Flax Cultivation in Scotland: An Historical Geography

Flax was cultivated in Scotland until relatively recently. After the political union of Scotland and England the State played a major part in encouraging its growth, especially in the years I727-1834. The ways in which the State helped in the formative phase are shown. Flax cultivation had maximum significance relative to the rest of the Scottish economy, and was most diffuse, at the end of the eighteenth century; its characteristic features at this time are noted. The abrupt decline of flax cultivation after c. I820, despite the growing demands of a flourishing linen industry, resulted principally from the ease with which cheaper flax could be imported from abroad. Subsequently, however, in times of war the State again subsidized flax farming, and the last revival of this sort occurred during the war of I939-45. Together with changes in the scale of flax cultivation there have been changes of distribution. The relative importance of the various flax-growing areas has altered repeatedly in the period here considered. Flax in Scotland affords an example of a traditional crop failing to succeed in modern times owing to the strength of economic forces which State support did not overcome. This occurred despite the proven physical suitability of Scotland for flax farming. An appreciation of flax in Scotland is shown to depend more on an understanding of social, economic and political conditions than on those of a physical nature. FLAX was grown in Scotland until the I950S. It was valued partly for the oil crushed from its seeds but more for its yield of a fibre stronger than any other natural fibre and the oldest known to have been used in textiles. Its use in textile manufacture was varied. Cambrics, canvas, wrapping, dressings were some of the many cloths into which it was worked, their respective qualities of fineness, strength, coarseness, softness reflecting not simply the multiple skills of linen workers but the adaptability of the fibre itself. The possibilities thus implied of catering for a variety of markets were exploited most fully in the eighteenth century when linen manufacture was Scotland's greatest industry, a pre-eminence achieved with State help. The cultivation of flax was also encouraged by the State. Local flax used at home sustained much domestic industry, then at its peak, and flax farming probably had maximum significance in such contexts. As linen working increased in scale, however, and in urban rather than rural situations, the centuries-old partnership between farming and manufacture dissolved. Linen-working towns, several of them ports vitalized by foreign trade in relation to their own and other interests, depended more and more on imported flax, while at home flax was cultivated less and ultimately not at all. What follows is an attempt to trace the changing fortunes of flax cultivation when it was still part of the geography of Scotland. It is a reconstruction merited on three counts: flax cultivation was a traditional activity for so long, its association with linen working created an element unique in the economic development of the country, and the changes that it experienced reflect the mutability of relationships between society and land, thus enlarging knowledge of geography itself. The major primary sources used in this analysis include the manuscript Records of the