412 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October. 
Hemp and Hemp-Seed. 
Numerous inquiries indicate a renewed 
interest in Hemp Culture, though a share of 
these have in view the production of the seed 
rather than the fibre. The method of cultiva¬ 
Fig. 1.— HEMP—FEMALE AND MALE PLANTS, 
tion is quite different. To produce the finest 
fibre, the plants need to stand closely and 
bear but few and small branches; in raising 
seed, the plants must have room to develop 
and to produce numerous strong branches. 
Hemp is affected by soil and climate to a 
remarkable degree. It requires in all cases a 
strong soil, and if allowed to ripen its seeds 
is an exhausting crop. It does not do so well 
on new land ; hence other crops are raised for 
a few years before growing hemp upon it. 
In this country the plant grows about 8 feet 
high, but in southern Europe it grows to 15 
and even 20 feet. The most singular effect 
of climate upon the plant is seen when it is 
cultivated in India. There the plant produces 
a resinous matter which exudes upon the 
surface of the stems and leaves. This has 
powerful intoxicating qualities, and is the 
active principle of the hashish, used in the 
East to bring on a state of unconsciousness, 
accompanied by blissful dreams. The Indian 
Hemp was for a long time supposed to be 
a distinct species, but it is in no other respect 
different from the common plant, and the 
seeds of the Indian plant, when sown in a 
northern climate, produce only ordinary 
hemp, without any of these marked properties. 
When cultivated for the fibre, the seed is 
often sown broadcast; but it is better to sow 
in drills, as the plants can be cultivated while 
young. They soon become large enough to 
keep down all weeds. From four to six 
pecks of seed to the acre is the usual quan¬ 
tity ; but sometimes, when a fibre of unusual 
fineness is desired, two bushels are sown. 
In raising Hemp-seed, the land is well 
manured, and the seed planted in hills three 
and a half feet apart each way, sowing a 
dozen or more seeds to the hill. The crop is 
cultivated with plow and 
hoes, the same as corn. At 
the first hoeing the num¬ 
ber of plants is reduced to 
six in each hill, and at the 
last working, when the 
plants are about 18 inches 
high, they are thinned 
again, leaving only three 
in the hill. The hemp has 
staminate and pistillate, or 
male and female flowers, 
in different plants. One 
staminate plant, or “ blos¬ 
som plant,” as the planters 
term it, produces sufficient 
pollen to fertilize several 
pistillate or “seed plants.” 
As there is an excess of 
these, a share is pulled as 
soon as they can be dis¬ 
tinguished. The difference 
in appearance between the 
two sexes is seen in figure 
1. The pistillate flowers are 
in dense leafy clusters, 
while the staminate are in 
open panicles. These are 
more distinctly shown in 
figure 2. The usual meth¬ 
od is to cut out all the 
staminate plants save one 
in every other hill in each 
alternate row. After those 
allowed to remain have 
shed their pollen, which 
may be known by their 
ceasing to yield a dust 
when shaken, they are to 
be pulled. When a share of the seeds are 
ripe, the plants may be cut or pulled, tied in 
convenient bundles, and placed in stooks 
until all are ripe, when they are threshed out 
with a flail. It is best to use a bam-sheet 
or other cloth upon which to lay'the bundles 
while threshing. Hemp-seed contains about 
one-fifth of its weight of oil; the chief con¬ 
sumption of the seed, aside from that used 
for planting, is as a food for cage birds. 
Ileus in Confinement. —It is a com¬ 
mon notion that hens kept in yards during 
the summer and fall cannot be made profit¬ 
able. It is true, they will not lay as well as 
with a free range about the premises. But 
with proper food and restricted freedom, the 
hens will lay fairly, and three-months-old 
chickens will grow about as fast as in perfect 
freedom. They should have an hour’s run 
before roosting time, to get grass and insects, 
with a little watching to keep them out of 
young plants and the ripening fruits. They 
want large, roomy yards, with regular atten¬ 
tion, and feed, every day, by one person, who 
is responsible for their welfare. The princi¬ 
pal feed of laying hens should be early in the 
morning—a variety of grain, and about as 
much as they will eat. For green food, give 
any vegetable waste from the garden, and 
keep this always by them. For animal food 
we have never found anything better than 
sour milk. Clean water should be kept in 
the yards and be renewed regularly every day. 
Increasing the Value of the Cotton Crop. 
Before the war a large share of the Cotton 
Seed was a waste product. Aside from that 
needed for planting, some little was used as 
manure, but the great bulk of it was thrown 
away. At present cotton-seed sells readily 
in Louisiana at $12 to $15 a ton, and some¬ 
times higher. Good judges estimate that the 
value of the cotton crop has been increased 
about one-tliird, adding to the income of the 
cotton-growing States not far from $100,000,- 
000, annually. The production of this vast 
sum from a heretofore waste product is due 
to the inventors of machinery. The seed has 
a coat of fine lint which the gin does not re¬ 
move. This is now taken off and utilized, 
and the shell of tire seed is left perfectly 
smooth and ready for hulling. The liuller 
cracks the shell, liberates the kernels, and dis¬ 
charges the hulls. The hulls or husks are of 
value as a fertilizer, especially after they have 
been used as bedding for animals. The ker¬ 
nels are pressed, to extract the oil, the most 
valuable product of the seed. The cake left 
in the press after all the oil possible has been 
extracted, is still a rich food for animals, espe¬ 
cially cows in milk ; this is ground, and as 
“cotton-seed meal,” meets a ready sale— 
especially abroad, a large share being ex¬ 
ported. The crude oil from the press is clari¬ 
fied, and the residuum from this process is 
used in making soap. The finished oil can 
with difficulty be distinguished from the best 
olive oil, and may be used for the same pur¬ 
poses, including salad dressing. The oil is 
coming into use in southern families as a 
substitute for lard in frying, etc., and the 
coarser kinds for burning and soap-making. 
That it is much like olive oil is shown by the 
fact that the best markets for cotton-seed oil 
are found in those countries which produce 
the most olive oil. We have been much inter¬ 
ested in the development of this important 
southern industry, and in 1817 described a 
new liuller which has since contributed much 
to its advancement. We certainly have a 
great advantage over those countries which 
must grow the Olive, Rape, Bene, and Poppy, 
Fig. 2. —FLOWERS OF HEMP—MALE AND FEMALE. 
expressly to produce oil, as we have at hand 
a material from which to produce it, which, 
in one sense, costs nothing. It is said that 
there are now about 70 oil mills in operation- 
