271 



Raising AND dressing of HEMP* 



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till fome time after the other hemp is done with. If you 

 have no convenient place to fow your feed hemp by itlelf; 

 then fow a border of fix feet wide along the north and weft 

 fides of your hemp field; the reafon of fowing your feed 

 hemp in fuch narrow ridges or borders is that, when the 

 carle or he hemp is ripe, and has fhed its farina on the 

 fimble or female hemp, by which the feed is Impregnated, 

 and the leaves of the carle herfip fall off and the (lem 

 grows yellow, you may eafily ftep in along the fides, and 

 pull up the carle hemp without hurting the female, which 



now begins to branch out, and looks of a deep green co- 

 lour and very flourifliing, and when the feeds begin to 

 ripen, which is known by their falling out of their fockets, 

 you may all along both fides bend down the plants and 

 ihake out the feed upon a cloth laid on the ground, for as 

 they ripen they fcatter upon being fliaken by a hard wind, 

 or otherwife; then it muft be watphed, and the fowls and 

 yellow birds kept from it, for they are immoderately fond 

 of the feed; as the firft ripe feeds are the fulleft and beft, 

 they are worthy of fome pains to fave them; and the beft 

 way to do that is, to bend down the plants all along, on 

 each fide of the border or ridge, as is faid above, and 

 fhake them over a cloth fpread on the ground to receive 

 the feed; if one fide of the plant be rooted out of the 



ground by forcing it down to fliake out the feed, there will 



be no damage, for the feed that remains will ripen not- 

 withftaiiduig; and the plant mull: thus be fliaken every 

 two or three days, ^ill all the feed be ripe and thus faved; 

 and this is much better than pulling up the plants by the 

 roots, and fhaking them on a barn floor, and then fctting 

 them up againft; a fence, or the fide of the barn, for the 

 feed to ripen, and fliaking them morning and evening on 

 the barn floor; for by this method, which is the common 

 pradice, one third of the feed at leaft never comes to ma- 

 turity. 



It is well known to every farmer, that in the three bread 

 colonies at leaft, the fpring and fummer feafons are of late 



years 



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