ON THE CULTURE OF IIEMr. 185 



circle ; when passing on a plane, the hemp becomes crushed, and 

 broken by the stone, and is subsequently swingled : the rollers of 

 the lint-mill are, however, thought to be better, and my own opi- 

 nion is, that Mr. S. Swartwout's machine for breaking flax would 

 answer better than any other mode which is now practised. 



" The average crop, per acre, in America, England, and Russia, 

 has been estimated as follows : America, 400 lbs. ; England, 650 

 lbs. ; Russia, 500 lbs. The present price of American dew-rotted, 

 is $115 per ton, that of Russia $170 per ton. 



" The cultivation of this plant would, no doubt, be of great na- 

 tional benefit, not, perhaps, arising immediately from the production 

 of hemp, but the absolute necessity, almost, of being independent 

 of this article from foreign countries in time of war, and the great 

 value it is susceptible of attaining from the manufacture in our coun- 

 try. There is, perhaps, except in England, a greater quantity of 

 hemp consumed in this than in any other country, in the manufac- 

 ture of cordage, sail-cloth, cotton bagging, and in numerous qualities 

 of ordinary cloths. The certainty of a market would, no doubt, 

 very much tend to increase the cultivation ; and a demand might be 

 created by protecting the manufacturer to such an extent as to ad- 

 mit of his paying the farmer such a price for the raw material as 

 would bring the gain and demand for the article to a par with any 

 advantage he might obtain from any other article of vegetable pro- 

 duction. The hemp manufactured into cordage is generally 

 brought from abroad, i have written to a manufacturer on the 

 subject, and when I obtain the information I have solicited and ex- 

 pect, it will be transmitted to you. In my mill I have spun, for 

 cloth only, about two tons. Not having been properly prepared, 

 1 discontinued the use of it ; hov»'ever, the machinery I possess will 

 spin hemp as well as flax, and hereafter i may be induced to turn 

 my attention to it again. As far as 1 can leurn, I am the only per- 

 son in the United States, that will attempt to spin by machinery — 

 I mean fine threads, capable of making duck. 



" To prepare the hernp for spinning, it is hackled on three tools, 

 to reduce it to the same fineness with flax, which is reduced on 

 two tools, and in the process, we make use of oil to supply that 

 elasticity which naturally it does not possess. All subsequent pro- 

 cesses are the same as flax, the machinery being only altered in 

 the draft from roller to roller, to conform to the length of the 

 staple ; it is also susceptible of being altered, that it may be made 

 to spin the shortest tow, and longest hemp. 



" 1 would, as it regards my own interest, prefer to miike use of 

 the American hemp, where it is as good as the foreign, or could I 

 substitute it for the same purpose ; but, as (he reputation of a 

 manufacturer depends on the quality of his goods, it is absolutely 

 necessary the raw material should lie of the best quality ; and it is 

 a fact, that neither tlie flax nor hemp of this country are of such 

 a quality as to Ju'^tiiy thoir geiK^c'il use for manufacturing pur- 

 poses." 



24 Vnr. T. 



