CHAP. I. A Description of the Plant.

HEMP is commonly distinguished into two sorts, one that grows wild, the other produced by cultivation; this latter is male and female in different plants, the male, bearing the flower, is commonly called fimble hemp, and the other, bearing the seed, karle hemp.

THE root of HEMP, produced by cultivation, is from three to eight inches long, according to the quality of the land, and the quantity of seed sown thereon. It is of a whitish colour, undivided and running to a point, having fibres only on two lines, exactly opposite to each other, when not strait­ened for want of room. The stalk is round, from the root for some little way up, it then assumes a fluted quadrangular form, is hollow, covered with a greenish bark, composed of filaments; this bark, as it appears upon the stalk, forms a knotty, rough, or prickly covering to it. These knots and prickles are mere excrescences of gum, which serve to glue the fibres of the bark together, and to cover, strengthen, and protect them, till they arrive at full maturity; at proper distances, this bark is secured, from place to place, by six small fastenings, which keep it close to the stem, like so many little nails ranged on the circumference of the same circle.

ITS length and thickness are various, owing to many diffe­rent causes. A grain of hemp-seed, sown by itself in a soil that agrees with it, commonly produces a stalk large and firm, with many branches, and looks like a little tree. If it is of [Page 14]that sex which produces the seed, it will yield a great number of grains, and those very good; but its bark, being too hard and coarse, is only fit for the rope-walk: on the contrary, the due quantity of seed, sown in a field that is properly prepared for the purpose, produces stalks that are streight, slender, without branches, and the bark of such, being smooth, fine, and soft, is valuable for many other uses. The leaves grow two and two opposite to one another, they are divided into many segments, being oblong, sharp pointed, jagged, full of veins, of a deep green, rough to the touch, and of a strong smell, that affects the head.

THE flowers, that grow on the male stalk, issue from the aloe of the leaves, are of a purple colour without, and whitish on the inside; these flowers are not followed by any seed; and, on the contrary, the seed, on the stalks that produce it, is never preceded by any flower.

WHATEVER the order of nature may be in the vegetation of this plant, both the male and female stalks are produced indis­criminately from the grains of seed that grow on the same stalk: and the difference cannot be known till they come to blossom.

THE seed grows, in a great number of bunches, at the end of the stalk and branches; this, when come to maturity, forces the membranous capsulae, or outer husks, which contain it, to open, and discover a round smooth grain, somewhat flattened, containing, under a thin shell, of a shining light grey colour, a white tender kernel; this kernel is enclosed in a green film, or thin covering, and consists of two lobes that terminate in the germ, from which proceeds both the root and bud of the future plant. Its substance is sweet to the taste, of a strong smell when fresh; of a fat, spongious, gummy or oily matter; being very porous, or open, it most readily re­ceives the impression of heat and humidity, which transmit to [Page 15]it the nutritious juices, supplied by a fat well laboured soil, and occasion it instantly to swell and spring up as soon as it is sown; the two lobes unfolding, form two thick, green, oval shaped leaves, opening a passage through the earth for the tender bud of the germ, which springs up at the same time be­tween them; after a quick germination the plant shoots up, its fibres are formed, and attain to maturity, the oil and gum being the principles of their strength and union.

CHAP. II. Of the land proper for HEMP; and the methods of preparing the ground.

IT is an opinion generally received, that HEMP can only be raised on such lands as are naturally the best and richest; this being a crop that requires a great deal of sustenance, there is no doubt but that it certainly may be raised on such lands to most advantage, yet experience hath demonstrated, that HEMP is one of those plants which may be cultivated in many different situations, and in almost every different soil, no plant yielding, in our climate, a crop more certain or more advan­tageous.

RICH, dry bottom lands are those where HEMP has hitherto been principally raised amongst us; but rich swamp well drained, high lands, either loamy or light, so that they are rich and made mellow, will all, in their natural state, bring this plant to great perfection.^*

[Page 16] THOUGH most situations are suitable for HEMP, yet, as it requires a vast quantity of nourishment, and in a few crops exhausts the richest soil, the land intended for it ought not only to be the best that can be procured, but, to insure a good crop, a quantity of manure, proportioned to the quality of the ground, ought to be added; for experience shews us, that lands highly manured amply repay every extraordinary trouble and expence of this kind, by producing double the quantity that is usually raised on the richest lands in their natural state.

IT may therefore be most advisable, for those who propose to cultivate this plant, to set apart a piece of level land, not too low, far less a wet situation, but convenient and best adapted to be improved. This piece of ground ought, by the assistance of manure and other compositions, to be as highly prepared as possible; when this is once accomplished, a very little dressing will be requisite to keep it in proper tilth, and it will then admit of being sown without any diminution of crops.

A DEEP light mould, which gives freedom for the fibres to pass every way, is absolutely requisite for HEMP, but at the same time warmth is so essentially necessary, that it will grow better in a poorer soil, that is warm and mellow, than in a very rich one that is cold and wet. For which reason, sand becomes a most essential ingredient in HEMP grounds, and therefore, rich, light, dry soils ought to be preferred.

THOSE lands which are of a deep, black, or dusky loams, as they consist of a proportion of sand, with a large quantity of pure mould, will be easiest, and best cultivated.

STIFF or clayey lands, though they may not be so easily cultivated in the beginning as the poor sandy lands, yet, after they are once prepared by labour and proper manure, will be easily kept in order, as they will require less manure, and last much longer than the very poor sandy soils, which, from their [Page 17]texture, are but ill calculated to retain the manure; therefore, when this sort of sandy land is intended for HEMP, that this waste of the most essential parts of the manure may be pre­vented as much as possible, it will be proper that its nature be changed by means of such bodies or compositions as will tend best to effect this purpose, for which clay is peculiarly useful, and particularly so when half burnt, or mixed with lime, which conveys fertility, and corrects the bad qualities of the clay, by rendering it more friable, or its parts more easily dis­united, and therefore the more readily mixed with the sand.

THE sea owse, that is the settling of the tides on the shores between high and low water mark, is an excellent manure for loose sandy soils; the cleanings of ponds and ditches, as they consist of the putrid animal and vegetable bodies, mixed with the rich earth deposited there by rains, &c. becomes likewise here of considerable benefit: The same may be said of the mud in rivers, and creeks or bays, where, by the stagnation of the water, the rich particles of the soils carried down by the floods, have time to subside. But of all correctors or alteratives for sandy soils, none is preferable to marl, where it can be had. In short, all bodies or compositions, which tend to give con­sistence or stability to the soil, are proper in this case; for, by intermixing those substance with the sand, its nature becomes changed from a sandy to a loamy soil, in which state it is better calculated to retain the manure, which it may be afterwards necessary to give it, as the nutritive particles thereof will nei­ther be so readily washed thorough, nor exhaled by the influ­ence of the sun.

