416 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



hemp, the whole space of ground requisite for 

 raising the above quantity would amount to 

 88,476 acres. Since that period it has been much 

 more extensively grown in Russia. In 1799 

 about 600,000 cwt. were exported in British 

 ships from St Petersburgh. 



Riga also exports hemp and flax in large quan- 

 tities. Hemp and hemp seed, the produce both 

 of Poland and Russia, are carried thither on the 

 river Dwina, and warehoused or shipped at once 

 for foreign ports, according to circumstances. 

 Persons sworn to that office sort the hemp ac- 

 cording to its different qualities, and regular 

 prices are fixed before it is brought into the 

 market. It generally arrives at Riga about the 

 middle of May. Polish hemp is, for many pur- 

 poses, preferred to Russian, being softer, and of 

 a more tender nature. Riga also exports some 

 hemp gi-own in Livonia, which, though inferior 

 to the best Polish and best Russian, is sometimes 

 valuable to the exporter, as it is carried by land, 

 and is sure to arrive, whereas that brought by 

 water is liable to be detained beyond time by the 

 freezing of the Dwina. 



"The bringing together the produce of such 

 an extent of country at the mart of Riga," ob- 

 serves an intelligent traveller, "is well worthy 

 of attention. The produce of Poland from 

 Kieve northward, around the shores of the 

 Dwina, are sent to this place. After the opera- 

 tion of thrashing the different grain is per- 

 formed, and the frost set in, so that the ice on 

 the rivers wiU bear, the peasantry are engaged 

 in constructing the raft which is to float these 

 cargoes to their destined port. These vessels are 

 formed with much ingenuity and little expense, 

 being put together without the use of a nail, and 

 merely pegged with wooden pegs, and stuffed 

 with tow (made from hemp) to make them im- 

 pervious to the water. They carry from 200 to 

 500 tons burden, and are from 200 to 400 feet in 

 length, being formed of large trees split into 

 rough boards. The rudder is a single fir tree, 

 at which ten or twenty men preside, according 

 to the strength required. The most valuable 

 part of the cargo, which is wheat, hemp seed, 

 &c., is stowed in the centre of the vessel, a space 

 being left around the sides for the package of 

 those goods which a little wet will not materi- 

 ally injure, such as hemp, hempen cordage, &c. 

 This being completed, the vessel is ready to take 

 advantage of the earliest part of the navigable 

 season. As soon as the ice is broken up and 

 clear, the vessel floats with the strong current 

 which succeeds to the removal of the ice, and 

 thirty or forty of the peasants, sometimes with 

 their wives and families, take their passage upon 

 it. The owner or his steward meets the cargo 

 at Riga, where it is either sold to the merchants 

 or warehoused. The vessel then is knocked to 

 pieces, and sold for firing, or frequently for pal- 



ing for the merchants' yards, and often fetches 

 no more than from 100 to 200 rabies." * 



Sir Joseph Banks remarks on this subject, 

 that "coarse hemp, such as is required for the 

 manufacture of cables, hawsers, and other heavy 

 rigging, requires every where an abundance of 

 manure and land of the richest quality." The 

 richest of the new moist lands in the south of 

 Italy will bear hemp two, and sometimes even 

 three years, without manure, but they are then 

 much impoverished, and require it. 



In Lincolnshire, where strong and heavy hemp 

 is grown, the hemp gardens are small, and near 

 the houses of the growers. These gardens ab- 

 sorb vast quantities of manure, and produce 

 hemp every year, without any alternation of 

 crop, or any change except that in years when 

 the hemp is pulled early a few turnips are sown 

 for a stubble crop. 



In Russia the same mode of cultivating hemp 

 on small patches of land, near the houses of the 

 growers prevails, from the facility of getting 

 manure upon it. 



When the hemp is required for cordage, it 

 should be sown in drills, as a stronger and coarser 

 fibre will be produced. 



When it is wanted for purposes of weaving, 

 then broad-cast is the best method, as the stems 

 rise more slender and fine in proportion to their 

 proximity, provided they are not so near to each 

 other as to choke and impede the growth. There 

 should never be a smaller interval than a foot 

 between each plant. 



Three bushels of seed is the ordinary allow- 

 ance for an acre, when sown broad-cast, this 

 quantity being more or less, according to cir- 

 cumstances. If sown in drills, a bushel and a 

 half is found sufficient. 



When the seed is sown it is carefully covered 

 with earth, either by means of a harrow or rake. 

 But, notwithstanding this precaution, it is re- 

 quisite to keep a constant watch over the ground, 

 to prevent the devastations of the feathered tribe, 

 which, if left unmolested, would make sad havoc 

 among the newly sown grain. The seeds rise 

 up out of the ground with their green shoots in 

 the manner of French beans or lupins, and the 

 birds, mistaking these for perfect seeds, tear them 

 away with the young plants adhering to them; 

 thus the hopes of the planter may be destroyed 

 as soon as they have sprung forth. 



The farmers endeavour to frighten away these 

 depredators with scarecrows, as well as by the 

 clamour of children, who are set to watch the 

 grounds. But these precautions are often found 

 insufficient, and the superior vigilance of men 

 or dogs is required effectually to prevent the 

 mischief. Fortunately the irksome occupation 



* Journey from Riga to the Crimea, by j\I. Holder- 

 ness. London, 18-3. 



