4 BULLETIlSr 404, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE, 



accumulate in large piles, being blown from the machine by wind 

 stackers. 



Machhie brakes are used in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Califor- 

 nia, but to only a Hmited extent in Kentucky. Five different kinds 

 of machine brakes are now in actual use in this country, and stiU 

 others are used in Europe. All of the best hemp in Italy, command- 

 ing the highest market price paid for any hemp, is broken by machines. 

 The better machine brakes now in use in this country prepare the 

 fiber better and much more rapidly than the hand brakes, and they 

 will undoubtedly be used in aU locahties where hemp raising is intro- 

 duced as a new industry. They may also be used in Kentucky when 

 their cost is reduced to more reasonable rates, so that they may 

 compete with the hand brake. Hemp-breaking machines are being 



Fig. 2.— Machine brake and liemp hurds. Hemp hurds from macliine brakes quickly accumulate in 



large piles. 



improved and their use is increasing. The hemp-growing industry 

 .can increase in this country only as machine brakes are developed to 

 prepare the fiber. A profitable use for the hurds will add an incentive 

 to the use of the machine brake. 



PRESENT USES OF HEMP HURDS. 



Hemp hurds are used to a hmited extent for barnyard htter and 

 stable bedding, as a substitute for sawdust in packing ice, and, in 

 rare instances, for fuel. They are not regarded as having a commer- 

 cial value for any of these uses, though they are doubtless worth at 

 least $1 per ton on the farm when used for stable bedding. They are 

 a waste product, without value for other purposes which might com- 

 pete with their use for paper stock. 