WHEN lands which incline to be clayey or stiff are intended for HEMP, they ought to be well broke up, and then thrown up in ridges, as high and narrow as possible, which may be most readily done with a good plough, by throwing one furrow to the [Page 18]back of another, and this work ought to be done in the fall, before the frost sets in; the benefit that will arise from this operation is too considerable to be neglected; in this situation the glebe is best exposed to the action of the following season, the rains, the snows, and frosts of winter penetrate to the center, thereby opening and dissolving its parts, by which much of your future labour will be abridged, for, when this method has been executed properly, and in time, the ground will be mellow and in good order.

THOSE, who may not be furnished with ploughs fit for this purpose, ought to have the ground well dug over with the spade, or the hoes, and either thrown up into ridges, as before directed, or into high narrow hills, similar to those of the first hoeing for tobacco.

AS soon as the severe season is over, in February or March, the ground may be levelled, which is soonest and best done by running an iron toothed harrow once or twice over it; soon after this it ought to be ploughed over, though, immediately be­fore it is ploughed, the manure you intend to put upon it should be carried out and spread. This point of time is to be pre­ferred, as the nutritive particles, with which the manure abounds, will have full opportunity to be sufficiently dissolved and blended with the staple, before they can sustain any dissi­pation.^* From this time, it may lie till the season for sowing arrives, when it is necessary to plough it again, not only that [Page 19]such weeds as may have sprung up may be ploughed down, but that the dung may be more equally blended with the earth. If this ploughing should not bring your ground into proper tilth, for it is requisite that as few clods be left as possible, and that your field be light and loose as may be, it will be proper to run the plough through it once more, though, before it re­ceives this ploughing, it is advisable to have the lumps, or clods first broken in pieces, either with a wooden mallet with a long handle, or with the eye of the hoes.

CHAP. III. Of the proper season for sowing HEMP.

THE season for sowing this seed rarely begins sooner, in our part of the country, than the beginning of May, the weather seldom being settled till then, and continues till about the middle, or even the last of June. However the time of sowing ought to vary, according to the difference of weather which is often times very considerable in the same province, and even under the same latitude, the spring proving later as we leave the ocean, and approach towards the mountains.

IT may be necessary to observe, that as the HEMP which is first sown, provided it does not meet with any accident, most commonly, yields the heaviest crop, those lands which are high or dry should be sown as soon as the season will permit, provided they are in order; those which are low or moist, as they often cannot be got in order so soon as the uplands, may lie a little later. It is however by no means eligible to sow this seed, till you can reasonably expect that no danger is to be ap­prehended from the frost; nor is it, by any means, proper to sow when the ground is very dry, or that there is an appearance [Page 20]of a continuance of dry weather, in either of these cases, it will be far more prudent to delay the sowing for a little, until the season is more advanced, or proves more mild and favourable; for HEMP sown, especially on upland, when the ground is dry, or the weather cold, seldom proves good unless rain happens to fall immediately. In short, as the success of your crop, in a great measure, depends upon the state of the weather at the time of sowing the seed, attention ought to be given to seize the most favourable season, and, as it has been observed that early sown HEMP generally thrives best, provided that the sea­son does not prove too untoward, it is therefore prudent to have the ground made ready by the time that the weather is expected to set in mild and settled; the first opportunity ought then to be taken to sow the seed, either immediately before a rain, or as soon after as the ground will admit; sow­ing before the shower ought to be preferred, only because the seed will be covered much better and more equally when the ground is dry, than when it is wet: immediately before sow­ing, the ground must be laid level with the harrow, and the best and quickest method of covering the seed is, either with a short toothed single harrow, or a bunch of brush, which ought to be dragged once or twice over the land, and, directly after, a wooden roller of about fifteen or eighteen inches diameter ought to be run over it^*; when there is only a small piece of ground sown, the seed may as well be covered with a garden rake. Any instrument that covers this seed unequally is im­proper, [Page 21]proper, for as this plant shoots instantly, those seeds that lie shallow will be up before those which are covered deep, and as its growth, in seasonable weather, is most rapid, that which comes up first is very apt to keep that under which is later in shooting,

CHAP. IV. Of the SEED, with the quantities proper to be sown.

THE usual quantity of HEMP, where the hemp is intended for the rope-walk, seldom exceeds one bushel on the acre, which is rather too little, for, where the land is in tole­rable tilth, not less than one bushel and a half of good seed ought to be put on each acre; but, when HEMP is intended for domestic purposes, there ought not to be less than two bushels of seed on each acre, and when the land is perfectly good and mellow, two bushels and an half, or even three bushels, will be found a far better proportion. Upon the whole, an allowance must be made for the difference of soils equally well laboured; a good soil will afford nutriment for a large quantity of seed, and bring the plants to the utmost per­fection, whilst a like portion of seed would dwindle on a poorer soil. Upon land which is highly cultivated, and in the best order, even the above quantity of three bushels may be ex­ceeded, without any detriment, or diminution to the crop, and often with great benefit.

IN recommending the above quantity of seed, it is supposed to be good, clean, and fresh, for none but seed of the last crop ought to be used, provided such is to be had; when this can­not be obtained, seed of two years, though not so good, may [Page 22]be tried, and if it has been well cured, and carefully pre­served, may chance to succeed.

IT is an easy matter, for those acquainted with this plant, to distinguish good seed from bad; when the seed seems light, with a number of white and greenish coloured grains amongst it, which, when cracked, are found either entirely empty, or to contain but a small shrivelled kernel, it is not to be depend­ed upon: on the contrary, that seed which is heavy, of a bright grey colour, and when cracked appearing full of a white tender kernel, is assuredly good, provided that the male or flower plants were not drawn out till the proper time, this also may be known from a careful examination of the kernel, for if the seeds have been duly impregnated by the farina, or dust from the flower, the germ, or future plant, will appear to an accurate observer, particularly with the aid of a magnifying glass, lying with its bud between, and a little tendril, which pierces the ground to form the root, running along the two lobes of the kernel; however, the best and rea­diest method to know the quality of the seed, is to sow a small quantity on a border of light good earth, and from the num­ber that springs up, the goodness of the seed may be very nearly ascertained.

