Hemp

“ The nostril expands quickly, the lungs swell out deeply to draw it in: fragrance once known in childhood, ever in the memory afterward and able to bring back to the wanderer homesick thoughts of midsummer days in the shadowy, many-toned woods, over into which is blown the smell of the hemp-fields. ”

“ Darker, always darker turns the hemp as it rushes upward: scarce darker as to the stemless stalks which are hidden now; but darker in the tops. Yet here two shades of greenness: the male plants paler, smaller, maturing earlier, dying first; the females darker, taller, living longer, more luxuriant of foliage and flowering heads.
A hundred days from the sowing, and those flowering heads have come forth with their mass of leaves and bloom and earliest fruits, elastic, swaying six, ten, twelve feet from the ground and ripe for cutting. ”

“ A heart, the doors and walls of which are in perfect order, through which flows freely the full stream of a healthy man's red blood; lungs deep, clear, easily filled, easily emptied; a body that can bend and twist and be straightened again in ceaseless rhythmical movement; limbs tireless; the very spirit of primeval man conquering primeval nature—all these go into the cutting of the hemp. ”

“ Hemp is an annual plant that grows from seed each year, and therefore it can be brought readily into production. It produces twice as much fiber per acre as flax, the only other fiber that is its equal in strength and durability and that is known to be suitable for culture and preparation on machinery in this country. ”

“ This net before us is twined of the same homely material as that of other fishermen, the hemp has undergone the same rough process of manufacture, toil-hardened hands have with patient labour formed every knot in its meshes, there is nothing in its appearance to charm the senses or attract the eye. Yet we do not turn from it because the web is not silken; we look not—care not for brilliancy of dye in the net which enclosed the miraculous draught. ”

“ Then, too, there is hemp,1219 a plant remarkably useful for making ropes, and usually sown after the west winds have begun to prevail: the more thickly it is sown, the thinner are the stalks. The seed is gathered when ripe, just after the autumnal equinox, and is dried by the agency of the sun, the wind, or smoke.1220 The hemp itself is plucked just after vintage-time, and is peeled and cleaned by the labourers at night. ”

“ His seed-box has meanwhile been replenished, and in it every morning are put a few hemp seeds. No sooner is it in the cage, than the bullfinch has gone in, and plunging his head down into the seed, is busy picking out the favorite grains. Lest one should be concealed at the bottom, he jerks out as much of the contents as he can, and deliberately empties the remainder by beakfuls. Satisfied that no hemp seed remains, he comes out, and flying to the nearest picture, commences the gymnastics that occupy the greater part of the day. ”

“ In consequence of this peculiarity, people who make a business of cultivating hemp pull the male plants at the time they have shed their pollen, and leave the females standing for four or five weeks after.
It is well-known that hemp is one of the finest articles in the world for the manufacture of coarse cloth, and every sort of cordage and ropes. The material used for the purpose is the fibrous covering of the stalk, which is separated almost by the same means that are employed in obtaining flax. The hemp, when pulled up, is tied in bundles, and for a time submitted to the action of water. ”

“ Hemp being an article of extensive utility, various vegetables have been discovered, which may serve as substitutes. Among these are the Canada Golden-rod, or Solidago Canadensis, a perennial plant, that might be easily cultivated in Britain: its stalks are numerous, straight, and grow above five feet in height; they afford very strong fibres, if treated in the same manner as hemp. ”

“ He found that female plants of Hemp planted in a place surrounded by high walls, and others cultivated in pots and placed in a greenhouse in a garden, also surrounded by high walls, produced a quantity of perfect seeds, although no male plants were near, and although the females were subjected to careful examination with a view to the detection of possible male organs. ”

“ They have a wild hemp that grows about six feet high, in open, rich, level lands, and which usually ripens in July: it is plenty on our frontier settlements. When it is fit for use, they pull, steep, peel, and beat it; and the old women spin it off the distaffs, with wooden machines, having some clay on the middle of them, to hasten the motion. ”

