C A N N A B I S. 
imieli finer, and therefore better adapted to the fabric of 
hempen cloth- Hemp is edeemed a cleanfing crop ; for it 
dedioys all weeds, bv depriving them of their nourilli- 
ment ; bur at the fame time it is a great impoverilher of 
land, and therefore nut ft not be repeated on the lame 
ground, ft may however be grown, with fuccefs, on the 
fame find many years, by manuring annually ; if is even 
f.iid that it has been (own oil the fame piece for feventy 
years together. If it hands for feed, it is on all hands ac¬ 
knowledged to be an exhaolting crop ; but, if it be cut 
without feed, if is on the contrary fuppofed bv many to 
improve the land, and to be an excellent preparation for 
\\ heat. 
The land on which hemp is to be Town my ft have three 
earths given it, with harrowing fufticient to make the foil 
perfectly fine ; it is laid flat with as few furrows as polli- 
ble. It muft be well manured with twenty-five or thirty 
three-borfe loads of muck, or from fixteen to twenty loads 
of dung to an acre, immediately after wheat-lowing is fi- 
nilhed ; or, according to others, a fortnight before feed¬ 
time, which is from the beginning, or rather the middle, 
to the end of April. If Town earlier, the fpring l'rofts will 
greatly injure, if nUi dellroy, the plants. Sowing is lome- 
times deferred to the middle of May ; but, the feafon per¬ 
mitting, early fioiying is to be ('referred, becaufethe qua¬ 
lity ot the hemp is then fuperior. Three budiels is the 
tjfual allowance for fovving an acre, but two is'fully dif¬ 
fident. Others recommend eleven, or from nine to twelve, 
jyecks to the acre, according to the ftrength of the foil ; 
and fome low as much as three bulhels and half. In the 
choice of the feed, the heaviefi and brighteft coloured 
fliould be preferred ; and fome of them lliould be cracked 
to lee if they have the germ perfect. The feed lliould be 
gently and lightly harrowed in : and the birds mull be 
kept off the land till the plants appear. In the fen coun¬ 
tries the plants are lined out in the fame manner as is prac- 
tifed for turnips, leaving them a foot or lixteen inches 
apart, a cutting down all the weeds : they giv.e them a 
lecond hoeimr about a month or fix weeks after the firft. 
If theft hoeings be well performed, tlie crop will not re- 
quiie any farther care, for the hemp will loon cover the 
ground, and prevent all growth of weeds. In other places 
no weeding is ever given it, the hemp of. itlelf choaking 
every other plant. 
The fit'll feafon for pulling the hemp is tifuilly about 
the middle of Auguft, when they begin to pull the finable, 
fetnble, or thimble, hemp, that is, the male plants. But 
it would be much better to defer this a fortnight or three 
weeks, if the hemp is to (land for feed, until tfoefe male 
plants have fuily fited their dull, without which, it is well 
known, the feeds will not grow, nor will thole concerned 
in the oil-mills give any thing for them. Thefecond pull¬ 
ing is a little after Michaelmas, when the leeds are ripe : 
this is of the female plants, feed hemp or karle hemp, as- 
it is ufuaily called. It is bound in bundles a yard in com- 
pafs ; they are laid in the fun a few days to dry, and them 
are Tracked up or houfed till the feed can be threfhed out. 
An acre o-f: hemp,, on a rich foil, will produce -near three 
quarters of feed ; which, together with the unwrought 
hemp, is worth from fix to eight pounds. When hemp 
is intended for making thread only, without any regard to 
the feed, the male and female hemp is pulled together, 
thirteen or fourteen weeks after lowing. The leaves 
turning yellow-, and the ftalks white, are figns of its matu- 
r ty. The wetter the feafon, the longer it (lands; and it 
bears a dry year better than a wet one. When the hemp 
is all pulled up, it is bound in fmall bandies, of fiich n lize 
as may be grafped with both hands, and tied with bands 
at eadi end : thefe bundles are called baits. Thus pre¬ 
pared, the hemp is conveyed to the water, in order to un¬ 
dergo the operation of water-retting. For this purpofe 
day-pits are preferred to running water, and are cleaned 
out onpe in (even or eight years. Three fmall waggon¬ 
loads, the common produce of one acre, may be laid in 
■®ue bed. The fame water is not proper for receiving 
73 * 
hemp more than three times in a feafon, although they 
will water fonietimes five times in the fame hole ; the firft 
water, however, always produces the bell colour in the 
lead time. If it be neceflarv to wait, they pull ns the hole 
is ready, not chooling to leave it on the land alter it is 
pulled. The bundles are placed in rows crofting each 
other, and are kept under water by blocks and logs of 
wood. It Ipaks generally four days, if the weather be 
warm; if not, five or lix ; till the outfide coat ealilv rttbs 
off. It is then fpread out fingly on grafs, and turned, if 
there be (bowers, thrice a-week ; if no’’, twice a-week. 
