224 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



Our government, fully aware of the im- 

 portant uses of hemp, has made several 

 salutary laws, to render its culture an object 

 of attention. In the year 1787, a bounty of 

 three pence per stone, was allowed on all 

 hemp raised in England, and duties have 

 been laid on all that is imported. 



China is celebrated for its abundance of 

 hemp, particularly in the province of Xensi ; 

 but flax is not known to grow in that empire. 

 The excellence of the Chinese hemp was 

 noticed by Nievhoff, who attended the em- 

 bassy which the Dutch East India Company, 

 sent to Pekin in 1655 and 6. From this em- 

 bassy more information is obtained on the 

 policy and natural history of China, than 

 from any accounts since published of our 

 own embassies : whether this is owing to the 

 limited observation of our naturalists, or 

 to the jealous restrictions of the Chinese, 

 we cannot decide. 



The late Mr. Elliot sent some seeds of 

 the Chinese hemp to Mr. Fitzgerald, vice- 

 president of the Society for Encouragement 

 of Arts : which being sown, produced plants 

 fourteen feet high, and nearly seven inches 

 in circumference. This induced Mr. Fitz- 

 gerald to apply to the Directors of the India 



