PREPARATION OF FIBRE. 337 



carefully examining it. If, on drawing the thumb nail 

 up the length of the stem to the top, the fibre slip up the 

 stem, it has advanced far enough, and should be removed 

 from the steep. If, however, the fibre does not part 

 readily from the stem, it should be allowed to remain a 

 day or two longer. When removed from the steep, it is 

 placed in a heap or "couch" for six or eight hours, in 

 order to drain, and is then carried to the drying and 

 bleaching ground, where it is spread out in thin rows on 

 the surface, and left exposed to the action of the air and 

 rain for two or three weeks, during which time it requires 

 to be turned over about every three days, so that it may 

 be equally acted upon by the weather. This requires to 

 be done carefully, in order not to twist or break the stems. 

 It is usually performed in the following manner : 

 Two women, working together, place a long light pole 

 under the heads, lift up the stems, and then turn them 

 fairly over, the rows following each other, and occupying 

 a different part of the surface of the drying ground 

 at each removal. The subsequent processes of separating 

 the fibre are similar in principle to those described in 

 regard to flax, the only difference being in the strength 

 of the machinery employed. 



The produce of the crop appears to be liable to 

 great variations. In the early part of the present cen- 

 tury we find frequent mention made of it in the reports 

 to the Board of Agriculture, especially of the eastern 

 counties. In the Agricultural Report of Suffolk, Arthur 

 Young speaks of it as having been grown in succession on 

 suitable land for seventy years. In some old leases it 

 was stipulated that the land should be sown with hemp 

 for the last two years ; in others, again, it was prohibited 

 altogether. The seed produce is generally from 16 to 20 

 bushels, and of stems from 2 to 3 tons to the acre, which, 

 on the average, would produce from 45 to 60 stones of 



