Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/647

 HEMP 633 now regard the Indian hemp as only a form of the common, though as a matter of conve- nience the term C. Indica is retained in the phar- macopoeias. The stimulant and narcotic prop- erties of Indian hemp have heen known from early times ; it is known in India by various names expressive of these qualities, such as " causer of the reeling gait," "laughter mover," &c. ; and Eoyle (" Materia Medica ") suggests that it is as likely as any other plant to have been the nepenthe, the " assuager of grief," of the ancients. The plant and its preparations are found in the eastern bazaars in several forms, some of which are imported. Gunjah is the dried plant, collected after flowering, and consists of the stems, leaves, and petioles press- ed together ; it is also called guazah. Bang, also suljee or sidhee, consists of the larger BS and seed vessels without the stalks. Hashish is the tops and the tender parts of the plant gathered after flowering; this name is also applied to some preparations of the plant. Churrus is the resinous exudation collected by men clad in leather, who go through the fields and beat the hemp violently ; the resinous mat- ter adheres to the leather, and is afterward scraped off. A finer kind, collected by press- ing the plant in the hands and removing the adhering resin, is known as the Momeea or waxen churrus ; this is the most highly prized and costly variety. Extract of hemp is pre- pared by boiling the adhesive tops in alcohol, which is afterward distilled off, leaving a resin- ous extract which has a somewhat fragrant odor, and a warm, bitterish, acrid taste ; this extract is imported, as also is gunjah. An elec- tuary, made of the resin with musk, essence of roses, and other aromatics, and an oleaginous extract made with butter or oil, are among the forms in which different eastern nations pre- pare the hemp for intoxicating purposes. The effect of Indian hemp upon different persons is as various as that of alcohol ; with some it sim- ply produces stupor, while others experience a mental ecstasy and see the most pleasurable visions. The habitual use of the drug is accom- >anied by both physical and mental imbecility. ?he effects of hashish have been frequently de- jribed by those who have experienced them. (See ASSASSINS.) Indian hemp has long been used medicinally ; a Chinese surgeon is said to have employed it as an anesthetic as long ago A. D. 220, and to have operated upon pa- tients while they were under its influence. It is employed as an anodyne and narcotic, and to affect the mental functions ; it is considered safer than opium, belladonna, and similar rem- edies, and it does not check the secretions, or impair the digestion; its action seems to be exerted chiefly upon the cerebrum, producing but little effect upon the functions even of the other portions of the nervous system. It is given in the form of the extract, in doses of a quarter of a grain to several grains, or in tinc- ture from 10 to 15 drops. This name is also applied to an American fibrous and medicinal plant, apocynum cannabinum. (See INDIAN HEMP.) SISAL HEMP is the fibre of the leaves of agave Sisalana, a large species of Yucatan, closely related to the American aloe or cen- tury plant. (See AGAVE.) Under the name of Sisal hemp or jenequen are included the fibres of probably several species of agave and one or more of Fourcroya, the name re- ferring to the product rather than the plants which yield it. An attempt to give the native names of several of the fibre-producing plants of Yucatan may be found in the report of the United States department of agriculture for 1869, but it gives little botanical light upon the subject. Fibres of different agaves and related plants were in use by the Indians long before the Spaniards planted colonies on this continent, and the Spanish Americans have since been content with the rude methods by which the aborigines extracted the fibre, which was simply to lay the large fleshy leaves upon a flat stone and beat them with a billet of wood or rude mallet, and afterward to scrape away the a and bruised thick epidermis with a blunt 3. After numerous failures, Americans have contrived machines to separate the fibre successfully and rapidly. A. Sisalana, which is propagated readily from suckers, has been introduced into Florida, and become natural- ized in the southern portion of the state. Si- sal hemp is used for coarse bagging and for cordage. Pita is another name applied indefi- nitely to fibres ; in Mexico it is the fibre of agave Americana, while in Central America it is that of some Bromelia. Istle or ixtle is another term for the bromelia fibre. SUNN HEMP, also called Bengal and Bombay hemp, Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria juncea). is the fibre of crotalaria juncea, an annual legu- minous plant, 8 to 12 ft. high, with silvery- hairy leaves and bright yellow flowers. The fibre is extracted by beating and washing the stems after they have been steeped in water for a few days. It is employed for all the pur-