CULTIVATION OF PLANTS. 



An eminent agriculturist, the Hon. HENRY CLAY of Ken- 

 tucky, has been at great pains and expense to introduce, suc- 

 cessfully, the culture of hemp in the western states. Deem- 

 ing the subject of vast importance, he some time since prepared 

 an essay on its cultivation. It is a complete treatise on the 

 manner of raising and preparing for market, an article which 

 will always most abundantly repay the persevering and en- 

 lightened cultivator. As the document would gain nothing by 

 being curtailed or abridged, we give it entire. 



The lands which produce it best, are those which are fresh, or which have 

 lain sometime in grass or clover. Manuring is not yet much practised. 

 Clover is used in lieu of it. Lands which remain in clover four or five years 

 without being too constantly and closely grazed, recover their virgin fertility. 



The preparation of the ground for sowing the seed, is by the plough and 

 horses, uniil the clods are all sufficiently pulverized or dissolved, and the sur- 

 face of the field is rendered even and smooth. It should be as carefully pre- 

 pared as if it were designed for flax. This most important point, too often 

 neglected, cannot be attended to too much. Scarcely any other crop better 

 rewards diligence and careful husbandry. Fall or winter ploughing is practis- 

 ed with advantage it is indispensable in old meadows, or old pasture grounds 

 intended for producing hemp. 



Plants for seed are ordinarily reared in a place distinct from that in which 

 they are cultivated for the lint. In this respect, the usage is different from 

 that which is understood to prevail in Europe. The seeds which are intended 

 to reproduce seeds for the crop of the next year, are sowed in drills about four 

 feet apart. When they are grown sufficiently to distinguish between the male 

 and female stalks, the former are pulled and thrown away, and the latter are 

 thinned, leaving the stalks separated seven or eight inches from each other. 

 This operation is usually performed in the blooming season, when the sexual 

 character of the plants is easily discernible; the male alone blossoming, and, 

 when agitated, throwing off" farina, a yellow dust or flour which falls and 

 colours the ground, or any object that comes in contact with it. A few of the 

 male plants had better be left scattered through the drill, until the farina is 

 completely discharged, for an obvious reason. Between the drills a plough is 

 run sufficiently often to keep the ground free from weeds and grass; and be- 

 tween the stalks in each drill the hoe is employed for the same object. The 

 seed plants are generally cut after the first smart frost, between the 25th of 

 September and middle of October, and carried to a barn or stackyard, where 

 the seeds are easily detached by the common thrail. They should be gathered 

 after a slight, but before a severe frost; and, as they feU out very easily, it is 

 advisable to haul the plants on a sled, and, if convenient, when they are wet. 

 If transported on a cart or wagon, a sheet should be spread to catch the seeds 

 as they shatter out. After the seeds are separated, the stalks which bore them 

 being too large, coarse, and harsh, to produce lint, are usually thrown away: 

 they may be profitably employed in making charcoal for the use of powder 

 mills. 



After the seeds are threshed out, it is advisable to spread them on a floor 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 being sown, as it is believed they will not vegetate, if 

 older; but it has been ascertained 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 property, and for that purpose 

 they should be thinly spread on a sheltered floor. 



The seeds whether to re-produce seeds only, or the lint are sowed about 

 the same time. Opinions vary as to the best period. It depends a good deal 

 upon the season. The plant is very tender when it first shoots up, and is af- 

 fected by frost. Some have sowed as early as the first of April; but it is gene- 

 rally agreed, that all the month of May, and about the 10th of it especially, is 



