UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 404 
'Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
October 14, 1916 
HEMP HURDS AS PAPER-MAKING 
MATERIAL 
By 
LYSTER H. DEWEY, Botanist in Charge of Fiber-Plant Investiga- 
tions, and JASON L. MERRILL, Paper-Plant Chemist 
Paper-Plant Investigations 
This bulletin is printed on paper manufactured from hemp hurds, 
run No. 143 , which is recorded on page 20 
CONTENTS 
Page 
The Production and Handling of Hemp 
Hurds, by Lyster H. Dewey : 
What Hemp Hurds are 1 
Pith, Wood, and Fiber 2 
Character of Hurds Affected by Ret- 
ting 2 
Proportion of Hurds to Fiber and 
Yield per Acre 3 
Hurds Available from Machine-Broken 
Hemp 3 
Present Uses of Hemp Hurds ... 4 
Present Supplies of Hurds Available . 5 
Baling for Shipment ....... 5 
Cost of Baling • . . 5 
Summary 6 
Page 
The Manufacture of Paper from Hemp 
Hurds, by Jason L. Merrill : 
Introduction 7 
Factors Justifying an Investigation of 
Hemp Hurds ... * 8 
Character of the Material 11 
Character of the Tests 1* 
Operations Involved in a Test . . . 13 
Description of Tests 16 
Comparison of the Tests and Commer- 
cial Practice ......... 21 
Physical Tests of the Papers Produced 24 
Conclusions .' . 25 
WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1916 
