196 HEMP 



of the plant a gigantic stalk shoots forth, twenty, thirty, or 

 even forty feet high. From each side of this stalk or ' pole ' 

 smaller stems branch out, and at the end of each are clusters 

 of flowers. After a time the flowers wither, and then at the 



HEMP 



base of the flower-stalks little buds occur, which after growing 

 about two inches long fall to the ground ; it is from these 

 buds that the new plants are generally produced. 



The original plant having flowered withers and dies. Its 

 length of life varies considerably ; seventy years is an extreme 

 age. In Mexico it generally lives for about twenty years, 

 and in hotter countries its life is shorter still. 



