CULTURE OF HEMP. 25S 



should be used, in conjunction with the common kind, and a roller 

 wou i !io hiuiiiy useful. 



The qiianfity of seed, to be put upon the acre, must vary ac- 

 cording; to the quality of the soil. The judgment of the farmer, 

 and the oh'ect he has in view, must regulate this. From two to 

 throe bushels, however, may be considered as the average quantity 

 per acre. The seed should be good, — have a plump appearance, 

 ard he fresh, heavy and bright. No |)articular culture is required 

 after it is sown, except, that, m some instances, the weeds are 

 puled out ; this, however, is very seldom done, as the hemp springs 

 up ! .d choaks the weeds. On this account it is often sown for a 

 weeder upon a soil that has become foul with weeds ; " the quick- 

 ness of its growth and the exclusion of the free circulation of air 

 about its roots, occasioned by the largeness of its leaves, killing or 

 suffocating all sorts of weeds or under growth." 



Time and Mode of Gathering. — There are diiferent rules observ- 

 ed, with regard to the time of gathermg hemp. Some harvest it 

 as soon as it is out of blossom. Perhaps a better criterion is, the 

 change of color, which takes place very soon after the pollen of the 

 male plant, has become matured, or, in other words, as soon as the 

 male flowers begin to wilt. The leaves turn yellowish, and be^ 

 come somewhat speckled. In some countries, they sow their 

 hemp in drills, or rows, and pull or reap the male plants as soon as 

 thev begin to change. The best way, however, for saving seed, 

 is, to sow a separate field for this particular purpose. After the 

 seed is threshed out, the fibre, or lint, can be obtained. It is best 

 to reap or cradle it. The following letter, from an experienced 

 cultivator of hemp, gives us valuable information on the subject : 



" There is no invariable rule as to the tiine of cutting hemp 

 planted for seed, by the general complexion of either the male or 

 female ; but particular care must be had to the color of the seed, 

 when the hull that encloses it is taken off. The seed should be 

 generally changed to a grey or brownish cast. If two thirds of the 

 seed wear that appearance, the sooner y<)u cut the better. It 

 should be bound in small bundles immediately after cutting, and 

 set up in small stacks, — from four to six bundles in a stack — bind- 

 ing in all the branches, by putting three bands round the, same, 

 near the top of the shocks or stacks. It may stand in this situa- 

 tion until dry enough to thresh, — say from five to ten days, as the 

 weather may be for drying. 



The seed may be threshed in the field on sheets made of strong 

 cloth, or on a fjoor. Great care should be used in moving the 



