174 CULTIVATION OF PLANTS. 



in this state out of doors and without any cover, and to assist its operation, the 

 labourer often makes a large fire near it, which serves the double purpose of 

 drying the plants and warming himself. It could not be used in damp weather 

 in a house, without a kiln or some other means of drying the stalks. For de- 

 scription of the brake, see chapter on Agricultural Implements. 



The brake in general use, is the same hand brake which was originally in- 

 troduced, and has been always employed here, resembling, though longer, 

 the common flax brake. It is so well known as to render a particular descrip- 

 tion of it, perhaps, unnecessary. It is a rough contrivance, set upon four legs 

 about two and a half feet high. The brake consists of two jaws with slits in 

 each, the lower jaw fixed and im.noveable, and the upper one moveable, so that 

 it may be lifted up by means of a handle inserted into a head or block at the 

 Iront end of it. The lower jaw has three slats or teeth made of tough white 

 oak, and the upper two, arranged horizontally about six inches apart in the 

 rear, and gradually approaching to about two inches in front, and in such 

 manner that the slats of the upper jaw play between those of the lower. These 

 slats are about six or seven feet in length, six inches in depth, and about two 

 inches in thickness in their lower edges; thev are placed edgeways, rounded 

 a little in their upper edges, which are sharper than those below. The 

 labourer takes his stand by the side of the brake, and grasping in his left hand 

 as many of the stalks as he can conveniently hold, with his right hand he 

 seizes the handle in the head of the upper jaw, which he lifts, and throwing 

 the handful of stalks between the jaws, repeatedly strikes them by lifting and 

 throwing down the upper jaw. These successive strokes break the woody or 

 reedy part of the stalks into small pieces or shoes, which fall off during the 

 process. He assists their disengagement by striking the handful against a 

 stake, or with a small wooden paddle, until the lint or bark is entirely clean, 

 and completely separated from the woody particles. 



Scutcking to soften it and strengthen the threads, may now be performed. 

 That process, however, is not thought to be profitable, and is not, therefore, 

 generally performed by the grower, but is left to the manufacturer, as well as 

 that of beating and heckling it. Scutching is done by the labourer taking in 

 his left hand a handful of the lint and grasping it firmly, then laying the mid- 

 dle of it upon a semi-circular notch of a perpendicular'bonrd of the scutching 

 frame, and striking with the edge of the scutch that part of the lint which 

 hangs down on the board. After giving it repeated strokes, he shakes the 

 handful of lint, replaces it on the notch, and continues to strike and turn all 

 parts of it, until it is sufficiently cleansed, and the fibres appear to be even and 

 straight. 



The usual daily task of an able bodied hand at the brake is eighty pounds 

 weight, but there is a great difference not only in the state of the weather, and 

 the condition of the stalks, produced by the greater or less degree in which they 

 have been rotted, but in the dexterity with which the brake is employed. Some 

 hands have been known to break from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 

 pounds per day. The labourer ties up in one common bundle the work of one 

 day, and in this state it is taken to market and sold. From what has been 

 mentioned, it may be inferred, as the fact is, that the hemp of some growers is 

 in a much better condition than that of others. When it has been carelessly 

 handled or not sufficiently cleansed, a deduction is made from the price by the 

 purchaser. It is chiefly bought in our villages, and manufactured into cotton 

 bagging, bales, and other kinds of untarred cordage. The price is not uni- 

 form. The extremes have been as low as three, and as high as eight dollars, 

 for the long hundred the customary mode of selling it. The most general 

 price, during a term of many years, has been from four to five dollars. At 

 five dollars it compensates well the labour of the grower, and is considered 

 more profitable than any thing else the farmer has cultivated. The most 

 heavy labour in the culture of hemp, is pulling or cutting it when ripe, and 

 breaking it when rotted. This labour can easily be performed by men. 

 Various attempts have been made to improve the process of breaking, which 

 is the severest work in the preparation of hemp. 



A newly invented machine was erected for that purpose on my farm six or 

 eight years ago, to dress hemp by dispensing with rotting altogether, similar 