THE usual method of sowing this seed is by broad-cast, but, in whatever way it is done, all imaginable care must be ob­served to distribute the seed as equally over the ground as pos­sible: and as all kinds of birds, but more particularly pigeons and turtle doves, are remarkably fond of this seed, and will, if they are permitted to frequent the ground, destroy great quantities of it, even during some few days after it is sprung up; it is necessary to keep them off until it has gathered strength, [Page 23]and the leaves become expanded ^*: from this time no further attention is requisite, until the season for pulling, unless it is to observe that your inclosure be sufficient to keep out such animals as might trample or break it down.

CHAP. V. Of the time of pulling, and the different methods of watering and rotting HEMP.

IN about six or eight weeks after sowing, according as the season has been more or less favourable, the plant which bears the flower begins to blossom; sometimes this happens when the plant is not much above two feet high; the HEMP, when this is the case, seldom grows much higher, but conti­nues weak; this may be owing to different causes, but it most commonly proceeds either from the weakness of the ground, or from the HEMP having been sown in dry cold weather. At other times it rises to the height of four, and oftener five feet before it blossoms, and grows greatly after. The plant which bears the flower usually rises above that which produces the grain, and, by the time that it gets in blossom, is generally several inches above it.

THIS superiority, in the order of nature, may be well ac­counted for, when we consider, that the powder which issues from the flower of the male, serves to convey fertility to the grain on the female stalks that produce the seed. When the HEMP gets in full bloom, the flowers are loaded with the farina or dust in such abundance, that, upon the first impres­sion of the morning breeze, it appears like a fog, or a cloud of smoke floating over the HEMP field.

[Page 24] AS soon as this phaenomenon begins to disappear, and the blossom to drop, the HEMP is at full maturity, and we may im­mediately begin to pull it.

THIS is best and easiest done when the ground happens to be tolerably dry. When you begin to gather the HEMP, it will be expedient that each person employed clear before him as many feet of ground as the HEMP is high, in order that, after pulling it up by the roots, and beating off the earth that sticks to them, by striking the roots against his foot, he may conveniently spread it on the ground from whence he has pulled it, where it must lie until it is quite dry; it is then to be tied up in bundles, and put under some cover, or carefully stacked in the ground, in which case it must be well thatched with straw, to prevent any wet from getting to it. Under this shelter it remains till about the middle of November, when it is spread out to rot; it is laid out in rows, taking care that it is spread so thin as that it may get equally wet, and dry nearly alike; it will be prudent to spread it out in some inclosure, for example on winter grain, that it may not be molested by the hogs or other animals; from this time it generally lies till towards the beginning of February, and sometimes a month later, before it is fit to be taken up, this however depends on the weather; should the winter prove moist and open, and the HEMP happened to meet with some showers whilst it lay out to dry when it was pulled, in that case it may get rotted by the last of December or middle of January. The proper time for taking it up may easily be known by cracking a few of the stalks, or breaking a handful in the brake, and, if the bark is found to separate readily from the stems, the HEMP ought im­mediately to be taken up, which must however be done in clear weather, that the HEMP, when lifted, may be as dry as possible.

[Page 25] WHEN it is intended that the HEMP should immediately be put through the brake, it is commonly set up in the field in small parcels, the root end down, gathering them together and binding them at the top, in which position it is not apt to get injured, till the weather turns warm; but when it is not con­venient to brake it directly, it should be put under cover, so as to be entirely safe from the weather.

THIS is the method generally used in this country, in place of watering, and is called winter rotting.

WHEN HEMP is intended to be watered, it is tied with the short HEMP rather towards the upper end, in small bundles as it is pulled, setting up about six bundles in a parcel, root end down, spreading them wide at the bottoms, but pressing them close at the tops; in three or four days, if the weather is good, it will be dry enough to put into the water, where it lies seldom less than nine days, but oftentimes before the ope­ration is effected, ten or twelve days; warm weather forwards the watering, and cold retards it; however, as the sooner that the watering is effected there is the less danger of the HEMP being hurt, it is better to put the HEMP into the water as soon as may be after it is pulled, and whilst it is yet green; in this state it seldom or ever requires to be longer in the water than five days, but it ought to be observed, that this is in August, our month for pulling, when the weather is generally at the warmest.

BEFORE placing the HEMP in the water, it will be necessary to take care that the bundles have not been made too large, and that the HEMP is tolerably even at the roots, and, when the HEMP happens to be very tall, it will be proper to bind it with a single stalk or two near to the roots, as well as near the top; care however must had not to bind it too close, an error, here, being of more consequence than may be imagined, the [Page 26]watering never succeeding thoroughly when the bundles are hard tied, the fermentation going on unequally in the several parts, as they are more or less confined.

THESE precautions being used, there is little danger of waste from the bundles breaking or tangling, and, that the HEMP may be prevented from getting quite to the bottom, and not only be placed, but preserved in some order in the water, it will be proper to lay two or three straight poles, or saplings, parallel in the water, so as the two outside pieces may be about three or four feet asunder, and, for greater security, they ought to be joined with a small cross piece near to each end: across this frame the HEMP must be laid, interlocking the tops, and placing the butts out, after this manner it is to be piled on (sinking it under the water) till it is within a few inches of the surface, it should then be covered over with straw, or green boughs, to keep the sun from getting to the HEMP, and over this should be laid some logs of wood, or a few fence rails, to keep it under the water.

WHEN we consider that the effect produced by watering, being a dissolution of a certain quantity of that gum, or gluti­nous substance which serves to join the fibres of the HEMP to­gether, and attach them to the stem, we are apt to imagine that a fine clear stream would be fitter to accomplish this end, because, at the same time that it dissolved, it would also purge and wash it from that gum and filth, thereby leaving the HEMP in a purer state, but experience, against which there is no reasoning, convinces us, that the properest places for wa­tering HEMP, are deep ditches, or pits of stagnated water, such as mill-ponds, or deep pools, where the water is seldom or never changed. The more still and putrid the easier it fer­ments, and penetrates the HEMP more quickly, as well as more effectually, and, though that which is [...] [Page 27]limpid stream will appear far whiter, at the brake, than that which is watered in stagnated water, yet, upon minute examina­tion, the first will be found inferior in quality to this last, it ap­pearing in a manner exhausted and dead as it were, and of a pale white, whilst the other appears with a fine lively gloss, with a bluish cast which never quits it; for the cloth made of this HEMP most readily attains a perfect degree of the purest white, whilst the cloth made of the river watered HEMP, notwith­standing all the efforts of art, will still retain a yellowish cast, and appear of a fainty disagreeable colour, which never quits it, and without great care, will increase as the linen is used.

