Hemp Cultivation in Europe. 



385 



of the coppice under conversion " has also during the period 

 given place to " mixture of coppice and tall trees." Woods 

 not under the administration of the Government also show 

 transformation of coppice into forest, but not to the same 

 extent, proportionally, as the State woods. 



Forestry has not escaped the general depression of prices 

 which has affected all products during the last twenty 

 years ; and timber is estimated by the French Ministry of 

 Agriculture to have depreciated in value by about 14 per 

 cent, during the decade 1882-92. Consequently, in spite 

 of the increased acreage of the area under forests, their 

 total annual revenue, as calculated at these two dates 

 shows a total diminution from ;^I3, 373,000 to ;£ii,58o,ooOy 

 by i^i, 793,000, or 13-4 per cent. 



Hemp Cultivation iw Europe. 



The United States Department of Agriculture has recently 

 issued a report on the cultivation of hemp in Europe, with a 

 view to acquaint American hemp growers with the foreign 

 practices by which high grade hemps are produced. The 

 publication contains interesting information relating to the 

 history of the plant, and a detailed account of the methods 

 of cultivation adopted in France and Italy, where the best 

 hemp is produced. 



The native home of hemp, known botanically as Cannabis 

 safwa, is India and Persia ; but the plant is now in general 

 cultivation in temperate and tropical climes throughout the 

 world. Hemp grows throughout India, ascending the Hima- 

 layas even to a height of 10,000 feet. It has long been 

 cultivated in China and Japan. It flourishes in tropical 

 Africa on both the east and west coasts, and is found to 

 some extent in the interior. It has been naturalised 

 in portions of Australia, and thrives in several South 

 American countries, while in North America it can be grown 

 from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. 



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