90 
THE EARMEr’s manual. 
and must be watched and tried, when dried, in the 
same manner. If you draw your hemp from the wa- 
ter in October, or even in November, and the weather 
proves warm, it will over-rot before it can dry in the 
bundle ; you mujt spread, arjd dry it, as soon as pos- 
sible, and house it for the winter; but if the weather 
should be cold, you may set up your hemp across 
your fences ; and if it gets dry before the frosts of 
winter set in, house it as before, if not, and your bun- 
dles become frozen, you may let them stand over the 
winter, and house and dress in March, or dress from 
the field as they stand. The difference between the 
dressing of your hemp and flax, is this; your hemp- 
brake must be about twice the size of your flax- 
brake, in all its proportions, for the first braking ; 
and then if it is run through a flax- brake for a second 
braking, it will greatly expedite the swingling. 
Your swingling- knife must be about half the length of 
the flax-knife; the swingling- bogrd about 4 or 5 feet 
high. The shives must be separated from the hemp, 
by stroking gently with your knife, instead of whip- 
ping with a full stroke, as in flax, and by gently shak- 
ing the hemp, between the strokes, and all without 
the hatchel, as in flax. There is a great slight in 
dressing hemp; an expert hand will swingle clean 
about lOOlbs. per day. When your hemp is dress- 
ed, it must be bound up in bunches of 20 or 30!bs. 
each, and then it is ready for market. 
Hemp is a great exhauster of soil ; requires the strong- 
est lands, and richest manures, in great quantity ; re- 
quires also, much labour, and is of course an unprofita- 
ble crop in our country. In time of war, it has proved 
profitable, and may become so again ; of course its 
mode of culture should be correctly understood. Your 
hemp, as well as flax grounds, should be turned up 
into ridges in autumn ; the ridges should be levelled 
with the plough in the spring, as soon as the frost will 
admit; your ground then dressed with 10, 15, or 20 
loads of your best manures, well spread and covered 
