108 



ON HEMP. 



and injured and cboaked one-another, but is also an operation use- 

 ful to the rest that remain, by raising and stirring up the ground 

 about them. Marcandier. 



As soon as the male Hemp is ripe, it is pulled stem by stem, 

 and with caution not to injure the female, which must remain on , 

 the ground some weeks longer, that is to say, till it also is ripe, and 

 then it must likewise be pulled stem by stem. 



When the female Hemp is let stand till its seed is perfectly ripe, 

 its bark becomes woody, and so coarse, that no future operation 

 can bring it to a proper degree of fineness : for this reason it is ge- 

 nerally pulled before the seed is quite ripe. But as it is manifestly 

 the husbandman's interest to sow none but the best seed, he ought 

 not to grudge the sacrificing of the goodness of a small part of his 

 Hemp to the superior advantage of obtaining perfect seed, by letting 

 a proper number of these plants stand till their seeds have attained 

 full maturity. The judicious M. de Chateauvieux, whose attention 

 extended to the most proper method of cultivating every useful 

 plant, did not neglect so important an object as the quality of the 

 Hemp employed in cordage, and the means of obtaining its seed 

 in the greatest perfection. However, not having had opportunities 

 of continuing his experiments long enough to draw certain con- 

 clusions from them, he invites all those who have the public good 

 at heart, to make experiments which may lead to the utmost im- 

 provement of the culture of this plant :■— *' But," says this friend 



of 



