HEMP FROM BEAN 8'fALK8» S3W|^ 



be?an straw has been put to steep, becomes foetid, vhicb I- 

 find it is scarcely more apt to become than common stagnant 

 water, on beiiij^ stirred by drivinj^ horses or cattle through 

 it, by a stick, or in any other way set in motion, (as is the 

 case with all putrid water, even the ocean itself*,) the fetid ' 

 particles fly off, and the effluvia die away. 



When straw is to he steeped for bean hemp, the beans Mo<!e of 



are to be thrashed m a niil) : the beans should be put to the «f ^'"'^'^"^^ ** 



^ bums. 



mill, not at ri^ht anglesy but on a parallely or nearly so 

 with the rollers, else the stra<v, particularly if the beans are 

 very dry, is apt to be much cut. If the straw is not to be 

 steeped, on putting the beans to be thrashed at right angles,, • 

 or nearly so, with the rollers of the mill, a certain proportioa 

 of the fibres, or hemp, may easily be got from the straw, 

 these being in general not so much cut as the straw; but 

 often found torn off and hanging about it like fine sewing 

 threads. The hemp~thus taken off, though its lying under 

 water for months would do it no harm, requires only to be 

 steeped a few minutes, drawn through a hackle, and washed, 

 previous to its being l^id up for use. If the hemp or fibres, 

 collected in this way (which is a fine light business for 

 children, and such as are not able for hard work, and which 

 require^ no ingenuity,) are intended only for making paper, 

 they require neither steeping nor hacklings, but only to be 

 put into parcels and kept dry till sent off to the manufac^ ' 

 turer. 



The straw of bedns contains a sacchariiw? juice, and is Bean straw nn» 

 highly nutritive, perhaps more so than any other ; and like '"|\'^? •'"'^ ca- 



11 • ri - • n pable of pro- 



clover, the prunmgs of the vine, the loppings of the fig-tree, ducing a fer- 



&c., produces a rich infusion, and uncommonly fine table- "^'^"^^^^^ **" 



Quor. 

 beer, as well as an excellent spirit by distillation. It is the 



hemp, or fibres, that prevents cattle from eating it. These, 



like hairs in human food, make cattle dislike it. The coU 



lecting of it therefore should never be neglected, nor the 



boys and girls in workhouses and other places be permitted 



to be idle, while business of this kind would evidently tend 



both to their own and their employers' advantage. 



It is a fact, that about the generality of mills for beating Refuse of 



and dressing hemp and flax, a large proportion, in some ^!^\ *jf ^^^ 



H)land placets both of Great Britain and Ireland amounting^ terial for pu- 



nearly P"' 



