222 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



of natural productions says, the worst part 

 of hemp is next to the bark or rind ; the 

 principal part, and that of the best quality, 

 was called Mesa. 



Although we do not produce lawn or lace 

 from the fibres of hemp, yet it is a plant of 

 great importance to Britons, as it forms the 

 sails and tackle of our vessels, from the huge 

 cable of a ship of war, to the more humble, 

 but not less profitable net of the herring- 

 boat. 



The sails and cordage of a first-rate man- 

 of-war, require 180,000 pounds of rough 

 hemp for their construction ; and it is said to 

 average five acres of land to produce a ton 

 of hemp : thus one of those monstrous towers 

 of human ingenuity, that 



'* Stems the vast main, and bears tremendous war 

 To distant nations, or with sovereign sway 

 Awes the divided world to peace and love/' 



consumes a year's produce of 424 acres of 

 land to furnish its necessary tackle. 



From this calculation it will be seen that 

 Great Britain could not furnish itself with 

 a sufficient quantity of hemp of her own 

 growth to supply the immense demands of 

 our shipping. 



