100 THE COMPLETE FARMER 



have to remain longer in soak before they were sufficiently 

 rotted. 



The plants are usually spread down to be dew rotted from 

 the middle of October to the middle of December. A farmer 

 who has a large crop on hand puts them down at different 

 times for his convenience in handlino' and dressing them. 

 Autumnal rotting is more apt to give the lint a dark and 

 unsightly color than winter rotting. The best ground to 

 expose the plants upon is meadow or grass land, but they 

 are not unfrequently spread over the same field on which 

 they grow. The length of time they ought to remain ex- 

 posed depends upon the degree of moisture and the tempera- 

 ture of the weather that prevail. In a very wet and warm 

 spell five or six weeks may be long enough. Whether they 

 have been sufficiently rotted or not is determined bj^ experi- 

 ment. A handful is taken and broken by the hand or ap- 

 plied to the brake, when it can be easily ascertained, by the 

 facility with which the lint can be detached from the stalk, 

 if it be properly rotted. If the plants remain on the ground 

 too long, the fibres lose some of their strength, though a few 

 days longer than necessary, in cold weather, will not do any 

 injury. If they are taken up too soon, that is, before the 

 lint can be easily separated from the woody part of the stalk, 

 it is harsh, and the process of breaking is difficult and trou- 

 blesome. Snow rotting, that is, when the plants, being spread 

 out, remain long enough to rot, (which however req'iires a 

 greater length of time,) bleaches the lint, improves the quali- 

 ty, and makes it nearly as valuable as if it had been water 

 rotted. 



After the operation of rotting is performed, the plants are 

 again collected together, put in shocks or stacks, or, which is 

 still better, put under a shed or some covering. When it is 

 designed to break and dress them immediately, they are fre- 

 quently set up against some neighboring fence. The best 

 period for breaking and dressing is in the months of Februa- 

 ry and March, and the best sort of weather frosty nights and 

 clear thawing days. The brake cannot be used advantage- 

 ously in wet or moist weather. It is almost invariably used 

 in this state out of doors and without any cover ; and to 

 assist its operation, the laborer 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. 



