322 CULTURE OF HEMP IN THE HIMALAYAS. 
it does not yield a fibre that can be turned to any use, I need not of course 
make any further remarks regarding it. . P 
3. The real Hemp, or cultivated kind, is grown chiefly on high lands, and 
principally on the northern faces of the mountains, in well prepared and 
abundantly manured soils close to villages, or in recently cleared lands by 
burning the primeval forests, the soil of which, from the accumulated decpm- 
posed vegetable matter of years, is rich enough to ensure the superior growth 
of the plant and an abundant crop without any manure for one season. No 
irrigation is ever resorted to, and very little is produced under an elevation 
of 3000 feet, the heat of the valleys being detrimental to its quality, and the 
plant appears to flourish best at elevations of from between 4000 to 7000 
feet. 
The middling district situated between the “ Pindur” to the north and the 
““‘Nyar” or “ Samee” rivers to the south, and centrically with regard to the 
province of Kumaon and Gurhwal, may be termed the chief Hemp-producing 
districts of British Gurhwal. The fields nearest to villages, as being the 
easiest for manuring, and the culturable wastes with a rich soil of accumu- 
lated rotten vegetation, or recently cleared forest lands, being those in which 
the Hemp plant is alone cultivated to advantage with respect to its quality. 
4. The culture of “ Bhang” or Hemp, as practised in this district, is as 
follows: After the ground has been well cleared and prepared, the seed is 
sown, towards the end of May, or early in June, at the rate of 20 or 25 pathas, 
equal to about 26 or 33 seers (from 52 lb. to 66 1b. avoirdupois) per beesee, 
which latter is the common denomination now used in Gurhwal, and very 
near equal to an English acre. During the early growth of the plant the 
ground is kept free from all weeds, and the young plants are thinned, leaving 
a few inches between each, and until the crop has attained a good height, the 
ground is kept clean from all rank vegetation—after which it attains to the 
height of twelve and fourteen feet, and is cut in September and November. 
5. Of this cultivated Bhang there are two kinds, the plant called Goolanga 
or Goolbhanga which produces seed (the female), and the one which only 
flowers, but has no seed; and this latter is called ‘ Phoolbhang” (the male), 
from which the best sort of Hemp is prepared ; the plants being cut a month 
or six weeks earlier, and producing a stronger and superior fibre to the other. 
On the stalks being cut green, they are dried for several days in the sun, by 
being piled against the walls of the terraced fields until they become quite 
brown. The plants have the seed extracted by rubbing between the hands, 
which produces the “ Churrus,” and this is scraped off and made into rolls for 
sale. The leaves also are pounded, from which ‘ Ganjah” and ‘ Subzee” 
are manufactured in small quantities. When the stalks are sufficiently dry 
they are tied up into bundles, and steeped for fifteen or sixteen days (eight 
days, Swetenham) in tanks or running streams, being kept under water by 
pressure—on being taken out they are beaten with wooden mallets, and dried 
again in the sun, when the fibre is stripped off from the thickest end of the 
stalk, and after being again beaten, this fibre is made up into twists for sale 
and manufactured into sackcloth for wear, bags, and ropes. 
6. The total money return from the produce of the cultivation of the Hemp 
plant would be considerable, if there were any demand for exportation, though 
the average return even now is amply remunerating to the grower, and were 
it not from the well-known dislike which the Hill people have to extra labour, 
it would be more extensively cultivated than it is. The limited cultivation 
at present, however, supplies the wants of the population for sackcloth, bags, 
and ropes, nearly the whole of which, in considerable quantities, is consumed 
in the district—the lower classes of the Gurhwal population dressing them- 
selves in the cloth manufactured from the Hemp, and this still encourages, 
the cultivation in a great measure. The average return per beesee (or 
English acre) may be stated as follows -—three seers (6 lb.) of churrus, value 