SUCH persons as have not natural watering places convenient to them, may, with great ease and very small expence, have a pit dug for the purpose, about eight or nine feet in breadth, so deep as to have full five feet water, and in length, accord­ing to the quantity of HEMP intended to be watered, and it may not be amiss to observe, that this pit may be filled with HEMP two or three times in one season.

THIS pit, if possible, ought to be in such a place, that no floods, or streams of muddy foul water can flow into it, but at the same time so situated, that a small quantity of soft water, free from any mineral, may, when clear, be let into the pit, upon any occasion, and it will be very proper that this little stream of water should, during the time the HEMP is in the pit, be permitted to run through it; if the water but trickles or just runs it will be sufficient; it is only wanted to effect a little change in the water in the pit, near the surface, which, else, from the excessive power of the sun at this season, would be much warmer at the top, and consequently the HEMP there would be sooner watered than at the bottom. Where no fresh water can with convenience be admitted, the pit may be shaded by means of a few more green boughs, which may be [Page 28]thrown over it so as to obstruct the rays of the sun from the water.

AS such places may be made with little trouble, so no water has yet been discovered more proper for this purpose, and it will be found that the HEMP, watered in them the se­cond year, will be preferable in colour and quality, to that of the first, which proves, that the older and longer the water has remained in these pools, without being entirely changed, the fitter it is to answer our expectations. It is certain, the longer the water settles or stands the softer it proves, and the more kindly it ferments with the saponacious juices of plants; and to fit these pools the better and sooner for the purpose, it will be necessary to have them dug two or three months before they are used, and to throw therein, to rot, any succulent weeds or plants, which may be taken out immediately when the HEMP is ready to be laid in, by which means the water will be stirred up from the bottom, and mixed with that at top.—As undoubtedly the future qualities of the HEMP depend greatly upon the manner in which this process is performed, it therefore becomes of consequence to attend to the different methods; next to the HEMP which has been watered in the pits, expe­rience gives the preference to that which can be safely rotted by the dew in the fall, its strength and colour being little in­ferior to that which is watered in the pits, and superior in both to that which is winter rotted, which nevertheless ought to be preferred before watering in a stream, therefore such as do not chuse to be at the trouble of providing pits ought to prefer the method of dew rotting. The principal danger at­tending this method, is from the too great heat of the sun, which is apt to injure the HEMP, if spread out too early in the fall, and therefore is best guarded against, by not laying it out [Page 29]till towards the first of October, which will yet leave time to [...]ot the HEMP before the snows set in.

IN whatever manner this operation is effected, we know, that the HEMP is watered sufficiently, when the bark parts freely from the stem, therefore, if the HEMP has been put into the water quite green, as directed above, it will be necessary to draw out every day, beginning at the fourth at furthest, a few stalks, which are to be well dried, if then the bark is found to separate freely from the stems, the HEMP is sufficiently watered, and ought immediately to be taken out; permitting the HEMP to lie a day longer than necessary, at this season of the year, when the weather is commonly very warm, would be greatly prejudicial to it, as the fibres of the bark, from being too much macerated, would occasion not only great waste in handling, whilst wet, but, from not having strength sufficient to sustain the effort of the brake, part of the bark would re­main with the stems. However, until experience teaches ex­actness in this, it is the best way to lean to the safer side, and draw the HEMP rather too early than too late; if a bandle of the HEMP is tried daily, as directed above, no great error can be committed: when the HEMP is taken out of the watering place, though it is by no means proper to water it in clear streams, it would be well, however, for those who are conve­nient to such, to wash the HEMP carefully therein. As the bundles are taken out of the water, they may be laid on each other upon the bank with their tops sloping downward, in which position the water will more readily drain off, by which means the bundles will be more safely and easily moved to the place where the HEMP is to be spread to dry, which is gene­rally in some old field or piece of short grass land.—If it is perceived that the HEMP has been taken out too soon, it is only permitting it to lie a few days longer where it is spread, [Page 30]and the dew or rain will not only compleat what the water has left undone, but it will also take off some of the harshnes of the HEMP: as soon as it is thoroughly dry, it is then fit for the brake, and should be gathered up, and tied with straw bands in large bundles, and laid away under shelter, where it can receive no injury from the weather.

CHAP. VI. Directions for raising and preserving the SEED.

WHEN it is intended to let seed plants remain in the HEMP ground, for the purpose of providing seed, which is the method, though a very bad one, commonly used, the blossom HEMP ought not to be pulled until the dust has entirely fallen from the flowers, when they will begin to wither, and turn of a brownish yellow, and the stalks white at the root; it may then be pulled without any injury to the seed, and, if this is done with proper caution, it will give new strength to those seed plants remaining in the ground, for, only the best and strongest of this kind being left, the HEMP ground is delivered, not only from a great number of plants that exhausted its strength, and injured and choaked one an­other, but the raising and loosening the ground, about those that remain, will prove equal to a hoeing.

THOUGH this is the method, as has been observed, gene­rally used for raising seed, yet it is by no means to be ap­proved of; separating the seed plants from what you pull up occasions a great deal of trouble, and takes above double the time to gather and secure the HEMP from off the same ground; for, as the stalks of these plants left in the field, especially when it has been sown of a proper thickness, being for the [Page 31]most part small and without any branches, yield but very little seed, and even that none of the best, it will require a vast number of them to produce but a very moderate quantity of seed; besides the bark of this latter HEMP gets harsh from standing so long, and is not so fit for linen as it is for cordage.

A FAR better method is to raise the seed apart by itself, either on a portion of the ground allotted for the HEMP, or, what would be yet more proper, on any other good spot that is convenient for this purpose, which must be reduced into proper tilth, either by the hoe, or plough, in the same manner as di­rected for the other. This ought to be done so as to have the ground ready to receive the seed as soon as the frosts are over, for, provided that the weather is mild and will permit, the earlier what you intend to raise seed from is put into the ground the better, not only because the forward plants bring their seeds better to maturity, and produce a greater quantity, but, in case of accidents, there will be time to sow the ground again.

THE season for sowing being come, the ground should be laid off, either with the plough or hoe, into flat hills, about four feet asunder, in each of these hills from ten to fifteen grains of the HEMP seed may be deposited, and, as soon as they are sprung to such a height as to be past danger from the frost, or other accidents, the hills ought to be thinned, pulling up the superfluous stalks, leaving about eight or nine plants in each hill.

