188 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



second plowing, and clean away the weeds, if any, in or 

 near the hill, and thin out the hemp to seven or eight stalks. 

 These should be the most thrifty plants, and somewhat sepa- 

 rated from each other. The plowing should be repeated 

 from time to time, so as to keep the ground light and free from 

 weeds. And when the plants are about a foot or a foot and a 

 half high, the hoes should again go over the ground and care- 

 fully cut down any weeds or grass which may have escaped 

 the plow. The plants should be still further thinned out, at 

 this time, leaving but four in a hill, and some fine mold drawn 

 around the plants, so as to cover any small weeds that may 

 have come up around them. After seed hemp has attained 

 the height of a foot and a half, it will soon be too large to 

 plow, but it ought to have one plowing after the last hoe- 

 ing. The ground, by this time, will have become so much 

 shaded by the hemp plants as to prevent the weeds from grow- 

 ing, so as to do any injury, and nothing more need to be done 

 but for a boy to follow the plow, and (if three and a half 

 feet be the distance of the hills apart,) reduce the number of 

 plants invariably to three, taking care to remove those which 

 the last plowing may have broken or injured, by the tread- 

 ing of the horse or otherwise. The next operation will be to 

 cut out the blossom or male hemp. This, according to the 

 opinion of some farmers, should be done as soon as the blos- 

 som begins to show, in order to make room for the seed hemp 

 to grow and spread its branches. This opinion must be taken 

 with some allowance. The farina or pollen of the male hemp 

 is necessary to fertilize the seed bearing plants. The seed of 

 the latter would be wholly unproductive, if the whole of the 

 male hemp should be cut before its pollen has been thrown 

 out. It is important to cut the male hemp so soon as it has 

 performed its office, because much room is thereby afforded to 

 the seed bearing plants to spread their branches. 



" When the seed hemp has so far advanced as readily to 

 distinguish the male from the female plants let all the blossom 

 hemp be cut out, except one stalk in every other hill, and 

 every other row. This would leave one stalk of male hemp 

 for every four hills. These, together with the stalks which 

 should thereafter blossom, would be sufficient to fertilize all 

 the seed bearing plants, and secure a crop of perfect seed. 

 After the blossom plants, thus left, have been permitted to re- 

 main until they have pretty well discharged their pollen 

 (which can be easily ascertained by dust ceasing to flow from 