“ The chief continental hemp-producing countries are Italy, Russia and France; it is also grown in several parts of Canada and the United States and India. The Central Provinces, Bengal and Bombay are the chief centres of hemp cultivation in India, where the plant is of most use for narcotics. The satisfactory growth of hemp demands a light, rich and fertile soil, but, unlike most substances, it may be reared for a few years in succession. The time of sowing, the quantity of seed per acre (about three bushels) and the method of gathering and retting are very similar to those of flax ”

“ The stacks are torn down, the bundles scattered, the hemp spread out as once before. There to lie till it shall be dew-retted or rotted; there to suffer freeze and thaw, chill rains, locking frosts and loosening snows—all the action of the elements—until the gums holding together the filaments of the fibre rot out and dissolve, until the bast be separated from the woody portion of the stalk, and the stalk itself be decayed and easily broken.
Some day you walk across the spread hemp, your foot goes through at each step, you stoop and taking several stalks, snap them readily in your fingers. ”

“ Distil off most of the spirit, and evaporate residue in a water bath to pilular consistence.
Extract of Hemp. Syn. Extract of American hemp; Extractum apocyni, E. a. cannabini, L. Prep. From the root of the Apocynum cannabinum, as EXTRACT OF GENTIAN. A hydragogue cathartic.—Dose, 2 to 6 gr.; in dropsy, &c. The plant from which this extract is prepared is called ‘Indian HEMP’ in the United States of America, a practice which should be avoided, as this name is now almost exclusively appropriated to Cannabis Indica, a variety of the common hemp (Cannabis sativa, var. Indica) growing in India. ”

“ It was the tallest hemp either Karl or Caspar had ever seen—some of the stalks actually measuring eighteen feet in length, whereas that of the northern or middle parts of Europe rarely reaches the height of an ordinary man. In Italy, however, and other southern portions of the European Continent, hemp attains a much greater height, rivalling that of India in the length of its stalk and fibre. ”

“ The principal ingredient of the Bang so much used by the Indians, as well as of the Maslac of the Turks is a species of the hemp plant. The Indians, says Acosta,156 masticate the 105seeds and leaves of several species of that plant, in order to increase their vigour in the venereal congress, and very frequently combine with it, ambergris, musk, and sugar, preparing it in the form of an electuary. It has been remarked, moreover, that even in our own climate, the caged birds that are fed with hemp seed are the most amorously inclined. ”

“ When the hemp has reached the right stage, that is to say, when it has been steeped sufficiently in running water, and half dried on the bank, it is brought into the yard and arranged in little upright sheaves, which, with their stalks divided at the base, and their heads bound in balls, bear in the dusk some small resemblance to a long procession of little white phantoms, standing on their slender legs, and moving noiselessly along the wall. ”

“ Other hemps of different botanical origin and having quite different qualities are called by such names as manila hemp, sisal hemp, tampico hemp, Mauritius hemp, sunn hemp, bowstring hemp, etc. Strictly speaking, none of these is true hemp.
It is cultivated in Russia, the warm countries of Asia, the shores of the Mediterranean, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois and California. Russia produces more hemp fiber than all the rest of the world. Russia and Italy are the largest exporters. ”

“ The narcotic effects of hemp are popularly known in the South of Africa, South America, Turkey, Egypt, Asia Minor, India, and the adjacent territories of the Malays, Burmese, and Siamese. In all these countries hemp is used in various forms, by the dissipated and depraved, as the ready agent of a pleasing intoxication. In the popular medicine of these nations, we find it extensively employed for a multitude of affections, especially those in which spasm or neuralgic pain are the prominent symptoms. But in Western Europe its use, either as a stimulant or as a remedy, is equally unknown. ”

“ The practice of sowing hemp-seed on midsummer-eve is not especially a Cornish superstition, yet it was at one time a favourite practice with young women to try the experiment. Many a strange story have I been told as to the result of the sowing, and many a trick could I tell of, which has been played off by young men who had become acquainted with [173] the secret intention of some maidens. ”

“ It makes no difference in the fineness of the fibre whether the stalks be small or large, since the great coarse stems of the Italian and Indian hemp produce a staple equally as fine as the small kinds grown farther north. ”

