HEMP. Cannabis satira, Linn. Urticacete. Figs. 566-571. [See also Fiber plants.] By J. N. Harper.
An annual dimcious plant, reaching a height of ten feet and more, grown for its long- bast fiber, and for its seeds. Staminate flowers drooping in axil lary panicles, hav ing five sepals and five stamens ; pistillate flowers in short spikes, with one sepal folding about the ovary. Leaves digitate, with five to seven nearly linear, coarse-toothed leaf lets. Hemp is prob ably native to cen tral Asia.
History.
Hemp has been cultivated for cen turies as a fiber plant. It was grown by the early Greeks and probably by the ancient Egyptians. It has been grown in this country for about 130 years, the seed having been brought from France. During this time, its cultivation has been confined chiefly to about twelve counties in central Kentucky, in what is known as the blue-grass region.
For the last forty or fifty years, however, the industry has spread into a number of other states, notably Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Minnesota, New York and California. Notwithstanding this extension of the industry, nine-tenths of the hemp crop of America is still grown in Kentucky.
During the years it has been grown in Kentucky, probably no other crop has brought an equal revenue. A few years before the Civil War it contributed more to the wealth of central Kentucky than all other crops combined. At that time, Kentucky produced annually 38,000 tons, with a gross receipt of $2,280,000. During the war the industry declined but revived a few years later, and again declined owing to the use of iron and jute in the bagging of cotton. Hemp is now used largely for making burlap, twine and carpet warp.
Production.
According to the Twelfth Census there were in 1899, 964 farms producing hemp, with an average acreage of 16.6 and a total acreage of 16,042. The average production per acre was 732 pounds, worth $34.06, or 4.6 cents per pound.
Culture.
The soil.—While hemp will grow on almost any land containing a large amount of humus, it does best on well-drained silurian limestone soils. In Minnesota it thrives on drift soils. The moisture content is the important factor. The soil should be prepared thoroughly by breaking with a turning plow, plowing about six to eight inches deep, and by repeated harrowings and rolling.
Hemp grows so tall and dense that it kills weeds by smothering them better than any other farm crop. A good growth of hemp is effective in killing even Canada thistle and quack-grass. It leaves the soil in excellent condition for any succeeding crop.
Seeding.—The best results are secured by sow ing with a seven-inch wheat drill, running it both ways. The seed is sown at the rate of one bushel per acre. It is sown about two inches deep. After sowing, the land should be rolled. Hemp should not be sown very thick, because in thinning itself it will crowd out many plants and the size of the hemp stalks will not be uniform. The best fiber is obtained from stalks about one-half inch in diam eter; if a thin stand is se c u red, the stalks fre quently will grow to be t h r e e-fourths of an inch in diameter. Hemp drilled in gives a much more uniform stand than when sown broad cast, because all of the seeds are placed at a depth to have sufficient mois ture to insure immediate germination, and the young plants get an even start. Repeated experi ments have shown that it does not pay to till hemp that is intended for fiber.
The earlier the seed is planted in the spring the more assurance there will be of a good crop. Hemp requires a large amount of moisture and should be high enough to shade the ground and thus conserve all water that may fall in the early summer. The average time of planting for eight years at the Kentucky Experiment Station was April 25. The young plants began to come up in about one week's time.
It has been found by long experience that the seed that gives the best results is secured from China. The Kentucky Experiment Station has tested the value of a number of Japanese varieties, but none has given as good results as those from Chinese seed. The first year the imported seed is planted the yield is much less than it is in succeed ing years. Growers say that after the Chinese hemp has been grown for a number of years it degener ates and they seek newly imported seed. There are no well marked varieties.