90 THE FARMER'S MA^... 



and must be watched and tried, when dried, in the 

 same manner. If you draw your hemp from the wa- 

 ter in October, or even in November, and the weather 

 proves warm, it will over-rot before it can dry in the 

 bundle ; you must .spread and dry it as soon as pos- 

 sible, and house it for the winter; but if the weather 

 should be cold, you may set up your hemp across 

 your fences ; and if it gets dry before the frosts of 

 winter set in, house it as before, if not, and your bun- 

 dles become frozen, you may let them stand over the 

 winter, and house and dress in March, or dress from 

 the field as they stand. The difference between the 

 dressing of your hemp an'd flax, is this ; your hemp- 

 brake must be about twice the size of your flax- 

 brake, in all its proportions, for the first braking; 

 and then if it is run through a flax-brake for a second 

 braking, it will greatly expedite the swingling. 

 Your swingling-knife must be about half the length of 

 the flax-knife ; the swingling-board about 4 or 5 feet 

 high. The shives must be separated from the hemp, 

 by stroking gently with your knife, instead of whip- 

 ping with a full stroke, as in flax, and by gently shak- 

 ing the hemp, between the strokes, and all without 

 the hatchel, as in flax. There is a great slight in 

 dressing hemp; an expert hand will swingle clean 

 about 100 Ibs. per day. When your hemp is dress- 

 ed, it must be bound up in bunches of 20 or 30 Ibs. 

 each, and then it is ready for market. 



Hemp is a great exhauster of soil ; requires the strong- 

 est lands, and richest manures, in great quantity; re- 

 quires also, much labour,- and is of course an unprofita- 

 ble crop in our country. In time of war, it has proved 

 profitable, and may become so again; of course, its 

 mode of culture should be correctly understood. Your 

 hemp, as well as flax grounds, should be turned up 

 into ridges in autumn; the ridges should be levelled 

 with the plough in the spring, as soon as the frost will 

 admit; your ground then dressed with 10, 15, or 20 

 loads of your best manures, well spread and covered 



