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'' tit.' ", ' ' E'X ?'W- t. .- : it 7 . y i J. ' f -:4'. : ,r.-, .-"-;- - , . ' . "oft are the plant of r I'urf arc iac piani 01 iiir acnepciui rcacc.1 - r t 1 . ' . r i v n,trP'' T PtTT to lire like Brothers. ; - - . . if ' . ' - - - ; , Bural eronomp. OX THE CUlTUHE OF UEMP. ' , rtOM THE EHIttK. Xbe JjrUutttxral Sciety '"f IticFtmvnrl hr. tnreceWed some valuable communications frtmTnr rrsprcUble comspondcnti, tlie !ntit of vbich ihey are desirous of extend ing as qtitcklj and as difTuivelr as possible amongst their agricultural brethren, hare di rected a publication in your piper of the fol losing: - , i . L I be copv of a better from JK C JXchtfa, Esq. of Albe"marlet Virg. to IV, r. HoSnan l$q. of Washington, N Carolina, concerning thr cnlturr of II cm communicated by Mr. NicLpUs, mtldrtittd vntler rorer the Society. 2. A leitrr frm T S Slaughter, of Cul pepper, to the Secretary, conveying an an swer to certain queries lately proposed by the Society. -, ' .. 3. A communication from Th9. w1rmitead of Norfolk; relative to the preparation I j Tasxist for exportation, a -new subject of ruiaj cccononn. panicuiaxiv inieresung to (he Farmers ol the middle country. NO. I. - .Vay4lh, 1811. Sin Yur favnr cf the 24 h March was received by the last Mail. Y'iur application to' me for instructions re spccitng thr cu!tiratin ofHetnpi re quired apology : The little success 1 have, myself, exptritneed," is duelto the ktr.dnrss of ihqsc 'o whom I appli ed f.r ii.f -rrmticn when I btpan the cul tire. This imposes on me thecbli gtion tf imparting toothers what was )ibcra!2y communicated to myself. . Another motive, of itself irrefutable, is, my earnest desire to promote the prnsperify of my country to which, I presume, nothing csn more contribute tlirtn varying the useful products of our Mil, oas to prevent the cons' quvnecs nhci woufd necessarily flow frcrn con fining the agricultural labor of the coun try to the production of a few articles. Hemp, has strong recommendations ; it is intrinsically, worth as much as conon, is applicabTe to most of the uses to which cotton can be spplied, and to others lor which cotton will not serve ; to commerce it is indispensable ; -and is the material of the manufacture best suited to mir wants and to our popula tion. When imported, hemp must be paid for wi'h money, as it is the pro duct of countries exclusively agricultu ral, whkh take none of cur productions in exchange. Its bulk, and the distance of the countries whence it is brought, render the expnces of transportation a!mot equal to the prime cost. Ttdoes not-impoverish land, nor does it inter fere wi'h any cf the crops we cultivate, cxrep; TVbucco. Hemp is sown be fore com is planted, and is nt f ulled mvil the corn no longer requires culti vation ; it needs no atter'lon at the pe ticds when wheat demands thr labor of the farmer, either for sowing harvesting or threshing. From thr se remark you will learfitny opinion or the value of the hemp crop, in i's relation to political as well as rural ceeonomy. The interfer ence of pub'ic duties, and ill health, have prpvcn'ed me from giving' so much at tention to this culture, during the short period I have been engaged in it, as I could have, wished, and I regtet that my infnt matron will not there fore, be so ample and satisfactory as I desire. , I am inclined to believe that your climate is not the mo', suitable to hemp the plant may grow as larg , and per hsps larger than in higher latitudes, but I expect that the bark will be lighter and roarser. My residence is twenty miles Kast of the Dire Ridge, and I doub whether it would be possible with the same management, to make as good hemp at this place as could be made West of the Allegany. I, is true that hemp is made in considerable quanti ties, in' Spain and Italy, but as the most maritime and commercial nations of Europe derive their supplies from Rus sia, I conclude that the Northern hemp xnus be best. I will now answer with as much ful ness as I can, your inquiries : Ques tion ) st. What is the kind and quality r.f soil mst proper for hemp ? Ansxrer, A dark rich loam ; "F have not found land in which either sand, or clay pre dominates. Very favorable for hemp. On rich sandy land, the hemp grows to a great height, but the bark is coarse and light. On a'lfF clay I have' never seen the Jiemp tall enough' to yield z Kreat crop. Tht plant depends, chiefly ialong tap, root, furnished. with a few fibrous roots '; the tap root penetrates to a considerable, depth, and consequently requires a deep1' soft soilj and deep and thorough ctduvation. v.'' ' ) Question 2d. .Whether its being wet is an advantage or a disadvantage Answer : I learned very early tht wet land did not suit hemp, and my pxpen ence confirms tKc fct : o entire is the conyictioo on this point, where, both hemp and flax axe cultivated, that Fl k in the water, and hemp in the fire,' has become an agricultural adage. J Quest. 