1253
Li’num usitatissimum, Linn. L. E. D.— Common Flax.
Sex. Syst. Pentandria, Pentagynia.
oi«,
ieum e seminibus expressum. T.. D.— Seeds. Meal of the Seeds deprived of their fixed oil^ by expression. Expressed oil of the seeds, E.)
*,*“”*•—From time immemorial flax has been employed in theJlgy acture of cloth ; and it appears from our most ancient records thatfitqi W ;ls celebrated for its production ( Exod . ix. 31. ; Herodotus ,cv.)
—^ e pals five, distinct, quite entire or serrated. Petals five.
'file ? ” '
lotL„ e?<S .? lve - Styles three to five, distinct from the base, or combined
P «g. 234.
# WfrUi/LO till Cv to 11 ■ LtlutlllV.
nnddle or apex ( Wight and Arnott.)
Sp. Char. —Smooth, erect. Leaves lanceolate orlinear. Panicle corymbose. Sepals ovate, acute, withmembranous margins. Petals somewhat crenate,larger by three times than the calyx (D. C.) —Annual.One or two feet high. Leaves distant. Flowers large,purplish-blue. Capsule globular, about the size of asmall pea.
Hab. —Indigenous; com fields; not unfrequent.Extensively cultivated in this, as well as in otherEuropean countries, both for its fibre for makingthread, and for its oil obtained from the seeds.
Description. —The seed of the flax, commonlytermed linseed or lintseed (semina Uni ) is small (abouta line long), oval, oblong, flattened on the sides withacute edges, pointed at one extremity, smooth, glossy,brown externally, yellowish-white internally, odour-itatissimum l ess > an£ l l' as an oily mucilaginous taste. The seedcoat is mucilaginous;—the nucleus oily. The cake
oil c.ai ta after the expression of the oil, is usually denominated
tin e > it forms, when ground to a fine powder, linseed meal {farina]ir e !j„ colour is grayish-brown. It abounds in mucilage. The meal°f 0 q rea b y grinding the unpressed seeds yields a considerable quantity
b ar j.' le ^stance termed flax is prepared from the fibrous portions of the' v l‘ich ^ le Pl ant (S ee Ure’s Did. of Arts, p. 482). The short fibres
"ich
4
"hen
b ()tl ^ r e removed in heckling constitute tow {stupa), which is employed
ln pharmacy and surgery Of flax is made linen {linteum), which
km ‘® Cra Ped constitutes lint {linteum carptum; linamentum) an lmpor-(j 0 J) en t to the surgeon.
^ ,lr ulb lJ *( sri ' I0N .—Linseed has been analyzed by L. Meyer (Gmeliu,fat 0 f ( . Chem. ii. 1251). Its constituents he found to be as follows :—*°ft re • ^ le nucleus) 1T265, wax (in the husk principally) 0 - 140‘, acridyellr no (I® the husk principally) 2’488, resinous colouring matter 0’550,^^adive with tannin and salts (nitre and the chlorides of po-| ail< l calcium) T917, sweet extractive with malic acid and some'fd ,°84, gum (in the nucleus) 6T54, nitrogenous mucilage with acetic'uqq i.(In the husk principally) I5 - 120, starch with salts (in the| i albumen (in the nucleus) 2'782, gluten (in the nucleus) 2'932,1 n emulsin (?) 44'382. The ashes contained oxide of copper.