SOFT HEMP 17 



In California and Nebraska hemp is cut with reaping 

 machines, and their use is becoming fairly general in Ken- 

 tucky also. Much of the hemp in Kentucky, however, is still 

 cut by hand with a reaping hook or a hemp cutter, which is 

 something between a reaping hook and a bush scythe, but 

 unlike either. An experienced hand with a reaping hook will 

 cut about J- acre per day. With a sweep rake reaping machine, 

 under favourable conditions, from 5 to 7 acres may be cut in 

 a day, and with a mowing machine 7 to 10 acres. Hemp 

 does not lodge like grain or heavy clover, but on windy days 

 it is impossible to cut with either reaper or mower in the 

 direction in which the wind is blowing, for instead of falling 

 back on the cutting bar the stalks drop down between the 

 guards, where they are repeatedly cut off. The heavy, green, 

 woody stalks, | to -J- in. in diameter, and 8 to 14 ft. long, 

 are much more difficult to handle than grass or grain, and 

 they cause a much greater strain on the machine. A successful 

 hemp harvesting machine of the self-rake type should be made 

 specially strong, and have a cutting bar not more than 42 in. 

 long arranged to cut within 2 in. of the ground, extra heavy 

 section with rapid motion, and driving wheel with broader rim 

 and larger lugs than are usually made for self-rake machines. 

 Opinions differ as to whether two or three rakes give the best 

 results. A team of four good farm horses is generally regarded 

 as necessary for cutting hemp with a self-rake reaper, and in 

 Kentucky an extra hand is employed to drive. In California 

 and Nebraska one man attends to both horses and machine. 



After the hemp is cut it is allowed to lie on the ground from 

 four to eight days to dry. The unbound bundles are usually 

 turned, so as to dry both sides. To turn them a stick or fork 

 handle is run under the tops, and they are thrown endwise 

 over the butts. When dry the hemp is usually bound in small 

 bundles with cheap twine, and the stalks are set up in shocks 

 or stacked. If it is soon to be spread for retting on the same 

 land it is placed in shocks without binding. When cut with 



