On Hemp. 



177 



ceeded with, what surface drains require to be opened must be 

 done immediately. As the seeds sprout very quick, it is useless 

 and worthless to sow hemp on land other than in very high tilth." 



The pulling of hemp was well understood at the breaking up 

 of the late war ; since then it has been very little cultivated ; it 

 has now become a new article of agriculture. When hemp is 

 sown previous to the 12th of May, it is fit to pull for " white" (or 

 linen) purposes early after the 12th of August; previous to that 

 time the fibre has not set, nor has the male stem shed its pollen. 

 It was a practice many years ago, when white hemp ruled high, 

 to pull the weak plants, and all the male stems immediately after 

 the pollen was shed, and leave the female stems to stand for seed. 

 This labour was all performed by women and old men ; the price 

 of pulling 100 gleans (as they were termed) was Is. or Is. 2d. 

 per hundred of six score. After the hemp was thus pulled, and 

 tied round the head with four or five of its own stalks, it was laid 

 down in rows with the root part spread out ; a man must go 

 round in the evening with a boy or woman to set it up in stooks of 

 five or six gleans, the boy taking a fork such as farmers generally 

 use to knock and shake out the soil from the roots, and scrape 

 out the undergrowth that lies in the bottom of the stems ; in the 

 course of a few days it will be ready to take to the water ; before 

 doing so, it will require tying near the roots, with a band of 

 twisted leaf reed, cut two or three days previously in order to 

 soften, the gleans must then be jumped on the ground to level 

 the roots. When the hemp is carried to the water, care must be 

 taken that the tops of the hemp hang well over the sides in order- 

 to cover the stems well ; if the sods touch the stems at the sides, 

 it turns the fibre black ; the sods with which it is necessary to 

 cover the hemp whilst in the water are generally cut at the side 

 or as near as possible to the water, and are usually replaced when 

 done with. The sods are sometimes cut with a rip-and-sod 

 spade ; sometimes with a paring-plough, and then cut into short 

 lengths by the spade. Great attention has to be paid to the pro- 

 cess of watering or retting, as it is a most important one. After 

 laying the sods over the hemp they must be trod upon frequently, 

 to sink them and make the water appear between the sods ; care 

 must be taken that the roots of the hemp are put the lowest in 

 the water ; the treading must be repeated every day until the 

 hemp is ready to be taken out of the water, which will be from 

 nine to ten days if the weather is warm, and rather longer if the 

 weather is cold. This requires considerable skill and experience 

 before a person becomes a thorough judge on the point; the 

 following rules will, however, if strictly followed, answer the pur- 

 poses of a novice, and, if strictly adhered to, he cannot go far 

 vol. x. N 