THE remaining plants ought to be kept clear of weeds, and the ground loosened, either by the plough or the hoe, until the HEMP grows to such a size that it becomes inconvenient to work amongst it. About the middle or towards the last of August, when the male or flower plants have entirely lost their dust, and begin to drop their blossoms and wither, they should then [Page 32]be carefully pulled up, so as not to injure the female plants, which must remain in the ground, commonly for five or six weeks longer until the seed is ripe.

AS the seed of this plant does not ripen equally, or all to­gether, attention must be given to secure it in the proper time; should the seeds get too ripe, and a wind happen when in this state, it might occasion the loss of the very best of the grain. As that seed which ripens first is the best, so the danger of losing it is the greatest, some, therefore, spread a sheet close by the side of the plants, and bending their tops carefully over, beat out the ripe seed into the sheet, by gently shaking or beating the bunches, by performing this once or twice, permitting some days to intervene, the very best of the seed is all saved, and the plants may safely be permitted to re­main some time longer in the ground, by which means more of the seed arrives to maturity.

AS soon, then, as the seeds begin to burst the capsules, or outer husks, and appear well formed, and ready to drop out of themselves, some of the seed bunches should be examined, and if it is found, upon opening the green husks, which have not yet bursted of themselves, that the shell, which covers the kernel, is firm and plump, of a grey colour, and tolerably well filled, then is the time for saving the seed; this is most safely and quickly done by cutting down the stalks with a sharp reap hook, near the ground, and, before the husks can have any time to dry, or shrink from the seeds, they ought to be carried near to the barn, or the place where you intend to clean out the seed, where they must be set up in small parcels, with their root ends down, and spreading wide at the bottom, and the heads bearing the seeds compressed closely together at the top; it will be eligible to cover these shocks, or parcels, with straw, or afford them some other protection from the [Page 33]weather and the birds. It is done, both expeditiously and ef­fectually, by tying small bundles of rye straw securely together at the top, and spreading its butts over the heads of the HEMP, when it forms a roof shaped like a sugar loaf, which, being tied about with a single stalk or two at the butts of the straw, safely secures the seed from injury; in this position it may remain till the seed is cured, and it is convenient to thresh it out; or it may remain until the middle of November, when it is time to spread out the HEMP to winter rot, this being by far the least troublesome way of treating this latter HEMP, which is too coarse and harsh for linen, but exceedingly fit for many purposes in husbandry; the seed may be threshed out in the barn floor, or on a strong cloth spread on the ground, or it may be got off by means of an instrument called a ripple; this is made in the form of a rake, only the teeth are placed closer together, through these teeth the tops of the HEMP are combed until all the seed is pulled off, and, after being cleaned, and as much of the light seed as possible sepa­rated from it, that which is good may be put away in casks, or any other place, until it is wanted, where it will be most secure from the vermin.

AN acre of ground, managed in this manner, will produce from twenty to twenty-five or thirty bushels of seed.

THIS seed, besides being necessary for the propagation of the plant, possesses other useful qualities; it yields an oil in large quantities, which is fit either for the lamp or coarse painting; a bushel of good seed will yield about six or seven quarts, it is therefore profitable to raise it for its oil; this seed is also a proper food for fowls or birds, and, made into a paste, fattens, in a very little time, hogs or other animals which are fed on it.

[Page 34] WHEN only a few bushels of seed are wanted, this may be as well procured from a few hills, made as directed above, or on any convenient bye spot, such as spare borders in a garden, where old tobacco or fodder houses have stood, or even about the doors of tobacco houses, or indeed upon any spots where wood, dung, or litter of any sort has lain to rot; upon such places oftentimes five, six, or seven quarts of seed is produced from one hill.

CHAP. VII. Of the breaking and preparing of HEMP for the Hackle.

THE HEMP being safely watered, we now proceed to treat of the methods for separating and clearing the stems from the bark; this is most expeditiously, and most ef­fectually performed by means of a simple instrument, called a brake, which is constructed in the same manner as a flax brake, only larger, being not only longer, but the fingers or swords should be stronger, and placed considerably wider at the hinder end.

ONE need see HEMP or flax broken but once, to be imme­diately master of the whole operation. The man or woman (for though this is a laborious work, it is nevertheless often performed by women) takes in his left hand, near to the middle, and so as that the root end may go first under the brake, as much of the HEMP as can be conveniently grasped and with the other hand the upper jaw of the brake is raised, the HEMP is instantly thrown between the two jaws of the instrument, first towards the end where the brake is widest, when the jaw which was lifted up is immediately let fall, and thus, by alternately raising and letting fall the upper jaw, with all the agility and force that can be given it, and, at the [Page 35]intervals of raising, shifting the HEMP into every different po­sition, moving it as it gets more broke towards the fore end of the brake, where the fingers are closest, the stems are in a little time broke into small pieces, which are made to quit the bark, by shaking it, or striking it against the brake: when the root end is sufficiently broken, the other part is put under, and treated in like manner; care must be taken to grasp the HEMP firmly in the hand, that it may be kept as even at the butts as possible. When this operation is carefully performed, there will be very little waste, and the fibres will retain, as far as possible, their natural length.

THIS first performance, as it clears the HEMP from a great part of the dust and gum, prepares it better for the next ope­ration, than the method of peeling, which is by no means to be used for this sort of HEMP: such as have not the opportu­nity of using the brake, may perform this operation as effec­tually, by holding the HEMP on a block, or a large smooth stone, and beating it with a maul, until the stems, being thereby broken and ground into small pieces, become easily separated from the bark.

INDEED the HEMP, from which the seed was raised, may properly enough be peeled, and will afford fit employment for young Negroes, or such who are so old as to be past other labour, and this is easily effected by breaking the stalks at the root end, when the bark may be readily stripped entirely off the stems to the top.

IN whatever way this work is done, it will be very much facilitated by having the HEMP made as dry as possible.

IN those parts of England, where this plant is much culti­vated, they make use of ovens for this purpose, by means of which the HEMP is safely and effectually dried through all its parts.

