416 



ELEMENTARY STUDIES IN BOTANY 



Russia leads all countries in the production of both seed 

 and fiber, but the Belgian flax is the best, clue to the great 

 care taken in its cultivation. . Flax demands greater labor 

 than almost any crop, and its value for fiber is in proportion 

 to the amount of intelligent care it receives. For fine fiber 

 the seeds are sown thickly, so that the plants are crowded, 

 and the young plants are pulled before the seeds are mature. 

 For coarse fiber, the plants are given more room and pulled 



when the seeds are nearly 

 mature. Usually the 

 plants are pulled up by 

 hand, roots and all, and 

 the processes used for 

 separating the fibers 

 from the rest of the 

 tissues need care and 

 labor. Flax is said to 

 exhaust the soil more 

 than any other crop, 

 so that much attention 

 must be given to keep- 

 ing the soil in proper 

 condition. 



123. Hemp. Fibers 

 from a great many plants 

 are called hemp, but the common hemp, cultivated from the 

 earliest times, belongs to the nettle family (Urticacea). Its 

 name is Cannabis sativa, and it is a native of the warmer parts 

 of Asia, but it has become naturalized in Europe and America. 

 It is a rough herb, with palmately compound leaves (Fig. 

 82), and two kinds of flowers borne on different plants 

 (dioecious). The staminate flowers are in open clusters, 

 while the pistillate flowers are in compact clusters like a 

 spike. The hemp plant has some strange associates in the 

 nettle family. It is closely allied to hops, but in another 



FIG. 82. A hemp plant. After Internat. 

 Encycl. 



