HEMP GROWING 251 



pay his rent. A peck of hempseed, costing 2^., sowed about 10 

 perches of land, and this produced from 24 to ^6 lb. of tow 

 when dressed and fit for spinning. A dozen pounds of tow 

 made 10 ells of cloth, worth generally about ^s. an ell. Thus 

 a good crop on 10 perches of land brought in £4 los. od., half 

 of which was nett profit. The hemp was pulled a little 

 before harvest, and immediately spread on grass land, where 

 it lay for a month or six weeks. The more rain there was the 

 sooner it was ready to take off the grass. When the rind 

 peeled easily from the woody part, it was, on a dry day, taken 

 into the house, and when harvest was over well dried in fine 

 weather and dressed, being then fit for the tow dresser, who 

 prepared it for spinning. After the crop of hemp the land was 

 sown with turnips, a valuable resource for the winter. 



Since 1815 little hemp or flax has been grown in England^ ; 

 in 1907 there were, according to the Agricultural Returns, 

 •^^^ acres of flax grown in England, and hemp was not 

 mentioned. 



^ Morton, Cyclopaedia of Agriculture, ii. 26. 



