439 



useful purpose, although nothing should be easier than to 

 apply them thereto. 



Such is actually, according to Dr. Kane's idea, the con- 

 dition of the growth of one plant of the highest importance to 

 agricultural industry in Ireland — that of flax, and also of ano- 

 ther, which although not now grown here, has been grown with 

 success, and, as he conceives, might still be cultivated with con- 

 siderable advantage, the hemp. In flax and hemp the valuable 

 portion of the plant is ligneous fibre ; the purer this fibre is, the 

 more its value increases ; yet the pure fibre contains no ele- 

 ment derived from the soil. It is well known to be produced 

 solely by the atmospherical constituents. Hence the intense 

 exhausting nature of the flax and hemp crops, which makes 

 them be dreaded by agriculturists, notwithstanding the high 

 money value of the crops, arises, according to Dr. Kane, 

 from causes of which the effects may be obviated by attention 

 to the true conditions of the growth and composition of the 

 plants, so that those fibre-crops, such as flax and hemp, 

 from being the most exhausting and expensive, may be ren- 

 dered the least injurious to the land, and perhaps amongst 

 the cheapest that can be grown. 



As the chemical composition of these plants had never 

 been examined, Dr. Kane devoted himself to the determina- 

 tion, as well of their organic as of their inorganic constituents, 

 and from an extensive series of analyses, of which the de- 

 tails are given in the memoir, arrived at the following 

 results : 



Composition of the stem of hemp, dried at 212°. F. 



Carbon 39.94 



Hydrogen 5.06 



Oxygen 48.72 



Nitrogen 1.74 



Ashes 4.54 



100.00 



VOL. II. 2 Q 



