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Although the amount grown in Russia exceeds considerably the combined quantity grown in the rest of the above-mentioned countries, the quality of the fibre is inferior. The fibre is cultivated in the Russian provinces of Archangel, Courland, Esthonia, Kostroma, Livonia, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver, Vyatka, Vitebsk, Vologda and Yaroslav or Jaroslav, while the bulk of the material is exported through the Baltic ports. Riga and St Petersburg (including Cronstadt) are the principal ports, but flax is also exported from Revel, Windau, Pernau, Libau, Narva and Königsberg. Sometimes it is exported from Archangel, but this port is frost-bound for a great period of the year; moreover, most of the districts are nearer to the Baltic.

The following Prices, taken from the Dundee Year Books, show the Change in Price of a few well-known Varieties.

The raw flax is almost invariably known by the same name as the district in which it is grown, and it is further classified by special marks. The following names amongst others are given to the fibre:—Archangel, Bajetsky, Courish, Dorpat, Drogobusher, Dunaberg, Fabrichnoi, Fellin, Gjatsk, Glazoff, Griazourtz, Iwashkower, Jaransk, Janowitz, Jaropol, Jaroslav, Kama, Kashin, Königsberg, Kostroma, Kotelnitch, Kowns, Krasnoholm, Kurland (Courland), Latischki, Livonian Crowns, Malmuish, Marienberg, Mochenetz, Mologin, Newel, Nikolsky, Nolinsk, Novgorod, Opotchka, Ostroff, Ostrow, Otbornoy, Ouglitch, Pernau, Pskoff, Revel, Riga, Rjeff, St Petersburg, Seretz, Slanitz, Slobodskoi, Smolensk, Sytcheffka, Taroslav. Tchesna, Totma, Twer, Ustjuga, Viatka, Vishni, Vologda, Werro, Wiasma, Witebsk.

These names indicate the particular district in which the flax has been grown, but it is more general to group the material into classes such as Livonian Crowns, Rija Crowns, Hoffs, Wracks, Drieband, Zins, Ristens, Pernau, Archangel, &c.

The quotations for the various kinds of flaxes are made with one or other special mark termed a base mark; this usually, but not necessarily, indicates the lowest quality. The September-October 1906 quotations appeared as under:—

It will, of course, be understood that the base mark is subject to variation, the ruling factors being the amount of crop, quality and demand. The marks in the Crown flaxes have the following signification:—

Each additional mark means a rise in the price, but it must be understood that it is quite possible for a quality denoted by two letters to be more valuable than one indicated by three or more, since every mark has not the same value.

If we take £25 as the value of the base mark, the value per ton for the different groups would be:—

The Hoffs flaxes are reckoned in a similar way. Here H is for Hoffs, D for Drieband, P for picked, F for fine, S for superior, and R for Risten. In addition to these marks, an X may appear before, after or in both places. With £20 as base mark we have:—

Of the lower qualities of Riga flax the following may be named;

The last-named (SD and PSD) are dew-retted qualities shipped from Riga either as Lithuanian Slanitz, Wellish Slanitz or Wiasma Slanitz, showing from what district they come, as there are differences in the quality of the produce of each district. The lowest quality of Riga flax is marked DW, meaning Dreiband Wrack.

Another Russian port from which a large quantity of flax is imported is Pernau, where the marks in use are comparatively few. The leading marks are:—

Pernau flax is shipped as Livonian and Fellin sorts, the latter being the best.

Both dew-retted and water-retted flax are exported from St Petersburg, the dew-retted or Slanitz flax being marked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Crown, also Zebrack No. 1 and Zebrack No. 2, while all the Archangel flax is dew-retted.

Some idea of the extent of the Russian flax trade may be gathered from the fact that 233,000 tons were exported in 1905. Out of this quantity a little over 53,000 tons came to the United Kingdom. The Chief British ports for the landing of flax are:—Belfast, Dundee, Leith, Montrose, London and Arbroath, the two former being the chief centres of the flax industry.

The following table, taken from the annual report of the Belfast Flax Supply Association, shows the quantities received from all sources into the different parts of the United Kingdom:—