546 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



where it is thinly spread out, and occasionally turned. That 

 which is dew-rotted has a superior whiteness and fineness of 

 fibre to that which is steeped, but is not so durable. This dew- 

 rotted hemp is therefore preferred for twine, and the other kind 

 for cables and strong cordage. The early-pulled hemp should not 

 be rotted upon the grass, but upon stubble ; and it is believed by 

 some farmers, that where it is spread upon a rye stubble to be 

 dew -rotted, it acquires a whiteness above that by any other pro 

 cess. The seed-bearing hemp, when dew-rotted upon grass, must 

 be spread so thinly that one stalk should scarcely touch another. 



The farmers of one of the best cultivated districts in Flanders, 

 the Pays de Waes, are averse to planting hemp, because of the 

 great quantity of manure which it requires : but, with the addi 

 tion of a moderate manuring, they get excellent wheat after it, 

 and sometimes carrots are sown after hemp, and a superb crop 

 of flax is taken from the same ground after the carrots. Two 

 great advantages are said to come from the cultivation of hemp ; 

 the weeds are stifled, and the leaves, which fall from the stalks, 

 serve to enrich the land. 



The quantity of seed sown to an acre is about half a bushel ; 

 and it is advisable to sow it in narrow beds, that when the non- 

 seed-bearing stalks are pulled, the seed-bearing stalks may not be 

 interfered with. Sometimes a crop of rye or wheat is sown 

 among the hemp plants, while standing, and the extraction of 

 the non-seed-bearing plant serves to cover it. This saves a 

 ploughing. 



At the harvest, the plant is usually drawn by the roots, though 

 sometimes cut with a sickle or a knife, and laid on the ground 

 to be dried. The hemp is said to be of a superior quality if 

 thoroughly dried before it is put in the steep. The ends of the 

 seed-bearing hemp are sometimes beaten over the edges of the 

 head of an open barrel, as the seed which comes off in this way 

 most easily is, of course, the most ripe, and the best for sowing. 

 The seed which first comes off in this case is taken for this 

 purpose. 



The roots of the hemp before dew-rotting are cut off with a 

 hatchet, and used for fuel. In pulling hemp, it is important so 

 far to select the stalks as to bring together those which are of 

 the same length, to be tied up in the same bundle. The hemp, 

 after being steeped, must be thoroughly dried ; and this is done, 