This is called grading, and requires five or fix weeks. It 
is then tied up in large bundles of eight or ten baits, and 
carted home to a barn or lioufe for breaking, by a machme 
called a brake ; this is either done diret 11 y, or the bundles 
are laid up to dry till December or January, for that pur¬ 
pofe. Tints prepared, tlid hemp is bound up in bundles,., 
weighing a Hone or fourteen pounds ami a half each, and 
carried to market. The hemp which breaks off in the. 
operation, is called fiiorts ; this is bound up by itfelfi, and 
is about half the value of the long hemp. T he offal is- 
called hemp-fneav.es, makes good fuel, and fells at two¬ 
pence a liooe. 
Tlie cullom of many places is to dew-ret their hemp ; 7 
that is, to fpread it on nuadow-land, as loon as pulled, 
turning it frequently.; but this is a very bad method, tor¬ 
tile bark will not come off. completely, it therefore requires 
more violent means Jo be ufed for bleaching the yarn, and 
conlequently diminifhes the ftrength : it is likewife much- 
fooner injured in rainy feafons.. Hemp, when left for. 
feed. Is feldom water-retted. It is generally lldcked and 
covered during the winter, and fpread upon grafs-in Janu— 
•ary or February. If- the feafon fiiits, particularly if it be. 
covered with fnow, it will come to a good colour, and 
make a ftrong coarle cloth but it is much inferior to 
hemp (lulled in proper time, and water-retted; 
Tlie hemp now paffes from the grower to the luckier 
or heckler, who .firft. bunches or beats it, either by hand, or 
more frequently by a mill and then drelies or combs it,, 
by drawing it through liickles or heckles, refembling, 
wool-combers’ tools, only fixed. It is drelied finer or. 
coarler, to fait the demands of the purchafers.: fonietimes 
tlie whole is-worked together fur one fort, and fonietimes-. 
it is divided into two or three forts, called long llrike,, 
fbor.t (trike, and pull tow. 1 The heckler either fells the 
tow to fpinners and weavers, or puts it out to (pin him— 
felf, and dilpofes of the yarn to the latter. The weaver, 
delivers the yarn to the-whiteller, who returns it to him. 
bleached; This is a difficult operation ; the art confiding- 
in procuring the bell colour with the leaft diminution of 
ftrength. It is- performed by laying the yarn in large, 
tubs, covered with thick cloths,- upon w inch allies are- 
placed ; ; and pouring hot water daily, through it, turning 
the yarn frequently, until the bark comes off; and then it 
is fpread on poles in tlie air. In general, hempen cloth is- 
fold as it comes from the loom, and is bleached by the 
purchafer ; fome, however, is bleached ready tor weaving: 
either by tlie weaver or by a whiiefler. This is done by. 
boiling-it in lye, made from allies, and frequently fpread— 
ing it on ,grafs. 
Although hemp, in the procefs of manufacturing, pafies- 
through the hands of the breaker, heckler, fpinner, white-. 
Iter, weaver, and bleacher; yet niany of thefe operations- 
arc frequently carried on by the fame perfon. Some, 
weavers bleach their own yarn and cloth, others their 
cloth only ;. fome heckle their tow, and put it out to (pin¬ 
ning; others buy the tow, and put it outand fome carry, 
on the whole of the trade themfelves. When the trade is. 
condudled by different perfons, their interells often clalli. 
By under-retting the Hemp, the grower increafes. the * 
weight ; by flightly beating it, the heckler increafes the 
quantity of tow, but leaves it fuller of bark ; by drawing, 
out the thread beyond the llaple, the fpinner increafes the. 
quantity of yarn, but injures ihe quality ; by forcing the 
bleaching, tlie whiteller increafer his profit, but dimiuifh.es.; 
the- 
