out, and stored away in a paper or linen bag.

The common flax (Linum usitatissimum), although but little prized as a garden plant, is not wanting in beauty. Its extremely light and airy style of growth, and its comparatively large salver-shaped blue or white flowers, render it an interesting if not an attractive plant. Of its uses it would be almost idle to speak here, because we could not hope in a few words to convey to the reader anything that is not already well known. However, at the risk of retailing stale news, we will briefly record that we have seen flax fibre prepared for the workers in Brussels lace, and have experienced surprise at the excessive care bestowed upon the business, while all wonder as to the high prices of the best kinds of lace was by the same experience taken away. The flax is grown with great care at Hal and Rebecque, and the retting is conducted with scrupulous nicety, to secure clean fibre of great strength. The thread for the lace is spun in rooms kept nearly dark, to discipline the eye and the fingers to the delicate task of rejecting all that is faulty and securing a thread of exceeding fineness and great strength. As regards the strength, indeed, some samples that are as fine as the threads of a spider's web are nevertheless as strong as a metal wire. The result of all this care is that the thread is worth its weight in gold before the making of the lace begins. There is now much inferior thread used in the production of cheap laces, but certain manufacturers of Brussels maintain the high quality for which their city has long been famous, and those who care to pay the price may obtain lace of modern make, equal in every way to the best of laces that have acquired historical renown.