[ ] 
seldom thicker than a quill, except in Flanders, 
where it is larger. It is not usually broke as ours 
is, with the brake, but after it is rotted, the women 
break and strip separately every stem with their 
hands, which leaves the line very long and free 
from chips ; tho’ this would seem a tedious pro¬ 
cess, yet they do it very rapidly, and it employs 
them as they stand at their doors or walk. 
Indian Corn, 
A GREAT deal of it is raised in Champagne and 
Burgundy, but the culture does not do them great 
honor, whether it is owing to the soil or want of, 
proper cultivation ; I saw very little that one of out; 
farmers would not have been ashamed of. What 
is very singular, it is almost a general practice to 
sow hemp among the corn, either promiscuously or 
in rows ; the male hemp I presume is plucked out 
early, for what I saw standing among the corn the 
latter end of September, was all female hemp, left^ 
for seed. 
Vines. 
In the neighborhood of Paris, are many vine¬ 
yards, but the wine is of inferior quality. The 
manner of cultivating the vines, differs in different 
parts of France ; in some places I have seen it led 
into fruit trees, and trained from tree to tree ; in 
others it is kept short, and is not supported by 
sticks, but then the vineyard must be old, so that 
the stem has sufficient strength to support itself.— 
