70 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, 



These were placed under the examination of the best 

 judges, by whom they were considered defective, 

 rather from the faulty mode of preparation than from 

 any inferiority in the material itself. Some was 

 found to be of as great a length as the Italian hemp, 

 which is longer than that from the Baltic, but the 

 whole was mixed together without any regard to 

 length or quality. The Petersburgh hemp, on the 

 contrary, is always carefully assorted into different 

 classes, distinguished in commerce as " Clean, or best 

 staple hemp," " best shot," which is rather inferior to 

 the first, and " half clean," which is much inferior. 

 These classes of course obtain very different prices 

 in the market. It was supposed that the Canadian 

 planters would have readily attained to better methods 

 of preparing and assorting, but they have not yet 

 been able to compete with the Russian cultivators, 

 who still exclusively supply our market. At the 

 latter end of the last century, in consequence of our 

 extensive warfare, the importation of this article into 

 England very much increased. For the five years 

 ending with 1776 the average annual quantity was 

 246,573 cwt. ; in the same number of years ending 

 with 1799 the annual average is found to be more 

 than double that quantity, being 573,358 cwt. It is 

 calculated that the sails and cordage of a first-rate 

 man-of-war require 180,000 Ibs. of rough hemp for 

 their construction. During a time of peace the 

 demand for hemp is much less than in a period of 

 war, and accordingly we find that the average im- 

 portation of the last five years is very nearly the 

 same as that in 1799 ; but an average taken after 

 the lapse of so many years, if the circumstances of 

 each period were perfectly similar as to our foreign 

 relations, should show a great increase in accordance 

 with the rapid progress of population and manu- 

 factures. 



