THE FARMERS* REGISTER. 



135 



used for betliiini; ill tijesiables, it will tlids becomo 

 imprei^naled wiili Ihe liquids of the yard and 

 eiables and mixed witli ihe aniiDal niai)ure 

 thereof, and i hereby tl)e quantity of manure Ibi 

 eprinof use will be jjreallj' increased. By such a 

 course a small stock, say of fil'teeii head of cattle, 

 seventy-five sheep, and three horses, will supply 

 three hundred loads ol'irood manure (or the corn 

 and potato crop the ensuint^ season. 'I'hc straw, 

 thus spread rrecjuently in the yard to some extent, 

 Is eaten by the stock, the balance absorbs the 

 juices oCthe yard, becomes saturated therewith, 

 and its value thus rendered (bur-fold greater than il 

 it were applied in its dry state. 



You>-s, &c. W. Parsons. 



Thorn Hill, near Lockporl, Dec, 1840. 



THE CULTIVATIOIS' OF HEMP IN KENTUCKY. 



From the Agriculturist. 

 [The following; article, first published in the Com- 

 plete Fanner, was written by the Hon. Henry Clay.] 



The preparation of the ground for sowing tiie 

 seed is by ihe plough and horses, until the clods 

 are sufficiently pulverized or dissolved, and the 

 surface of the field is rendered even andsmooih. 

 Il should be as carefully prepared as il it were lor 

 flax. This most important point, loo often iie- 

 glectedj cannot be attended to too much. Scarcely 

 any othercroj) better rewards diligence and careful 

 husbandry. Fall or winter ploughing is practised 

 with advantage; it is indispensable in old mea- 

 dows, or old pasture grounds, intended lor pro- 

 ducing he.mp. 



Plants lor seed are ordinarily reared in a place 

 distinct fi-om that in which ihey are cultivated lor 

 the lint. In this respect, the usage is different 

 from that which is understood to prevail in Eu- 

 rope. The seeds which are intended to repro- 

 duce seeds Ibr the crop of the next year, are 

 eowed in drills about four leet apart. When tiiey 



catch the seed as ihey shatter out. Afler the 

 seeds are separated, the stalks which bore them 

 beini; too larL'C, coarse, and hari«h, to produce 

 lint, are usually thrown away ; they may be pro- 

 fitably employed in making cliarcoal Ibr the use 

 of powder-mills. In Europe, where the male 

 and female plants are promiscuously grown to- 

 gether in the same field, both (or seeds and for 

 lint, the male stalks are first gathered, and tlie 

 lemale suflered to remain jirowing until the seeds 

 are ripe, whf n they are also gathered ; the seeds 

 secured and lint obtained, after the rotting, li-om 

 both descriptions. 



After the seeds are thrashed out, it is advisable 

 to spread them on a fioor, to cure properly and 

 prevent their rotting, before they are finally put 

 away for use the next spring. Seeds are not 

 generally used unless they were secured the fall 

 previous to their beinu sown, as it is believed they 

 will not vegetate if older ; but it hai? been ascer- 

 tained that when they are properly cured and 

 kept dry, they will come up after the first year. 

 It is important to prevent them from heating, 

 which destroys the vegetating properly, and lor 

 that purpose liiey should be thinly spread on a 

 sheltered floor. 



The seeds, whether to reproduce seeds onlv, or 

 ihe lint, are sowed about the same time. Opi- 

 nions vary as to the best period. It depends a 

 Uood deal upon the season. The plant is very 

 tender when it first shoots up, and is affected by 

 frost. Some have sowed as early as the 1st ol' 

 April ; but it is generally agreed, that all the 

 month of May, and about the lOih of it espe- 

 cially, is the most favorable time. An expe- 

 rienced and successful hempgrower, in the neigh- 

 borhood of JLexington, being asked the best tiTne 

 to sow hemp, answered, immediately before a 

 rain. And undoubtedly it is very fortunate to 

 have a moderate rain directly after eowino-. 



When the object is to make a crop of hemp, 

 the seeds are sown broad-cast. The usual quan- 

 tity is a bushel and a half to the acre ; but here 

 naain the farmers difler, some usinfr two bushels 

 are grown siitTicienily to distinguish between the or even two and a half. Much depends on the 

 male and female stalks, the Ibrmer -are pulled strength and fertility of the soil, and the care 

 and thrown away, and the latter are thinned, j with which it has been prepared, as well as the 



leaving the stadis separated seven or eight inches 

 from each other. This operation is usually per- 

 formed in the blooming season, when the sexual 

 character of the plants is easily discernible ; the 

 male alone blossoming, and, when agitated, 

 throwing ofl' larina, a yellow dust or flour, whicli 

 falls and co'ors the ground, or any object that 

 comes in contact wiih it. A few of the male 

 plants hnd belter be left, scattered through the 

 drill, until the fariim is completely discharged, 

 Ibr an obvious reason. Bet.veen the drills a 

 plough is run sufficiently often to keep the ground 

 li-ee from weeds and grass ; and between the 

 stalks in each drill the'hoe is employed Ibr the 

 same object. The seed plants are generally cut 

 after the first smart frost, between the 2.5th Sep- 

 tember and the middle of October, and carried 

 to a barn or stack-yard, where the seeds are 

 easily detached by the common flail. They 

 should be gathered after a slight, but before a 

 severe frost ; and, as they fall out very easily, it 

 ie advisable to haul the plants on a sled, and if 

 convenient, when they are wet. If transported 



season. To these causes may be ascribed the 

 diversity of opinion and practice. The ground 

 can only sustain and nourish a certain quantify 

 ol plants ; and if that limit be pas?ed, the surpfw 

 will be smothered in the growth. When the 

 seeds are sown, they are ploughed or harrowed 

 in ; ploughing in best in old ground, as it avoids 

 the injurious effect of a bealinw rain, and the con- 

 sequent baking of the earth. It would be also be- 

 neficial subsequently to roll the ground with a 

 heavy roller. 



Af^ter the seeds are sown, the labors of the cul- 

 tivator are suspended, until the plants are ripe, 

 and in a state to be gathered ; every thinor in the 

 intermediate time being left to the operations of 

 nature. If the season be favorable until the 

 plants are sufficiently high to shade Ihe grounds 

 (winch they will do in a few weeks, at six or 

 eight inches' height,) there is strong probability 

 ol a good crop. When they attain that height, 

 but few articles sustain the effect of bad seasons 

 better than hemp. 



It ie generally ripe and ready to be gfithered 



on a cart or wagon, a sheet should he t=pread to I about the middle of August, varying according to 



