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Hemp,Flax, and Iron: The American Viewwere not permitted to lie on the ground but were hung onracks. After two days, unless the weather was warm enough todry the stalks with no artificial help, the stalks were placed in akiln. In either case, after three days the stalks were placed to retor steep in a stream or pond, with weighted frames on top toinsure that they would stay completely immersed. Th e clearerthe water, the brighter and silkier would be the hemp .After sufficient retting—about three weeks in war m waterand five weeks or more in cold—the hemp was taken out anddried for no less than two weeks, followed by twenty-four hoursin the kiln, or for as long as a whole winter, depending on thekind offinishedproduct desired. The n the stalks were brokenon a hand mill, the husk beaten off, and the remainder drawnthrough a wooden comb to unravel thefibers. The hemp wasthen stored in sheds, ready to be sorted.The Russian processing of hemp was so slow and meticulousthat muc h of it didn't reach the Russian ports to await Wes tEuropean customers until two years after it was sown. Russia'stwo great resources were cheap labor and patience.Wh y did not the Kentuckians try to compete with theRussians? Water-retting certainly was not too intricate a technique,and the difference between the price of American dew ­retted and Russian water-retted hem p must have been provocative.25 O f course, water-retting in ponds and streams killed allthefish and any livestock that might drink there. An d the steepwater did stink like rotten eggs, which was considered unhealthyfor slaves and twice as bad for whites. But the mainexplanation is probably that there just wasn't any demand forAmerican water-retted hemp. Most American hemp went forrope to bind cotton bales. Since dew-retted hemp was good21