3d. At what time ts(itbest (o sow hemp seed ? and whether it wouW answer to sow in the fall, as I have been informed has been done in Virginia ?--The usual time of sowing west of the mountains, whence 1 obtained aiitne in formation I possess, excepting what 4I have acquired by the practice of three vetm, is from the I5'h ot April to trie lOth ofMay The month of April is, there, esteemed the best time. for sow ing, and in that climate it may be, but in thU nart of the countrv. the month of March isnrefcr-ble. The bestcrops l have made were sown in March. Last vear the earlv sowing was considerexl the worst hemp until the crop was bt-o ken. when it afcoeaied that the bark of J J M , the late sown was much lighter, allho' the hemn was taller. The .spline of 1810 was more unfavorable to spring erons'than we have ever known, our land wa nrver wet from tht 1st of May till the 20th of June, and if after iuch!a season, early sown hemp p'overi be ter than Ute sown, its superiority in com motr vears. will not be questioned. The advantajres of eaily sowing are not con fined to ,hc single circumstance of pro dnciog superior bark; but having an ear ly growth, it smothers all other plants and. weeds, and b fcre the suti becomes very powerful, covers the ground, shades it, and preserves its moisture. I hive never known hemp seed to be own m th : fall, and am, therefore, unable to say whether it would answer or not, but in sowing tarly land that had been in ht nip tne preceaing year, j nave oiways ioui;n some volunteer hemp of considerable s - t ' - r height which rmist have sprung from seed accidentally scattered the fall be fore. Of this I am certain that hemjp is a very hardv Dlant, and thai trost, to kill it. must be very severe. I cannot. however, assert that it would stand the winter, but am persuaded that if it would, the crop would be superior to a spring sown crop- My choice is to sow asearfy aa nossihle. after the dancrcr of the frost I - o II is over. .1 will take the liberty of ad- ding to my answer to this query, my 11 opinion that no plant requires the land II to be more thuroughly and perfectly menarcd i it should be broken at least 11 ten or twelve inches in depth, and be loose and fine before it is sown : I ef fect this by trench ploughing in the fall, and, plough at least twice afterwards i; l"-wl " !! my last operation, previous to seeding, is to harrow the ground, ip order that the seed may be sown on a surface per fectly smooth and level, which enables the seedsman to distnbute it equally, .1 then ploueh it in, and in that state the land is left. When I commenced the culture,' my practice was to hairowin the seed, but abandoned it on observing that the land was more apt. to bake in the smooth order it was left by the har row, than in the slate which the plough leaves it. When a Tain fell before the seed came up, on ground that had been harrowed, I observed a crust formed on the surface, through which the tender SDrout could not penetrate, and which forced it to turn down, in that situation many plants perished. I once had ja sowing of eight or ten acres, on which I knew seed enough had been put, made too thin from the cause I mention, tor the same reason, hemp is more easily pulled after the plough than the harrow, land that is harrowtd being touna closer and harder than that on which the last operation was with the Djoucn. rar- mers difler in opinion as to the quanti ty of seed that ought to be sown,- five pecks to the acre, Is however more ge nerally approved of than other quantity; I concur with this opinion in the mam, but upon old and very tbul land I hajre sown six pecks advantageously. . It ap pears to be universally admitted that the crop is not injured by sowing too much, that only, so many plants will rise as the land will bear, and that the waste of su perfluous seed is the sole loss to be ap prehended. If this be trueand nothing but the, concurrent assertion of all the Ijemp; rhakcrs I have conversed ' with cnuldcoovince me of tne fact,) it is cer tainly better, always Jo give too much, seed and by this od wiU be secured from jthcravages of birds;. worms1,' &c I never saw a thia xrbp of hemp'tllit WM Sod. A:.