43S 



3I0NTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



minctes will prepare the leaves for the wheel. 

 The bundles, which will then have shrunk 

 considerably, should be re-tied, to prevent the 

 tanslins of "the Hemp, placed carefoJly on the 

 plaubrm, until it is covered, and tlie wheel 

 put in motion by the animals hitched to the 

 outer end of the" shaft, and movin? in a_ cir- 

 cle on the outer edfe of the platform. ^^ hen 

 the wheel shall have reached one side of the 

 platform, by its revolution on the scre%v, the an- 

 imals moving- it are to be turned and driven in 

 the opposite direction around the circle, which 

 %vi]l cause the wheel to traverse back again to 

 the opposite side. "WTnle the wheel is in mo- 

 tioiL water should be frequently thrown on the 

 plants, which beins permitted to escape by 

 vents from the platform, carries -with it all the 

 surplas matter, 'in a state of sqlution.'i disenga- 

 ged from the strong fibres by the friction and 

 pressure of the wheel until the Hemp is wash- 

 ed perfectly clean. It should then be taken 

 from the platform and hung out to dry, w^hich 

 completes the process of preparation, and the 

 anicle is ready lo be packed up for market — 

 This process will succeed until a better is devi- 

 sed. 



Everv good plant wiU produce one pound of 

 clean Hemp. Some have exceeded that quan- 

 tity. The best specimens from the uncultivated 

 plant are fitim three to four feet long, and the fi- 

 bres coarse or finer, in proportion to the age of 

 the leaf, as you will perceive by comparing the 

 smaller parcel I send you. (composed of the bud 

 leaves only.i wnlh the larger. From five to six 

 thousand plants may be produced from one 

 acre, which will yield as many pounds of good 

 Hemp. The specimens I have shown are esti- 

 mated, by our most intelligent merchants, as su- 

 perior to" the Manilla, and are considered worth 

 from eisht to ten cents per pound in the New- 

 York market- At these prices, there is no cui- 

 dvation in the United States so valuable. 



I have made experiments on the plant knovm 

 by the name of the ■'Spanish Bayonet," which 

 atioauds on our Southern sea-board, and find the 

 fibre equally good in every other respect, though 

 not so large as that of the '• Bear Grass." 1 

 learn from men who have been accustomed to 

 cat up the latter plant annually in the cultiva- 

 tion of their fields, that it is almost indestructi- 

 ble. Should this be the case, it would require 

 to be planted but once, after which it will con- 

 tinue through a succession of years to yield its 

 valuable tribute without cultivation. Such re- 

 salts, though very imperfectly realized, will ren- 

 der the Florida Hemp a most important produc- 

 tion. It will add to the prosperitj- of the weal- 

 thv, ffive profitable employment to the laboring 

 classes, both in Agriculture and manufactories. 

 but to the prwr it wUl be an inestimable bles- 

 sins. It will invite emigration, ensure a dense 

 white population, and make the South the rich- 

 est and most powerful portion of the country". — 

 Cotton and Sugar can never be produced in 

 great abundance except bj- slave labor, and the 

 employment of a capital far beyond the reach of 

 the poor. Their culture ha-s therefore a tenden- 

 cy to increase the number of slave, and exclude 

 a wlate population. But should the Hemp be- 

 come a valuable staple, as { confidently antici- 

 pate it will from the simplicity and care of its 

 culture, and abundant production, it will give 

 the richest and most generous reward to the la- 

 borer. There are none so poor as to be unable 

 to avail themselves of its advantages to some 

 extent The bounty of Providence has placed 



it within their reach. The production of a few 

 acres •will j-ield a suflicient support for a small 

 family at greatly reduced prices : and where 

 they may not be able to procure the necessary 

 apparatus for boiling tlie Hemp, the same result 

 may be produced by steeping it in cold water 

 for the space of twenty days, after which they 

 can prepare more of it for market with their fin- 

 gers alone in one day. than they can pick of cot- 

 ton in l^vo. Let the culture be once introduced, 

 and it will never be abandoned while good 

 Hemp is worth two cents per poimd. I have 

 the honor to be 

 ! VeiT respectfullv. your ob't servant 



! ■ R. K. CALL. 



I 



AtPACCA Sheep. — "We have been waiting 

 for an opportunity to re-call public attention to 

 this animal — we say re-call, because we believe 

 (not having the volumes exactiy at hand) that 

 about twenty years have elapsed, since %ve 

 caused the several varieties of Peruvian Sheep, 

 and among them the Alpacca, to he engraved 

 for the '• America.v Farmer. " and by aid of 

 Mr. Robinson, author of the History of Mexico, 

 pointed out their peculiar adaptation to our 

 Southern mountain lauds, and. in the most 

 emphatic manner dwelt upon the advantages 

 that ought to be expected from their importation. 



It was the year after guano %vas distributed, 

 and the whole story told of the qualities and ad- 

 vantages of both ; but nothing but English ex- 

 perience and English recommendation, it seems, 

 wiU go down with our people. "When we 

 come to re-publish what was then said of these 

 animals, we shall see how much or how little of 

 any tiling new has been discovered, since Rob- 

 inson described them, to prompt the disposition 

 which we now rejoice to see prevails in varioaa 

 quarters, to send out and import them. 



But we here throw out, not any setUed con- 

 viction, but a strong impression, that they will 

 not be found to answer in cold regions. We 

 shall endeavor to find room in a subsequent 

 number for what may be useful and necessary 

 for the curious or interested inquirer. 



Since \\Titing the above, we have seen it 

 stated by Professor Johnson in one of his lec- 

 tures, that a friend of his bad found that they 

 will not thrive and do well in Scotland. 



The following may be instanced aa among 

 the promising signs of the rimes: 

 Extract from a letter to the Editor of the Farmers' 

 Librar>-, dated .Winchester. Kentucky. 



" We are about forming a company to send to 

 Peru for the Alpacca, and \v-ish to gain all the 

 information we can on the subject'" 



Hunt's Ecosomicat, Breakfast Powder. 

 Rve roa-sted along with a little fat Use. As a 

 substitute for foreign coffee, of which it is one 

 of the cheapest and best 



[Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Prac. Receipta. 