“ Hemlock branch, external soul of ogress in a, xi. 152
—— branches, passing through a ring of, in time of sickness, xi. 186
—— stone in Nottinghamshire, x. 157
Hemorrhoids, root of orpine a cure for, xi. 62 n.
Hemp, homoeopathic magic to promote the growth of, i. 137 sq.;
augury as to the height of the, ix. 315;
dances to make hemp grow tall, ix. 315;
intoxication of women to make hemp grow tall, x. 109;
leaping over the Midsummer bonfire to make the hemp grow tall, x. 166, 168
Hemp dance on Shrove Tuesday, i. 138
—— seed, divination by, at Hallowe'en, x. ”

“ A good practice in planting hemp for fiber production is to sow around the edge of the field next to the fence a 16- to 18-foot width of small grains, which may be harvested before the hemp. Space is thus provided for the harvester to enter the field and begin cutting without injuring the hemp. It also prevents hemp plants at the edge from growing too rank. Uniform plants are necessary for uniform fiber quality. ”

“ Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) is a rather unattractive species with a smooth branching stem, rising from vertical roots to heights of 1 to 4 feet. The ovate-pointed leaves are closely crowded on the stalk oppositely to one another.
The small, five-parted, greenish-white flowers grow in terminal clusters. ”

“ The fibres of the vegetable kind, most commonly applied to this purpose, are the bark of several kinds of trees, together with hemp, flax, and cotton; and those of the animal kingdom are, silk, the wool of the sheep and lama, and the hair, or wool, of the goat and camel. ”

“ The botanist explained this to his companions, by saying that these were the male plants, and the growing ones the females; for hemp is what is termed by botanists “dioecious”—that, is, having male flowers on one plant, and female ones upon another. Karl farther observed that the male plants, after having performed their office—that is, having shed their pollen upon the females—not only cease to grow taller, but soon wither and die; whereas the females still flourish, and do not arrive at maturity until several weeks afterwards. ”

“ Hemp resin in two grain doses every fifth hour.
6. Five, p.m.—Feverish; skin hot; pulse quick; all tetanic symptoms gone; passing mucous and bloody stools. Leeches to abdomen; a starch and opium enema with three grains of acetate of lead every second hour; tepid sponging to the body; hemp omitted.
7. Six, a.m.—Still feverish; stools frequent, mucous; abdomen tender on pressure; no appetite; the ulcer sloughy, ragged, and offensive. Opium and acetate of lead continued; abdomen leeched; sore dressed with water. At noon there was slight rigidity of abdominal muscles. Hemp resumed. ”

“ If the eyes are weak and swollen, anoint them with fresh butter. Stupor and giddiness being very properly attributed to too great a use of hemp seed, it is best to suppress it entirely, and supply its place with the seed of lettuce and thistles. ”

“ The hemp plant, like the hop, which is of the same natural order, Cannabinaceae, is dioecious, i.e. the male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. The female plant grows to a greater height than the male, and its foliage is darker and more luxuriant, but the plant takes from five to six weeks longer to ripen. When the male plants are ripe they are pulled, put up into bundles, and steeped in a similar manner to flax, but the female plants are allowed to remain until the seed is perfectly ripe. ”

“ That parts of vegetables not only lose their irritability, but even their vital principle, in consequence of having accomplished the ends of their being, appears from an experiment of Linnæus upon Hemp. This is a diœcious plant, see p. 306, and Linnæus kept several fertile-flowered individuals in separate apartments from the barren ones, in order to try whether they could perfect their seeds without the aid of pollen. Some few however remained with the barren-flowered plants, and these ripened seed in due time, their stigmas having faded and withered soon after they had received the pollen. ”

“ Dry hemp stalks should be tested when possible to determine the degree of retting. Three to six stalks are taken in both hands and bent back and forth to perform the break test. If properly retted, the fiber should not break when the woody core breaks. The hurds should fall free of the fiber in the breaking and shaking between one's hands. If the hemp is only partly retted, some hurds will adhere to the loosened fiber. Unretted hemp fiber is usually green or light yellow. Dew-retted hemp is usually slate gray or black. ”