Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/817

* HEMP. 753 HEMSTEKHUIS. ton of 2240 pounds of fibre. The yield is about one and one-third tons of fibre per acre annually. The output of abaca is fairly uniform under natural conditions. The exports fur several years preceding the cession of the islands by iSpain averaged about 100,000 tons annually. HEMP, Sisal. The fibre of Agave rigida sisaluna, order Ainaryllideoe, native of Yucatan, Mexico, Central Anierica_, and West Indies, and closely related to the century plant. It has been introduced into the Bahamas and Florida. As a cordage fibre it is second only to Manila hemp in strength. Its straight smooth strands of fibre become white upon drying without washing. The plants yield best on a gravelly, rocUy soil in comparatively arid districts only a few feet above the level of the sea. It thrives upon the Florida Keys, upon the almost naked coral rock, but will not thrive when even slightly shaded. Plants set out at 18 inches high from the nursery will produce leaves fit for cutting in three years. The life of a plant when undisturbed is six or seven years, after which it sends up its blossom-stalk and then dies. Cutting, however, extends its life fifteen to twenty years. No special cultiva- tion is needed except that the land be kept clean i.nd the suckers kept down. The cutting of the leaves is done in Yucatan by Indians, who use a heavy-bladed, sabre-like knife called a machete. The spine at the leaf-end is cut off and the leaves bundled for removal to the machines. On large plantations they are transported by steam-power over tramways which reach different parts of the estate. The fibre is separated from the fresh leaf by a specially constructed machine called a raspodor. The annual yield of fibre is from 1000 to 1470 pounds per acre, 50 to 70 pounds of fibre being derived from 1000 leaves. HEMP, Sunn. The fibre derived from the bark of Crolalaria juncca, order Leguminosoe, a native of India. The plant has been in cultiva- tion from time immemorial upon the high, sandy lands less suited for the more exacting crops. Seed is generally sown in April or May, and in August the plant, if grown for its fibre, is pulled or cut close to the ground, laid in long rows till the leaves begin to rot and separate from the stalks, which are then steeped in water for a few days, till the bark separates freely. The aver- age yield is about 640 pounds of fibre per acre. The fibre is not so strong as hemp, but good cables, canvas, and cloth are made of it. It is now exported in considerable quantity, .and is known by various names, as brown hemp, Bengal hemp, etc. Jubbulpore hemp (Crotohtria tcnui- folia) is considered by some authorities to be a variety of Crotahiria juncea. See Crotalarlv. HEMP-AGRIMONY. A European medici- nal plant. See Eupatorium. HEM'PEL, CHARLE.S JuLHTS (1811-79). An American homeopathist. He was born at Solin- gen, in Prussia, and was educated there, at the Universitv of Paris, and, after coming to the United States (1835), at New York University. In 1857 lie became professor of materia mediea at the Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, and later practiced at Grand Rapids. Mich., where lie died. A man of considerable literary ability, Hempel. who when a student in Paris had assisted in the preparation of Michelet's ff fs- toire de la France, published translations of Hahnemann's Chronic Diseases (1846), and of Jahr's Mental Diseases (1853), as well as other homeopathic manuals. His most ihiportant works, however, were: A System of Materia Mediea and Therapeutics (185!)) ; The Science of Homccopathy (1874); and among several mis- cellaneous .studies, Christendom and Civilization (1840). HEMP-PALM ( Trachycarpus excelsus ) . A palm of China and Japan, the fibre of the leaves of which is nmch employed in those countries for making cordage. iiats are al.so made of its leaves, and even cloaks and other garments for wet weather. See CiiaM/EROps. HEMP-SEED OIL (oleum cannabis). An oil obtained from the seeds of the Cannabis sativa, or common hemp (q.v.). It has a mild odor, nau- seating taste, and a greenish-yellow color which turns to brown with age. Its specific gravity at 15" C. is .9276. It is freelv soluble in boiling alcohol. It has weaker drying properties than linseed, for which it is sometimes used as a substitute in making paints and varnishes. It is also used in soap manufacture. The seeds con- tain about 30 per cent, of oil. Consult Sadtler, Industrial. and Organic Chemistry (Philadelphia, 1900). HEMP'STEAD. A village in Nassau County, N. Y., about 20 miles east of New York City; on the Long Island Railroad (Map: New York, G 5). Its principal interests are in farming and market gardening, though there are some manu- facturing establishments. The village is a popu- lar suburb of New York, and has the Hempstead Institute. Camp Black was established here during the war with Spain, as an encampment for State troops. The water-works are owned by the municipality. Hempstead was settled by New Englanders in 1643. The Presbyterian Church, organized the following year, claims to be the oldest Presbvterian soeietv in the coun- try. Population, in' 1900, 3582. Consult Onder- donk. The Annnls of Hempstead, 161,3-1832 (Hempstead, 1878). HEMPSTEAD. The county-.seat of Waller County, Tex._. 50 miles northwest of Houston ; on the Houston and Texas Central Railroad (Map: Texas, G 4). It is an important shipping point, especially for garden truck, being situated in a farming and cotton-grow'ing region, and has cotton-gins, cottonseed-oil mills, etc. Population, about 2000. HEMS. A city in Asiatic Turkey. See HoMS. HEMSEN. See Hemes.sen. HEMSTERHTJIS, hem'ster-hois. Frans (c. 1721-90). A Dutch writer on moral philosophy and iesthetics. He was born at Oroningen, the son of Tiberius Hemsterhuis; studied at the University of I-.eyden. and held a subordinate place in the Council of State of the United Prov- inces. He also devoted himself to literature and art, and especially to philosophy, and is classed with the sentimentalists of the eighteenth cen- tury. His chief works are: Lettre sur la sculp- lure (1769) : Lettre sur I'homme et scs rapports (1772) ; Aristi'e. on de In divinity (1778) ; and l)cs faeultcs dc I'ume (1791). HEMSTERHUIS. Tn!Er.it:.s (1685-17661. A celebrated Butch philologist. He was born at (irimingen. studied nt the university there, and in 1704 was appointed professor of mathematics and philosophy at Amsterdam. In 1717 he was