[Page 36] THE oven is heated over night to such a degree, that a person can just stand in it without uneasiness, it is then cleaned and filled with the HEMP, and, being closed up, the HEMP next morning will be fit to work off, and is taken out of the oven, as it is wanted, and carried to the brake, quite dry and crisp, by which means this operation is not only more expeditiously performed, but, as the HEMP, when thoroughly dried, requires less violence to clear it from the stems than when it is damp and tough, there will be little or no waste, as very few of the fibres or ribbons of the HEMP will be broken in passing through the brake: from these reasons it appears, that this method of drying the HEMP is attended with considerable ad­vantages, but when we reflect, that they have a great deal more damp weather in England, than with us, ovens for this purpose are certainly more necessary there than here, where we generally perform this work during the cool clear dry weather of the spring, when the HEMP commonly requires no other preparation than opening the bundles, and exposing it to the sun for an hour or two, before it is put through the brake; however, should the weather prove damp when this operation requires to be performed, it will be necessary to have recourse to some other method to dry the HEMP: this is sometimes done by sticking four small pieces of forked wood in the ground, two on each side, with a small pole laid from the one fork to the other, on these two side poles are laid a few thin laths reaching across, upon which the HEMP is spread over a fire, that blazes but little. This method will do in calm weather, but it is better and safer done by digging a hole about eight feet into the face of a hill or bank, and about five feet broad.

THE earth out of this hole being thrown upon each side forms with the hill three walls, from the side walls a few small [Page 37]pieces of wood, about the size of tobacco sticks, are laid across, upon these the HEMP intended for the brake is laid to dry, and turned from time to time over a small fire: in this place the heat, being confined by the side walls, and the bank be­hind, acts more upon the HEMP, which is more regularly and effectually dried than it can be the other way.

WHEN the HEMP is broken, and cleared from the stems, if it is for the rope walk, it is tied up with a few strands of the HEMP, about eight or nine inches from the root end, into hands or stricks, of four or five pounds each, and is then ready to pack up into bales or bundles: but a laborious operation remains to prepare that for the hackle which is intended for cloth, this is beating, or pounding, which is performed va­rious ways: in those parts of the country, where HEMP is much cultivated, mills are erected for this purpose, and, though they will admit of great improvement, yet they prepare the HEMP much better, and far quicker than can be done by the mallet. Where these mills are not to be had, the hammers of the fulling mill will effect the same end; they are a little more tedious in preparing the HEMP, but they do it full as well as it is done in the mills built for the purpose; sometimes it is prepared under a bark mill, but, where none of these as­sistances are convenient, it is laid in a stone or wooden mortar, or on a block of wood, and either pounded with a heavy pestle, or large mallet; precaution must be taken, that the HEMP be not injured during this operation, by continuing to pound it after it becomes too warm, for when it gets hot, which it soon will do, from the severe action of the mallet, it ought to be laid aside until it gets cool, when it may be again taken in hand; the HEMP is to be firmly twisted up, and the ends doubled in to prevent it from tangling, and ought to be placed and turned in every different position, so as to receive [Page 38]the impression of the mallet on all its parts. The intention of this work is to divide and separate the fibres of the HEMP, and, by disengaging it from the remaining gum and dirt, render it more soft and pliant, and fit it the better for the hackle.

THIS operation, besides being a severe one, is often prejudi­cial to the health of the work people, the gum, which in pounding flies off from the HEMP, fills the air with disagree­able dust, which, being drawn in with the breath, frequently brings on disorders, occasioned by obstructions in the lungs, to such as are obliged to follow this labour for a livelihood: It is full as disagreeable for those who attend the mills.

THE hackling is nearly as noxious when much of the re­maining dust, in passing the HEMP so quickly through the hackle, is rubbed off.

THE hackles used for this business are of different degrees of fineness, agreeable to the quality of the manufacture intended.

THE whole of this operation, though it requires use and practice to dress HEMP to the best advantage, may neverthe­less be performed by any careful person. There is another method which is made use of, on some occasions, to improve the quality of flax, as well as HEMP; a large pot, with as much weak lye in it as to cover the bottom, is placed over a small fire, just sufficient to keep the lye boiling; a few nar­row splits of wood are placed across each other, until they are so far above the lye as to prevent the HEMP, which is to be placed upon them, from touching it; upon these sticks the streaks, or parcels of HEMP, are placed in layers, leaving a little space between each parcel; the layers are to cross each other, so that the steam may thereby pass freely through to the top or upper parcels; when the pot is nearly full it is covered almost close, and, after that most of the lye has evaporated, [Page 39]the HEMP is hung up, out of the wind, or spread on the grass to dry; when it is quite dry, it is twisted up, and pounded a little, to separate the fibres, which get matted together in drying.

CHAP. VIII. A new method of preparing HEMP by a second watering, to­gether with some observations on its qualities.

HAVING thus endeavoured to communicate such me­thods as appear best adapted to our climate, as well as those most commonly made use of amongst us at this time, for cultivating and preparing HEMP for domestic purposes. Yet, after all the fatigue, labour and pains in the preparation, it is found to produce but a very coarse, ill coloured thread, and so harsh, that, before it can be made fit to be wove into cloth, it is necessary to boil it in several lyes, and the cloth, made of this yarn, is still so hard to be bleached, that it re­quires a tedious operation, which is both laborious and ex­pensive, before it can be brought to any tolerable colour, so that it has hitherto been deemed only fit to make the coarsest kinds of cloth.

WITH a view of encouraging a general cultivation of this most necessary plant, we shall endeavour to communicate a method, which not only abridges the most laborious, and dis­penses with the most disagreeable operations now used in pre­paring HEMP, but, from numbers of experiments which have been made, will evince that HEMP has many valuable quali­ties which we have hitherto but very little attended to, and that it may be applied, with ease and great propriety, to answer many elegant and considerable purposes in life, for which it has been hitherto deemed utterly unfit.

[Page 40] THE bark of the HEMP, as it appears in its original state upon the stem, seems surrounded, or entirely covered with a dirty glutinous oil, or gum, which not only serves to attach the bark to the stem, but also to join, or glue the fibres of the bark lengthways together: experience shews that this gluti­nous substance has different degrees of resistance; the common watering serves to dissolve so much of this gum as to fit the HEMP for the brake, but still, after this operation, the bark remains in broad strings or ribbons, and it is necessary, before a further separation of the fibres can be effected, to have re­course to some other process to clear them from the remaining gum; the mill, or the mallet, has been hitherto generally used for this purpose, by means of which operation, part of the gum being beat off, the bark becomes more divided, yet still the-fibres remain coarse and harsh. Experience, however, has demonstrated, that a second watering, when performed with care, not only accomplishes the work of the mill, but goes a great way further. The HEMP, by means of this second wa­tering, being washed and disengaged from the remaining gum and dirt, becomes white and flexible, and its fibres easily di­visible to a great degree of fineness, by means of the succeed­ing operation of the hackle.

THIS method of preparing HEMP appears to have been practised with success in many parts of France, and is strongly recommended in a treatise published by M. Marchandier, ma­gistrate of Bourges, the capital of Berry, a province long cele­brated for its hempen cloth.

