228 ON HEMP. 



One need see Hemp braked but once, to be immediately master 

 of the whole art. The man or woman who brakes (for in many 

 places it is the work of women), takes in the left hand a handful of 

 Hemp, and in the other the upper jaw of the brake. The Hemp 

 is put between the two jaws, and by raising and letting fall several 

 times with all his force the jaw he has in his right hand, it breaks 

 the dry stems under the bark that lies round them. By moving the 

 Hemp in this manner between the two jaws, the stems, ground to 

 pieces, and as it were reduced to dust, are forced to quit the Hemp. 

 The grossest part of the gum falls down like a kind of bran, and 

 the finest flies away like dust. When the half of the handful is thus 

 broken, he puts under the brake that part which he held in his hand 

 and never leaves it till the whole handful be perfectly broken. It 

 is then stretched upon a table, or on the ground ; and when he has 

 about two pounds weight, he makes it into a parcel, which he 

 doubles, at the same time twisting it slightly; and this is what is 

 called a Head of Hemp or undressed stuff. In this manner all 

 the lower t ends of the Hemp are as well divided as the tops, and the 

 manufacturer loses not so much in hards as he would otherwise do. 

 All the fibres in the hand of the person that holds the parcel by the 

 middle, retain as far as possible their natural length ; and this first 

 preparation qualifies the Hemp much better for the other operations 

 of the heckle than that of peeling. A woman may brake from 

 twenty to thirty pounds of Hemp in a day ; and this is a very great 

 advantage to those that cultivate this plant. 



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