-.' ! ' . ' ' i. I . In a crop of hemp, about one half of the sta?ks bloom, and the ; other half bear the seed. And the ffljowing are the in dications 6F its being fit to pull. The stalks of the blossom for male hemp, turn yellow, become ? good deal speck led," and drop most, of their leaves, and when the air is still, a very perceptible cloud of dust rises from th? blossom stalks, and hangs over the fields When ripe the sooner,, it is pulled the better. As it is pulled, it is to be laid in rows as thin as possible over the land in which it grows ; after being pretty well cured" on the ground, it must be bdund into sheaves with some of the shorter hemp and put up in shocks open at the bottom, in 'which state it should, remain, until sufficiently cured to be put into 'large stacks or ricks, when it should b't remo ved to the land on which it is to bedew rotted. The stacks or ricks should b so constructed as to expose only the roots on he out side, and if the tops ol the stacks be covered with hemp they shoHld be pealed the latter end of Sep tember, by which time, ii most seasons, what is exposed on the tops will be half rotted ; the hemp taken tT should be laid apart from tbe rest, to rot. When it Is safe to house corn, and not before, the crop of hemp may be spread to rot, taking careagoin, to separate the out side of the tops of the stacks, which will rot soonrr than the hemp within the stocks. Htmp ought to be spread so thin as to cover at least ihree times as much ground as it grew upon. The length of time requisite to rot hemp de pends upon the weather, and it should be examined frequently. To ascertain when the hemp is sufficiently rotted, if after ciushing seven or eight s'alks with your hands and holding them eighteen- mcnes orxwoit-et irom eacn otner, tne head or stalk will shake out and separate (I easily from the bark leaving it clean and ii . r : entire, the process pt rotting is com pleated. Yiiur own observation and at tention will soon make you acquainted with this part of the business, and better than can be effected by any written in struction. There is no i isR, for by sub j mitting it to the b:eak (until y u be come skilful enough 'to judge wi'.hoin that trouble). .you c-n easily provided- gainst irking up your hemp too soon. J and the frequent repetition of the same 1 experiment will secure you fr -m the danger of its being overdone. The prr rise point to aim at is to take up tht hemp at the monunt when the bark pi lint will separate from the stalk without beincr rotted or weakened. The bark or - .. lint of hemp is connected with the stalk by a substance which mtutbe either rot a ted or dissolved briore they will sepa rate , produce the 'separation and the work is accomplished. I have been prevented, frequently, by the weather for eight or teo days in the. month of March from taking up hemp that was sufficiently rotted, and have ne ver experienced any inconvenience from it ; in cold or even cool weather it is not easily i? jur-d by exposure. When your hemp is sufficiently totted take it up and put it in stacks of about lOOwt. each, tying them at the top. with hemp. U should be 'perfectly dry when stacked. The business of the farm should be $o arranged that.you maycommence :break- I ing as soon as the hemp is ready, for it is subject to loss and injury proportion- ate to the time you delay it. My hemp, when broken, is baled "in a box lmade like a cyder press, across the; bottom four ropes are laid to tie the hemp when pressea inio ine uox wun a , common prize . 4ih Query. What are the kinds of Machines for- breaking, . scutching or swingling hemp and where . are they made ? . j Answer. Wt use nothintr but a break similar to a flax break but larger. My breaks are six feet long36 inches wide j at one' end of the break and twelve'atl me otner enu. vvuo lour sworus.iu ine li frame and three inthe upper part of the break; With this instrument (which any person-may make who can; make an helve to a hoe or an axe) -our hemp is broken and cleaned. 'With one of ! these, a man will break, clean and pre pare forniafket in one;day from 80 to 1 50 lbs. accordingly as the order of the hemp, its quality,' and the state of the weather may be more' or less favorable, om ucry. -vynai quBiuiiy or nemp-nrjoi have yea '.made to ihe acre If -2 A Answer, various quantities When jectuf al and rwtHthe erisuiftg; fajlj I commmenced the culture, I was. 