m 



WATERING HEMP. , g^ 



§ ni. 



Obfervalions on the UtiUiy and Advantages of the Ntiv Difcoxery, 



Two metiiods only ^)i fieeping hemp are generally praclifed. Defcrlption of 



The (irfl confilts in fpreading the plant pn the grafs, a "^^ .keeping hemp 

 turning il two or three limes a week, until the air, the light, the as heretofore 

 dews, or the rains, have difpofed the tow to leparate eafiiy ^rom j^^^^^'^^^* , 

 tl)e reed. The refalt is obtained in a longer or (liorter time,graf3. 

 according to the weather and the ftate of the air ; and f're- 

 cjuently, in certam countries, the operation is not BniQied in 

 \tiU than forty dass. 



The iecond conilfts in immerfing the bundles of hemp in 2. Steeping: 

 rivers, brooks, ditches, or pools, and keeping them there for 

 eight, fifteen, twenty, or even thirty days, according to the 

 degree of the heat of (he water, or oFthe atmofphere. 



The maceration effected by both thefe proceifes is frequently Thcfe proceflps 

 incomplete, and always unequal. By following the firft, the^^''^*^^^^^^*'^* 

 cultivator is liable to have his crop difperfed by the winds, or 

 Kijured by long rains: if he adopts the fecond, he runs the 

 ntk of lofing a part of it by the overflowing of the rivers, or 

 r)f its being covered with mud. The hr/i method in particular, 

 is liable to the ferious inconvenience of depriving the national 

 marine of part of the hemp produced by our territory ; it is 

 known that the tow produced from the hemp which has been 

 expofed on the grafs is not ufed by the government. 



The fteeping of hemp according to M. Bralle's procefs, Superiority of 

 requires only a copper cylindrical velfel, placed on a fmall^ ^ new procefs?, 

 furnace of bricks. 



A lleeping veflel of this kind, containing 240 litres of 

 water, (52 ale gallons) is lufFicient to (^eep 18 kilogrammes of 

 hemp-ftalks, (about 40lb.) and as the operation is completed 

 in two hours, 100 kilogrammes (2'2llb.) may be eafijy ileeped 

 in a day. 



This method appears to deferve the preference over the 

 former ones, on many accounts. 



ift. The (ieeping is practicable all the year, except during It is pra£HcabIc 

 very hard frofts, when it is difficult to dry the hemp. But^'^ ^^'^ y^*^' 

 Avhen it is to be peeled wet, the cold is no longer an obflacle; 

 it is then only neceffary to take proper precautions for pre- 

 ypnting the tow from freezing in its humid ftate, 



* 5 2nd. The 



