Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/646

 632 HEMP down the Duna. That known as " Italian gar- den hemp," the fibre of which is obtained from plants raised by spade culture, is of unusual fineness and length, and superior to all other kinds. English hemp is chiefly woven into coarse sheeting and shirting for laboring men, and into the cloth called huckaback, of which coarse towels and table cloths are made. The material improves in whiteness as it is worn, and the finer varieties of it much resemble Irish linens. Attempts were made at a very early period to cultivate both flax and hemp in the Plymouth colony, the seeds being or- dered there in 1629. In Virginia hemp was raised and spun by Capt. Matthews previous to 1648. In 1651 its culture was encouraged by bounties offered by the government, as was that of flax in 1657. But the greater profit derived from tobacco has always operated against the culture of hemp. In Pennsylvania also the bounties offered by the government of the colony in 1730 failed to render this an important crop. Its culture has proved most successful in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, and more recently in Missouri. It has also pros- pered to considerable extent in the other north- ern, and in the northeastern states. In the northern part of New York the crop is valued chiefly for the seed, of which from 20 to more than 40 bushels are obtained to the acre. But little American hemp has ever been exported. The product to the acre is from 700 to 1, 000 Ibs. According to the census of 1870, the total production of the United States was 12,- 746 tons, of which Kentucky produced 7,777, Missouri 2,816, and Tennessee 1,033 tons. The soil best suited to hemp is a rich alluvial loam, but it will thrive in a moderately tena- cious one if it is well pulverized. It is usually sown broadcast as early as possible without the risk of exposing the young plants to late frosts ; four to six pecks are sown to the acre, but if sown in drills less is required. As the plants soon completely shade the ground, no after cultivation is required. It is custom- ary to sow at intervals, that the harvesting may not all come at once. The crop is ready to harvest when the blossoms turn yellow and the leaves begin to drop ; formerly the plants were pulled, but now they are cut by means of a heavy cradle, or where they are tall and heavy by means of a sickle or hook something like a brush scythe. The stalks are made to fall evenly, and at the end of three days they are bound into sheaves and put up in stacks or large ricks, so capped as to prevent rain from penetrating. To separate the fibre, the hemp is dew-rotted or water-rotted. In the former process the hemp is spread upon the ground in October or a month or two later, according to the climate ; when the lint readily separates upon breaking a stalk, the process, which requires about two months, is completed ; if hemp were exposed in this manner in warm- er weather, there would be danger of injuring the fibre. In water-rotting the hemp is im- mersed in water for ten days or more, accord- ing to the season ; this is done in streams, in artificial pools made near the margin of a river, or in large wooden vats under cover ; the last mentioned method gives the brightest and best fibre ; when rotted in vats, the hemp is sub- jected to a partial breaking which lessens its bulk. After the hemp is rotted and dried it is taken to the break, which is either a rude affair worked by hand like a flax break, or an improved machine operated by steam or other power; 100 Ibs. is an ordinary day's work with the hand break. After breaking, the hemp is twisted into bundles and baled for market. When hemp is raised for the seed, the cultivation is quite different from that when raised for the fibre. A richer soil is selected, and prepared as for a crop of corn ; hills are marked off about 3 ft. apart each way, and a dozen or more seeds put in each and lightly covered; the ground is from the beginning kept clear of weeds by use of the cultivator and hoes ; when well up the plants are thinned to seven or eight in each hill, and when a foot or more high they are again thinned to leave but four to a hill ; subsequently the plants in the hill are reduced to three. As soon as the plants have sufficiently developed to allow the male or staminate ones to be distinguished, these are so far removed as to leave but one to every four hills, and after these have shed their pollen they are cut away. When ripe the seeds are threshed out, and if intended for sowing are kept spread in a thin layer until cold weather to prevent them from heating, which on account of their oily nature they are apt to do. The Russians and Poles roast the seeds and eat them upon bread as a condiment ; they are used as food for cage birds, and are said to greatly improve the brilliancy of their plumage, and in the case of the bullfinch and some others to cause it to turn black. Hemp seeds upon expression furnish about 25 per cent, of hempseed oil, the commercial supply of which comes principally from Russia ; it is a drying oil, greenish yellow at first, turning yellow, with an acrid odor but a mild taste ; it is very soluble in boiling alcohol, but requires 30 parts of cold alcohol for its solution ; it so- lidifies at 17 F. It is used in preparing soap, in mixing paint, for making varnish, and for burning, but on account of its drying tendency it is apt to form a viscid varnish upon the wick. INDIAN HEMP. The hemp produced in India and other eastern countries is covered with an adhesive resinous exudation, which under fa- vorable circumstances is so abundant as to come off and adhere to the hands if the plant be han- dled. For a long time it was supposed that this was a different species from the common hemp, and the name canndbis Indica was given to it; but Royle and other eastern botanists were unable to find any difference between it and the European plant ; and from this and the fact that hemp grown in some portions of India is almost without this resin, botanists