[Prejudice against cutting after blossoming.] Plants which have blossomed cease to be profitable in any way, by reason of the fiber becoming too weak—­a matter of too great nicety for the unpractical consumers on the other side of the Atlantic to decide upon, and one in which, despite inquiries and careful inspections, they might be deceived.  There really is no perceptible reason why the fiber should become weaker through fructification, which simply consists in the fact of the contents of the vascular cells changing into soluble matter, and gradually oozing away, the consequence of which is that the cells of the fiber are not replenished.  These, on the contrary, acquire additional strength with the age of the plant, because the emptied cells cling so firmly together, by means of a certain resinous deposit, that it is impossible to obtain them unbroken without a great deal of trouble.  The idea may have erroneously arisen from the circumstance that, previously to drying, as with hemp, the old plants were picked out, and allowed to be thrown away, though not without considerably increasing the rate of pay, which already consumed the greater part of the general expenses. [222]

[Extracting the fiber.] In order to obtain the bast, the stalk above ground is closely pruned and freed from leaves and other encumbrances; each leaf is then singly divided into strips—­a cross incision being made through the membrane on the inner or concave side, and connected by means of the pulpy parts (the parenchym) clinging together.  In this manner as much as possible of the clear outer skin only remains behind.  Another method is to strip the bast from the undivided stem.  To effect this the operator makes an oblique incision in the skin of the under part of the stalk, drawing the knife gradually to the tip, and stripping off the whole length as broad a piece as possible; and the operation is repeated as many times as practicable.  This method of handling is more productive than the one previously described; but, on the other hand, it takes considerably more time, and for that reason is not often practised.  The strips of bast are then drawn under a knife, the blade of which is three inches broad by six long, fastened at one end to the extremity of a flexible stick so that it is suspended perpendicularly over a well-smoothed block, and at the other end to a handle connected by means of a cord to a treadle, which can be pressed firmly down, as occasion requires.  The workman draws the bast, without any regard to quality, between the knife and block, commencing in the middle, and then from side to side.  The knife must be free from notches, or all indentations, according to the direction of Father Blanco. [223]