INTRODUCTION. 



1 



nerally to obtain, an important addition might thus (almost impercep- 

 tibly) be made to our native growth of Hemp. 



Supposing, however, that it should be still found inconvenient or 

 otherwise unadvisable to adopt the suggestion of Lord Somerville, there 

 are sufficient waste lands which might be advantageously reclaimed and 

 appropriated to the culture of Hemp. It is, indeed, a peculiar property 

 of this plant, that it is <c capable of being cultivated wherever the soil 

 " furnishes the general conveniences of human life. This natural pro- 

 " duction does not require the heats of the equator to ripen it, as some 

 " fruits do ; neither is it confined to the regions of the north. The culti- 

 * e vationof it is attended by no peculiar difficulties; nor does it require 

 " uncommon knowledge or skill in those who engage in its production." 

 — Of the waste lands above alluded to, not a small portion consists of 

 bogs ; and Mr. A. Young has recorded an instance of a singularly 

 abundant crop, from a peat-bog ; which being noticed in p. 4 1 of the fol- 

 lowing work,we shall here only give a brief extract of his forcible reasoning 

 on this subject. " That it is possible," he observes,* f to make the bogs 

 te of these kingdoms produce all and more than all the Hemp that can be 

 " wanted, I have not the smallest doubt : . . . . and it is not surpris- 

 w ing that they should yield Hemp, when it is a well known fact, that 

 " they will produce great crops of almost every plant that is ever com- 

 " mitted to them, — potatoes, cabbages, rape-seed, hops, wheat, oats, 

 " grass, &c. These wastes exist, and are not at present of any value 

 f but for fuel: they would produce Hemp." 



It were, indeed, a f* consummation most devoutly to be wished 

 " for," that some at least of these wastes were reclaimed for this impor- 

 tant 



* Annals of Agriculture, Vol. Iv. p. 325. 



