=THE PRODUCTION AND HANDLING OF HEMP HURDS.=

By LYSTER H. DEWEY, _Botanist in Charge of Fiber-Plant Investigations_.


=WHAT HEMP HURDS ARE.=

The woody inner portion of the hemp stalk, broken into pieces and
separated from the fiber in the processes of breaking and scutching, is
called hemp hurds. These hurds correspond to shives in flax, but are
much coarser and are usually softer in texture.

The hemp stalk grown in a broadcast crop for fiber production is from
one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch in diameter and from 4 to 10 feet
tall. The stalk is hollow, with a cylindrical woody shell, thick near
the base, where the stalk is nearly solid, and thinner above, where the
hollow is relatively wider.

In the process of breaking, the woody cylinder inside of the
fiber-bearing bark is broken into pieces one-half of an inch to 3 inches
long and usually split into numerous segments. The thicker lower
sections are split less than the thin-shelled upper ones, and they are
often left quite solid.


=PITH, WOOD, AND FIBER.=