IT is needless to enumerate the many different methods and experiments which have been tried, it will be sufficient to lay down the necessary directions in as few words as will render them intelligible to the meanest capacity, for no operation can well be more simple, plain and easy.

THE HEMP, being previously broke, and tolerably well cleared from the stems, must be divided into smaller parcels, each of the handfuls from the brake may be divided into two, or, if very large, into three parcels, these are to be doubled in the middle, twisting them very slightly, and securing the ends by doubling them in, or by wrapping the longest fibres of the ends two or three times round, so that the parcels may not only be kept from mixing with each other, but also that the HEMP of every individual parcel may be kept straight, and [Page 42]in due regularity. The parcels thus prepared must be placed in regular layers in the tub or vessel, which you have pre­pared for the purpose, which is to be filled with water, the properest for the purpose is pond or rain water, or the softest that can be procured; in this the HEMP may continue for twelve, eighteen, or even twenty-four hours; by this time, if the weather is warm, the gum remaining on the HEMP, though not dissolved, will be thoroughly moistened. The HEMP is then to be taken out, and, that the gum may be the better loosened, and more readily washed off, it will be necessary to wash the HEMP well in clear water, as it is taken out; this may be most conveniently done in an old tub, the staves of which are cut off within about ten or twelve inches of the bottom; this tub should be placed in a run of water, or below a spring, so that the water may continually pass through it; the HEMP is then to be trampled on by the person's feet, who is employed in this work, and as there will be a constant suc­cession of clear water, the dirt and gum will be washed away as fast as it is squeezed out of the HEMP; when the water appears to pass clear from the HEMP, it should then be taken up, and, after the water is gently wrung, or rather squeezed out, it is then to be laid on a block, and beat with a beetle, the instru­ment used to beat cloaths with, when washed: The edge, which is commonly two inches thick, is better for this purpose than the flat side; in this manner it must be beat, moistening and shifting the position of the HEMP, until you judge that it is disengaged from the remainder of the gum, and that its fibres begin to divide, and separate; it should then be thrown into the water, untwisted, and by single parcels washed very clean, when the good effects of this second watering will appear; the HEMP being purged and disengaged from the gum and dirt, by the foregoing operation, its fibres will appear [Page 43]fine, and as completely divided, as if they had already passed through the hackle. When the HEMP is very well rinsed, it is to be carefully wrung, and, after shaking it out, hung across a rope to dry; should the weather prove windy, it will be best to spread it on the grass, as the wind is said to impair the strength both of HEMP and flax.

THIS is the mode which we have adopted for performing this operation during warm weather, which is undoubtedly the fittest time for this business, heat being absolutely necessary to assist in clearing the HEMP from its gum and filth, for which reason, it will not only be more tedious to effect this in cold severe weather, but it is rather distressing to the persons em­ployed to stand or work in cold water, however, when we can­not find time conveniently in summer, to perform this work, another method may be adopted during the cold weather, which, though it occasions a little more trouble than the other, enables us, nevertheless, to perform this process full as quickly.

A POT of weak lye is to be prepared towards the evening, and, after having previously soaked the HEMP in warm water, for two or three hours, it is to be wrung out and placed in the tub, as before directed, the lie, after having settled, is to be poured as warm as possible over the HEMP, which should be kept under the lye, by means of a cover nearly adapted to the size of the mouth of the vessel, which will also keep the steams from evaporating, and enable the HEMP to retain a warmth until morning, when it must be taken out of the lye, and trampled upon and beat as before directed, using a little warm water, occasionally, to temper the severity of the cold during the trampling and beating, which are the most tedious parts of the process, as only the rinsing will require to be done in cold water.

[Page 44] WHEN the HEMP is dry, four or five of the parcels may, as they are taken off the rope, be twisted up firmly together, doubling in the ends, to prevent it from getting loose in pounding; for as the HEMP, in drying, is apt to get matted together, it is absolutely necessary, before it can be hackled, that the fibres should be separated again; this may be effected altogether by the mallet, though this purpose is answered full better by means of another instrument called a clove.

THE HEMP, after being beaten until it begins to get soft, is then shook loose, and one or two of the parcels being grasped in the right hand, near to the middle, giving the HEMP a turn round the hand to keep the fibres more firmly in their place, the woman, who works this instrument, sits on the bench or block, in which it is fixed, and having hold with her left hand, of the handle of the lower piece or jaw, which only moves, she causes it to open by raising her hand; with the other, the HEMP is thrown between the two jaws, and then, by lowering the left hand, the moving jaw is raised, the HEMP being thereby inserted or forced into the groove of the upper piece, is immediately drawn forcibly through, while the jaw is held fast. The HEMP, in its passage, being severely rubbed against the edges of the instrument, is both softened and separated; this work, being briskly repeated, in a very short time it softens, disengages, and separates the fibres of the HEMP more quickly, and prepares it better for the hackle, than the mallet alone.—When the one end is done, that which was wrapped round the hand is treated in like manner.

FROM this process, than which nothing can be easier, and which differs in no essential point from the directions given by Mons. Marcandier, most of the difficulties formerly attending the preparation of HEMP are removed, and, what is of more [Page 45]consequence, its qualities appear very much improved. "This work (says Mons. Marcandier) formerly so hard, on account of the strength it required, and so dangerous, on ac­count of the fatal dust the workman drew in with his breath, will be, henceforth, only a business moderately severe. There will be no occasion to look for machines to save the labour of men, and prevent the dangers attending the work. The business of hemp-dressing, henceforward, would be confined to an easy beating of the HEMP, and the common operations of the hackle: it is so much the more easy that the materials are softer, and no longer exhale unwholsome dust: and more­over there is scarce any waste in this operation. If you want it to pass through the finest hackle, the HEMP thus washed will afford dressed stuff capable of producing the best thread, comparable to what is yielded by the finest flax, and you will have little more than a third of very good hards.

"Now these hards, which were formerly an object of dis­couragement, and sold commonly for about five farthing, the pound, by this new operation, becomes a matter of very great advantage. By carding them like wool, they produce a fine white, marrowy substance, the true use whereof was never dis­covered till now. They may be spun alone into very beautiful thread. They may be also mixed with cotton and silk, with wool, and even with hair; and the thread, that results from these different mixtures, affords, by its vast variety, materials for new essays, very interesting to the arts, and of vast utility to several sorts of manufactures.

