any Flax-wench.

_Winter's Tale_, act i, sc. 2 (276).

(7) _Emilia._

It could
No more be hid in him, than fire in Flax.

_Two Noble Kinsmen_, act v, sc. 3 (113).

The Flax of commerce (_Linum usitatissimum_) is not a true native,
though Turner said: "I have seen flax or lynt growyng wilde in Sommerset
shyre" ("Herbal," part ii. p. 39); but it takes kindly to the soil, and
soon becomes naturalized in the neighbourhood of any Flax field or mill.
We have, however, three native Flaxes in England, of which the smallest,
the Fairy Flax (_L. catharticum_), is one of the most graceful ornaments
of our higher downs and hills.[96:1] The Flax of commerce, which is the
plant referred to by Shakespeare, is supposed to be a native of Egypt,
and we have early notice of it in the Book of Exodus; and the microscope
has shown that the cere-cloths of the most ancient Egyptian mummies are
made of linen. It was very early introduced into England, and the
spinning of Flax was the regular occupation of the women of every
household, from the mistress downwards, so that even queens are
represented in the old illuminations in the act of spinning, and "the
spinning-wheel was a necessary implement in every household, from the
palace to the cottage."--WRIGHT, _Domestic Manners_. The occupation is
now almost gone, driven out by machinery, but it has left its mark on
our language, at least on our legal language, which acknowledges as the
only designation of an unmarried woman that she is "a spinster."

A crop of Flax is one of the most beautiful, from the rich colour of the
flowers resting on their dainty stalks. But it is also most useful; from
it we get linen, linseed oil, oilcake, and linseed-meal; nor do its
virtues end there, for "Sir John Herschel tells us the surprising fact
that old linen rags will, when treated with sulphuric acid, yield more
than their own weight of sugar. It is something even to have lived in
days when our worn-out napkins may possibly reappear on our tables in
the form of sugar."--LADY WILKINSON.

As garden plants the Flaxes are all ornamental. There are about eighty
species, some herbaceous and some shrubby, and of almost all colours,
and in most of the species the colours are remarkably bright and clear.
There is no finer blue than in L. usitatissimum, no finer yellow than in
L. trigynum, or finer scarlet than in L. grandiflor