458 



FIELD CROPS 



and the hop also belong. Hemp, Cannabis saliva, is a rank, 

 leafy annual, reaching a height of from 8 to 10 or 12 feet. 

 The staminate and pistillate flowers are produced on separate 

 plants; the pistillate plants are more branched and the fiber 

 from them is of less value than that from the staminate. The 



production of hemp in the 

 United States is confined 

 mostly to central Kentucky, 

 central Tennessee, New 

 York, and Nebraska. 



627. Culture. Hemp is 

 ordinarily sown in April on 

 land that is suitable for the 

 production of corn. Rich 

 land and the use of nitro- 

 genous fertilizers result in 

 increased yields. The seed 

 is sown broadcast or with 

 the grain drill at the rate 

 of from 4 to 6 pecks to the 

 acre. The growth is rapid 

 and there is little trouble 

 from weeds. Harvesting 

 begins as soon as the first 

 seed ripens, which is usually 

 in about three and one half months from planting. The 

 method of harvesting depends on the vigor of the growth ; 

 ordinarily the crop is cut with the mower or binder, but if 

 the growth is unusually rank and heavy, the corn knife is 

 used. The plants are allowed to lie on the ground to ret 

 with the dews and rains and are then shocked or stacked. 

 The processes of separating the fiber are quite similar to 

 those described for the production of flax fiber (Section 292). 

 The principal enemy of hemp is broom rape, a parasitic 

 plant, which is best combated by rotation of crops. 



Figure 148. 



- A shock of seed hemp. 

 (U. S. D. A.) 