"IN HEMP, duly prepared, besides silk, hair, wool, and cotton, we find a new material, which, till now, had never any existence in commerce, nor in manufactures, but may be made extremely useful in both. By mixing it with wool, for instance, half and half, we work it into caps and cloths, which are no [Page 46]ways different from those that are made of wool alone, even in their greatest perfection. By mixing the hards of it with cotton, we make cloth and stuffs, and even coverlids, which, with regard to whiteness, softness, fineness, and other qualities, may be preferred to those, which, at first, we only propose to imitate. Nor is it to be doubted, but it may be also employ­ed in manufactures of hats, because it will be an easy matter to make felts of it, if we mix it with wool proper for that purpose.

"IN a word, by the different combinations made with the hards of HEMP, they assume the nature and properties of the materials with which they are mixed, and the price of such materials will be lessened in proportion as they are now dear, uncommon and rare.

"We have already given, in several cities of the kingdom, such samples of these mixtures as have been demanded of us, that the first sight of them has excited the surprise, and merited the approbation of the best judges."

FROM the above quotations we may form some opinion of the idea which Mons. Marcandier entertains of the properties of HEMP, and the advantages which it may be of to manufac­tures, when prepared agreeable to this new method; but, not­withstanding so many new qualities are attributed to HEMP, when prepared by a second watering, this method is attended with more waste of the HEMP than when it is prepared in the mill, when it will doubtless yield more dressed stuff, though not so fine in quality, and if the labour is not so severe or un­healthy, it must be allowed to be more tedious and trouble­some; however, should this mode of preparation fail in produ­cing all the advantages we are made to hope from it, yet there are many very important ones to be urged in its favour, and when we consider that the yarn, which is spun of the stuff [Page 47]hackled from that prepared in the mill, loses greatly of its weight in boiling (a process which all linen thread must un­dergo to prepare it for weaving) the difference will not be so considerable, when the second watering is performed with care.

A MOST considerable advantage results from the coarse tow, or hards, of the first hackling, which, by means of the second watering, becomes an object of great utility, being thereby excellently prepared to make the best sorts of coarse linens, fit for cloathing our labourers and negroes, and preferable in strength and quality to imported osnabrigs, being greatly su­perior to the coarse tow of the HEMP prepared in the mill, which is only capable of making a very coarse, harsh, unprofi­table cloth, and indeed, even the coarse cloth made from the hackled HEMP, which has been prepared in the mill, will not do equal service to the cloth made from the coarse watered tow; a large portion of the gum remaining with the HEMP, is twisted up in spinning, therefore the cloth continues harsh and stiff, whereby it cuts itself before it is fairly worn; this reasoning may be further confirmed from knowing that coarse cloth, made even of flax tow, will wear longer than linen made from yarn, spun very coarse from dressed flax; therefore, as we find that very coarse linens, made either from dressed HEMP or flax, are, from their stiffness, but ill calculated for some sorts of service, we may reasonably expect that the linens made from HEMP duly prepared by a second watering, as they are soft, flexible, and pliant, and strong withal, will be found more durable, and therefore on every account to be preferred.

WHEN the HEMP is intended for more elegant purposes, it still becomes more necessary to prepare it by a second watering, as, by that means, it becomes more suitable for such uses, than it possibly can be by the [...] its colour also being thereby [Page 48]greatly improved, both the thread and cloth made from it are most readily bleached, and its dressed stuff most amply adapted to supply us with linens similar or preferable to the dowlas and garlix of France, and the Low Countries, as well as the white and brown linen fabrics of Russia.

ITS thread also, being so readily whitened, is not only proper for checks, striped linens, bed ticking, &c. but it be­comes a material, by this preparation, most excellently calcu­lated to answer as the warp for all fabrics of wool and cotton, fine as well as coarse, and the tow produced from the second, or finer hacklings, yielding a fine soft substance, in some degree similar to wool and cotton, it seems reasonable to ima­gine that, upon being blended and carded with these materials, the thread, resulting from these different mixtures, may prove productive of a variety of new and profitable manufactures, similar, and not inferior, to many of the various bleached and dyed stuffs of Manchester, as the HEMP, after being thus pre­pared, will as readily receive, and retain the tints of any dye, as the wool or cotton with which it is blended.

AFTER the particular account that has been given of the nature and properties of HEMP, and at the same time reflect­ing with how much ease and certainty it may be cultivated, it is greatly to be wished, that the inhabitants of these colonies would avail themselves of such advantages; the success which must attend the undertaking will have a better effect than all that can be wrote in its favour, as it would be an argument to the meanest capacity, and give irresistable encouragement to this most useful branch of domestic manufacture; the ideas here suggested will readily receive a better form from prac­tice, and be carried further [...] knowledge and expe­rience. By applying ourselves [...] of this plant, we shall most readily attain [...] of perfection [Page 49]in those arts, the knowledge of which will be found as easy and necessary as the wants they supply are real and extensive; we shall not only find resources, within ourselves, to furnish those necessaries, for which we have hitherto been most shame­fully dependent upon others, but, at the same time, an easy and profitable employment for our spare time and idle hands. After a short practice, the coarsest of our goods will be manu­factured in the family, and the whole of the business, if it is prosecuted with oeconomy, may be performed without en­croaching on our wonted avocations.

UPON calculating how much can be done at such times, and by such means, this assertion will not be found exagge­rated, and surely, if we can supply our necessities, nearly, with the superfluities of our labour, we shall not only procure such goods upon much easier terms than when we buy them of the traders, that purchase them from the manufacturer, who has no other resource for a livelihood, but, when we consider the vast sums such goods amount to, yearly, we may then form some estimate of the advantages which must result to the public, as well as to individuals, from prosecuting such schemes of industry and frugality.

AS a further illustration of what is here advanced, a few calculations are subjoined, and though they may not prove so exact as could be wished, yet precaution has been observed, not to exaggerate, but rather to keep within bounds.

FROM the above state, in which, though ample allowance is made for every particular species of labour, there nevertheless appears a profit, which, though not very considerable, yet proves, that we can manufacture such articles cheaper amongst [Page 52]ourselves than we can purchase them from others; and, when we come to consider the superior quality of our own manufac­ture, in point of duration, to that which is imported, and re­flect how much of this sort of work may be done by our people, at those times when they are wont to be idle, which will all be clear gain, and for which no allowance is made in the above state, the advantage which will then accrue must prove very considerable; but surely it is unnecessary to en­large further on this head, and indeed the author fears that he may be thought too prolix, especially by those already ac­quainted with the subject, but when it is considered that these instructions are intended for the information of thousands, who have perhaps never seen the plant, he apprehends that the directions could not be too minute or particular.