'not make: some experimem only uncertain what parts, but whether matter with jprecisi any part ofitiy land would bring hemp : watering it pfopirlyj 1 feeLalbiOsC con- in some instances' 111 arc been badly d is-JiTinced that the d I appointed, and in others, agreeably sur- land I have sown has not been satisfac tory, a good deal of it was "unfit 'for hemp, v many acres! indeed were not worth pulling, other fields' to ihe contra ry, yielded more than I ever expected from them. I will give; you a statement of the crops of one of my farms for 3 succeeding years- The- labd has not been surveyed, but;l 'am conyjiiced jt does not exceed eighteen acres. ; From this land I made in the year 1808, lrjioo wt. in 1 809, 1 6000 wf. land mthe. year 1810, UOOOwt. The deficiehcyi of the crop of lastly ear I ascribe to the) extra ordinary drought of the last spring. The result of this experiment was the more satisfactory, as it enabled j me to make an accurate comparison between the produce of htmp and tobacco on the same land. In the year 1807 I had all ihe 1 nd (and about thirty thousand hills more) in tobacco that I .afterwards sow d in hemp.' That part of the land i which was sown with hemp had brought j hnecrop'oF tobacco, and vet I made more lbs of hxmp f om it alone, than'of tobacco (wi.h the product of the addi tional thirty.thousand bills included) with less laDour, ana icss imenerence witn ihe wheit and corn crops. This expe riment I deem very satisfactory and conclusive in fivor cf hemp. On ano ther farm I made last year, twelve them sand weight of hemp' from abuut 25 a 7res, of which, five acres at least were not worth pulling, and that I have this year, either thrown out of cultuieor ma- uured highly 4th Qaery, What is the best mode of steeping or watering, and whether you have tried the French process by hot water and soap ? ) : Answer. This question I have puii posely, delayed answering, because it is one of great diihculty, and my own ex oeriments do not afford me very satis factory means oi solving it. In 1808 when I made my first crop of hemp I was entirely ignorant of every mode of managing it. I thought it safer to adopt . i i i t. i i u ' j rne mcinou inai nau uccn pracusea, an the sfnall way, in this part of the ctun ry, where hemp had long been Taised, by some people, for making rope for the use oftheir plantations, and to familia rise my people to the culture before I ventured on any innovation, ine :n I mnto r nr of Pt vf linn QtA a tt-h rm he hump is said to be better, land of course commands a bet er pricef, I there fore felt considerable anxiety on this subject. ,The French process appeared to me impracticable on a large scale, for the bulk of hemp vhen good, from 70to eiehty acres of land is immense The streams convenient to me, were objec tionable ; liable to be suddenly raised so lias to endanjjer the hemp, by carrying it off, or to injure it by making deposits of mud. I therefore availed mvself of a wide and deep ditch at the frot of ahilf, which I enlarged, and where I had a perfect command of water being; able to let ott or on at pleasure. - l was pleased with the situation and made it large e- nough to hold as much as would yield about 800 or 1000 Wt. of clean hemp. In' this place I have tried water rorting two years ; tne result nas not oeen very satisfactory the labour of putting in, taking oat, drying and securing, is ve- y great and unpleasant. The; hemp managed in this way is more tedious to break, my people cannot break more than half as much water rotted, as of dew rottedi and my observaliotis induce? me to belie ye that the loss is much greater. I believe also, that in ond respect, the hemp is injured, by.breaking tne fibre of the bark From 'a small expenrrient that I made last year, of rotting hem p in the river, I am inclined to suppose that where it can be immersed in large volumes of water (free from the riskI nefore mentioned) the poject 'tvcola" he accomplished with more certainty. I tninKinai m.my aucn or pona tne quan tity of water is insufificient for Jthe hemp. The water rotted hemp I have sent to market has'certajnly commanded a rea dier sale and higher price than aew;"rot ted, but ! questroolf I have been more than reihibursed thej ex ra labour anld loss1 of hemp in the vvay I have manacr ed it.c Twould not hare you infer from thisthati rheJin ;tbba6if warrpU ting,' of that J arrr ; prepared to,a'y it'ts m9 mosieiigto I hemoMv opidi ible mode of managing I herodIy:'bpid!onfofthe'i6i difference will ocT found not to exkt Jri breaking at'5l:ths,7 howeve tcem'olsrnal as I ani satisfied that i&e tshall sooti break our hemp by pacuUnerthirt will ; very mucli imimsh tfie" ibr; ex perintents'irwater rbuingshiitbiyve. I ry much diversifiedas T garri stillh ' guine in my exfectatrpns.i hat I, iqr'aomei other person, wilsuc.ceed in discovert hg . the right method j should it b' niy'gf od ' fortune, it wilf give me real pleasure to communicat ihe result toyoDandjJto myother Lcbryrnen throughthetRich-' rooiond gricuitufel Society, to .which I intend roeentya; copy of triis letter. 