176 



On Hemp. 



to remain ; the sets may be laid out 6 to 8 yards wide. Attention 

 must be paid to any plots where horse-mint or twitch had existed, 

 which should be ploughed rather deeper, to raise the roots from 

 the sole, otherwise the top culture will be of little avail. The 

 last ploughing (unless the land has been very foul) will finish the 

 tilth ; the roller and harrow must be applied again, and the roots 

 got off, if such is the case, as often as will be found necessary to 

 get the top-soil into good tilth. The month of April will be now 

 advancing, by which time the farmer, if a man of business, will 

 have his manure prepared ; 25 tons of which, well rotted, mixed 

 stable and feeding-shed manure, should be applied per acre. 

 Care must be taken to lay the manure on heavier where the land 

 has been impoverished by twitch, horse- mint, or other deteriorating 

 weeds. 1 have applied yard-manure to rather stiff land with good 

 success. By the preceding arrangement 1 calculate the cultivator 

 will have from the 1st of May to the 12th of May to cart his ma- 

 nure and plough the land for seed. The manure must be care- 

 fully and evenly spread on the [side of the field intended to be 

 ploughed first, the plough following close to the spreader. The 

 cultivator of hemp must direct the spreader of the manure to 

 throw out half the heap next to the ploughman first, and then 

 turn down the other half. Long dry days dry the manure up 

 until it is of little value, if allowed to remain exposed to the sun 

 and wind. The hemp-grower must be careful to direct his 

 ploughman to cut a furrow not more than 6 inches, as hemp re- 

 quires as many seams as possible for the seed to fall in along with 

 the manure. I ought to have mentioned prior to this, that the 

 cultivator should have carefully selected his seed, in doing so he 

 must attentively follow the succeeding directions : — The bulk should 

 be of a bright grey colour and bold appearance ; he must take 

 care that it has not been heated in the heap in the warehouse. 

 He may discover this by biting it between his teeth : if the taste is 

 perfectly sweet, and the external appearance as above -described, 

 he may rely on its goodness ; if the taste is bitter, it will be found 

 worthless. An acre of land requires 3 bushels of seed ; if the 

 hemp is required to manufacture into linen, 2 pecks more must 

 be added. The thicker it is on the land the finer and more 

 slender it will grow. The most approved practice of sowing is to 

 sow the fresh-ploughed land up every evening, and harrow the 

 seed in well with light harrows. If during this the land rises full 

 of clods through carting the manure, it will be advisable to run a 

 light roller over that portion where the clods rise, and leave the 

 land to be harrowed up again after the roller. The best season 

 for sowing hemp is from the 1st to the 12th of May ; a few days 

 later must do if the weather is wet. On sowing later than the 12th 

 of May the fibre grows thin and weak. As the sowing is pro- 



