Extracts on the the culture and preparation of hemp from the Complete Farmer's Dictionary

Abstract

This text provides a comprehensive guide to the cultivation and processing of hemp (Cannabis sativa), drawing from The Complete Farmer's Dictionary.

The ideal soil is described as deep, moist, black, putrid vegetable mould or deep, mellow, loamy/sandy soil. The land requires thorough preparation, including repeated ploughing, harrowing, and the incorporation of well-rotted manure (approximately 20 one-horse cartloads per acre). Hemp is noted as an excellent soil cleaner and a natural deterrent to insects.

The document details the harvest procedure, emphasising that the male plants ripen (stems become pale) approximately four to five weeks before the female plants (flowers fade, stalk turns yellow). The stalks must be pulled by hand and carefully bundled. For crops intended for seed, the female plants are left to mature, and the stems are later threshed or the seed pods are cut off and dried separately to prevent damage to the fibre.

The key method for preparing the fibre is watering (retting), where bundles are submerged in standing or running water (preferably the latter) for four to five days until the rind easily separates from the stalk. The retting is followed by drying (spreading out the reed on grass for six weeks) and finally by breaking, swingling, or scutching (to separate the reed from the hemp fibre), and beetling (to loosen the fibres). The text concludes by noting that hemp is an excellent preparatory crop for wheat, with fibre yields averaging 3 to 6 cwt. per acre and seed yields of 10 to 12 bushels.