1hemot .ub'jpleasant labour in ihe hemp crop anr that which presses rnbstt is pulling to tpuh a quarter of an acre, . r 5 aid to bp ja" day sjvor ;k for a manv(Iri he. Western cOuiTtryitis a knife br Hook, and 'it is saidTto : be asa syftocut half an;.acre:aa tb;ptllia tlar ter. 1 his ja importaht in two points of view, it saves labor, and wiirenabfe' voti to jdourj!e;ydur; crop of hemp, fortthe crop of hemp a man can ndiake js i lmtt- ed only by the , land he has -proper fof- its. production, and his ability to save it in due time. 'It is; eay roovtbfrot and to break much jph ore than it is prac- licable to manage in the season . ofar Vest. l ts frue that cutting wll ocpa- sion some loss of waeht bu t l am con vinced the hemp"will be more yaluiile, the bark ol the root dishures the ap- o pearance of the hemp land cannot be spun to advantage wi;h the finerparc . of the bai&rfher'sta) Most of the roots indeed are broken 'off ana lost oy,tne orex.;; rlt;mp seed is made by suffering a part" f the cropttb remain until. if is ripe or by drilling it and cultivating itjikeeorn, tiking bare to pull up in grJod tinie the stalks; that will nottbear seed. ;f- , 'fff-" v I will take the liberty to add to;thfs ' letter,lpng 93 it already is, af cbrnpati- : son between the Jabor.tiecsatylbvt a crop of hemp and a crop of, tobacco, s from which it jvill be obvious thatjtle' former interferes less withjoiher crops, and r; quirjes likewise- much ' less la bor. Its knownx that hemridoeH "nbt exhaust nhe land Twhlle f growing! it shades it completely, if pVbverlts it frpni . washing, -'deposits a considerable quari t tity of leaves and farina, abd i rthe herds ' are used. in a farm'yard, their absoVber.t properties render, them an excellent ma teria) .for1 manure, a Upon a Ipiantation vy ouv acres 05 open tana, Irorn 9a to tbOjOOO lpb cultiyaied, ten hands'Tnu'st.be on whicn plants are empiovea all the : yer Jlhls1 crop with'as . mucV corn as wilf support the plantation, and ten bushf Is of seed wheat to ach harjd, is as "much as can be managed withhe v utmost industry Irjo attention! apd every facil i (y t haC ca nTbe de ri yed 'i ;on ' good tams and impjements of ylry sbrtl--' . The1 produce of Ihis labif wrierVahlled uu guuu i(3iiu,i osirmssie as ioiiows ; at this I know.id'be'ja'bbVe-aialrlTera:-' 90 iuy Dusneis ot wueat. at : x r 5 I'lOO 190 if.'-. 190 S to each hand is, for ten hands, . Deduct for the amount hire of each hand, 4 c; 1 "taxes maintenance and tool$; fjv dolls' l h " on' farm of eual izevl-" 1 uO . , I would sow 120 acres nS-wheati chiefly - 1 c. 4 on f ajlr.w, and would expect 15 bushels JV- to tne acre, v.a i )iU.y APMY: -i 18 acres in hemp, at 500 lb. to the acre, V i:u9im)i'ii-lQ centi, V A Mf $00 ' This crcp .would be rtapaged: 'wiUt' fahtf -kf, '' I believe ihe. itnXMfa.i I am convinced I can make mpre pounds ' oX&he.tripf,'than ,6f ipbacc. urrthelsam .;:a land, and. thatita? ;wTtnfmof ter to tne , state or ine market lor an a- verages of years':-Thatroore:iand can be cultivated ;wheat,?with f a hemp; t han with a tobacco. cjrpcleiBonstir't ed' by its Deing snpvfnhat fcVmp:.?':v whejat neyetrequ4b tipn aij ine ame Mme? ft wlrereasriH is - ;r ribtbfibuslhat inHarvest iti the hresh:V tng,ana seeding andnnnhjpreDaraion v t fpr seeding great 'attention is necessaty - i V 1 to ine touaexo crop : tnat tne-land is ' - 1 less jnjureilvciappciet nore optlnureais But f&pu thiu '(i l -J Ibinihel ifcilbwins&temcht tbhow rKW ?. diV 4 numoer ot cays wotk required to make the estimate tbee tnaris"iui ureas orpreuarotne ano lor nemp, bti cauev precisely thejsame preparation wouldaayanugebusly bestbvve!i urh v theland'thaf is td be? ptanie3 latotAe .each jcrdp and , the season when: t he laVr bor perfoimeb)ill donbtakoro' '1 , r .if. n . 1 ' ri' i." ; J -I n-.f .-- 1 . .' ' . t'-T! v f . "
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Nov. 8, 1811, edition 1
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