<hat (Icsdiicd to a coarser fahrick ; and that that design- 

 ed for cordage should be the least rottetl. 



We have ah'eady remarked, thathcinp r*ot siiffieient- 

 ]y rotted was hard, thick, elastic, and irinaint:d clogged 

 with parts of the slalk. We shall hereafter lh]d these to 

 be great delects %\\w,n applied lo iht; fabriek of cordage. 

 Wc hawever aeknowlcdge that luM)ip used in the Huer 

 fabrieks may be a little more rolled, bnt it cannot be 

 expected to render much fh)er a thi-cad na(ur:.Uy coarse. 

 It would ratlier be injured by pniridity ; for to have a fine 

 thread the concurrence of many things are itecessary. — 

 Y'n-st — The soiU ^ov a ?i above observed, too stronger 

 dry a soil never yields a very pliant tl>read. It is toor 

 ligneous, consequently hard and britlle. On the other 

 hand, it the soil is too humid, the bark which it will pro- 

 (luce will be too herbaceous, tender, and liable to break, 

 and become refuse, or heads of hemp. It is only the soft, 

 substantial, and moderately moist gronnds that give to 

 the thread softness, {Icxibility, and strength, which are 

 the best qualities of good hemp. 



Secondly — The year. I'or when the seasonsr are dty 

 and parching, the thread is hard. On the contrary^ 

 when the seasons are cool and moist, it is supple and 

 sometimes tender. 



Thirdly — The state of matirrity. For if the hemp has 

 been left standing too long, the longitudinal fibres of the 

 bark adhere too strongly to one another ; the coarse 

 threads are connected like ribbands, and are with dif- 

 ficulty separated, especially at their lower extremities; 

 which is understood when they say "a cue of hemp has 

 many claws.'' This defect is found in all the female 

 hemp that they have been obliged to leave too long in the 

 ground in order to ripen its seed. Whereas if it is ga- 

 thered in too green a state, the bark being yet herbace- 

 ous, great waste ensues^ and the thread is without 

 strength. 



Fourthly — The manner of sowing the hemp. For 

 that which is sown too thin has a thick; hard; ligneous. 



