Part 4

In picking up the straw by hand, small sticks about 3 feet long with a single steel or wooden hook on the end are used. The hemp is raked into bunches with these implements, and usually tied. Hemp-fiber bands are used in tying the bundles. An inexpensive "buck" (see above) may be used to bunch the hemp, or it may be bunched with a pitchfork.

The most efficient method is to use the pick-up binder. These machines, drawn by tractors, cover about an acre an hour. They pick up the retted hemp stalks and tie them into bundles in one operation. The machines are part of the modern hemp-mill equipment and are rented to farmers.

Dew-retted hemp is usually shocked after being picked up. The hemp remains in the shock until it is transported to the mill.

Extra Care Insures Extra Profits

The farmer's job is done when he delivers the hemp to the mill. All further processing to prepare the fiber is part of the milling operation. However, it is of interest to both farmers and mill operators to attempt to keep the hemp stalks and fiber well butted. This means keeping the butt ends of the stalks or fiber in a bundle all even. Every time the hemp stalks are handled, care should be taken to see that this is done. If the hemp stalks are well butted in the bundle when processed, the milling operations can be carried out more economically. Tangled, uneven bundles are more difficult and require more time to handle. The yield of high-value long-life fiber is much greater if the stalks are well butted.

Hemp stalks are considered most desirable if they are less than half an inch in diameter. The thickness of a pencil is frequently used to illustrate the size of desirable stalks. The larger diameter stalks have a lower percentage of fiber than finer stems, are harder to break, and produce more tow fiber.

Hemp stalks grown on unproductive soil usually contain a lower percentage of fiber, and this fiber may be coarse, harsh, and of low strength, so that it breaks into tow in milling.

Stalks underretted frequently must be run through the mill breaker a second or third time to remove the remaining hurds. This increases the milling labor costs, and the resultant fiber may be reduced to a low grade. On the other hand, overretted hemp must be milled as little as possible, with less pressure exerted on the rollers and a slower speed of the scutcher wheel to keep from making an excess amount of tow fiber.

Yields

Hemp yields have been extremely variable when this crop has been planted in new areas by inexperienced farmers. In Wisconsin and Kentucky, where only experienced farmers have grown the crop in recent years, the yields have not varied a great deal. The crop has been reasonably dependable and has not often been injured by storms or droughts.

The average yields per acre for experienced farmers are approximately 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 tons of air-dry retted hemp stalks; 850 pounds total fiber. Under the Wisconsin machine-milling system the yields may average 450 pounds line fiber and 400 pounds tow fiber; under the Kentucky hand-breaking system they may average 775 pounds Kentucky rough and 75 pounds tow.

If hemp is planted for seed production, the average yields per acre are approximately 15 bushels or 660 pounds, on bottom land, and 12 bushels on uplands.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1952

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. -- Price 10 cents

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Transcriber Note

Illustrations were moved so as to not split paragraphs. Minor errors were corrected. The Contents was added for ease of locating sections of interest. This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive.