f/ ■ U. S. DEPARTMENT < >F AGRICULTURE, i:( l;i \r 0] PLANT IND1 BTRY Cii 57. Hi i. \i i.mh ay, Chlel • ■( Bun THE CULTIVATION OF HEMP IN THE UNITED STATES. LYSTER II DEWEY, Botanist in Charge of Fibeb [nvesttgations. . office : l»io r\ -* ■ DRY BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. Chief of Bureau, Beverly T. Galloway. Assistant Chief oj Bureau, G. Harold Powell. Editor, J. E. Roi kwell. Chief Clerk, James E. Jones. I (Mr. 571 2 r, I i THE CULTIVATION OF HEMP IN I'll UNITED STATES. INTRODUCTION. Hemp (Cannabis sativa) see fig. I) is an annual plan! <>f the mulberry family, cultivated for the production of ;i Bofl bast fiber. This fiber, gray il dew-retted, or lighl yellow if water-retted, la also called hemp. In a strict sense the name "hemp" is correctly applied only to t his plant and its fiber. DISTRIBUTION. Hemp is cultivated commercially for fiber production in Russia, Italy, Austria. Hungary, Germany, Prance, Belgium, Turkey, China, da pan. and the United States. Russia produces more for export than all the other countries. [Cii 3 4 TUK CULTIVATION OF HEMP TX THE UNITED STATES. Most of the hemp cultivated in this country, amounting to from 15,000 to _(), ooo acres annually, is grown in the bluegrass region of Kentucky, of which Lexington is the center. About 600 acres are grown each year near Lincoln, Xebr., and an area of about the same size in the lower Sacramento Valley in California. During the past two years hemp lias been grown successfully at Kouts and North Liberty, Ind., and at Hanover, Pa. It has also been grown experi- mentally in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and Arkansas. CLIMATE. Hemp requires about 110 days for its growth. It should have a rainfall of at least 1 inches during this period. It has not been grown commercially under irrigation. If the level of free water in the soil is within 5 to 10 feet from the surface, as is often the case in alluvial river-bottom lands, and the character of the soil is such that there is good capillary action to bring the water up, hemp will not suffer from drought, even should there be very little rainfall. Hemp is uninjured by light frosts. It may therefore be sown earlier than oats and harvested later than corn. SOIL. Hemp requires for its best development a rich, alluvial, or loai y soil not subject to severe drought, yet not of a swampy condition. It is not to be recommended for a light sandy soil, unless it follows a crop of clover or beans which has left a plentiful supply of nitrogenous fertilizer. The soil should also be well supplied with lime. Hemp will not grow well in an acid soil or on gumbo soils. Excellent crops have been obtained in Indiana during the past two seasons on peaty soils over marl. The best fertilizer for the hemp crop is barnyard manure, and this should be applied to the previous crop or, at the latest, in the: fall before sowing the hemp. Hemp may be introduced in any crop rotation, but it is best to have it follow peas, beans, or clover. It may follow corn or grain, providing these crops are well fertilized. A dense growth of hemp destroys nearly all weeds, and as it is a rather deep rooting plant and shades the soil it leaves the land in excellent condition for any crop which may follow. SOWING. Hemp seed should be sown at the rate of approximately 1 bushel pel' acre at about the time of sowing oats or as early as possible after the period of severe frosts. If possible the land should be plowed during the previous fall. Fall plowing is essential for success if a heavy sod or much vegetation is to be tinned under. The soil should be harrowed at least once before seeding in order to settle the furrows. [Cir. 37] I III CULTIVATION Ol HEMP IN l Ml UNITED 8TA1 E8. The seed is sown broadcast by hand or l>\ anj good broadi der set for seeds smallei than avi rains of wheat. Good results are obtained with an end gate seeder, a roller-press grain drill, or an ordinan toothed grain drill with the teeth removed and replaced |)\ ; i board dragging on the lti < >u tn) below the feeding tubes. The d falling on this board will be spread out evenly ovei the surfa The ordinan teeth cover the seed i leeplj and crowd them in drills from 6 to S inches apart, so thai the hemp does not grow as evenlj as when it is spread over the entire surface The seed ma\ be covered l>\ means of a light straight-toothed harrow. Drills similar to grain drills are made especiallj foi sowing hemp seed and are large]} used in Kentuckv. These hemp seed drills will be found mosi ec rnical if large areas of hemp are to be sown or if hemp is to 1 »< ■» raised year after \ ear as a regular crop. Aiter seeding it is besl to roll the land in order to have a smooth surface thai will permit close cutting with machinery. Afterseeding the crop requires qo further attention until harvesting. HARVESTING. Mosi of the hemp is nov cut with self-rake reapers made especially for harvesting this crop. These machines require 2 men, or a man and a bov, and I horses for their operation and I man to keep the knives sharp. The} cul a swath of about 5 feet, or about 5or6acres per day. They leave the hemp stalks in gavels. Aiter lying in the gavel for two or i luce days the stalks arc either spread for retting, sel in shocks u it In 'in binding, or tied in bundles and set in shocks. \\ hen the liar\ oi is lair, or in the North, w here there is little danger of hoi dry weather thai would "sunburn" the stalks, labor ma\ l>e saved In spreading the hemp for retting immediately after cutting. II there is danger of hoi dry weather after harvesl the hemp should be cured in shocks. II' it is to be stacked it must l>e bound in bundles before shocking. Stacking is ool regarded as a necessaiy step in the preparation of hemp, bul a greater weighl and also a better quality of fiber are obtained from stalks which have been stacked If the stacks are properly made thej may be lefl almosl indefinitely bet retting. Three men will put up two stacks a da> of aboul 8 tons each. In Nebraska the hemp is cul with a mowing machine with a special homemade attachment, bending the stalks over in the same direction thai the machine is cutting. One man with one span of horses will cut from 7 to 9 acres per day. The ordinary price paid there for cut- ting hemp is 50 cents per acre, including team and machine The hemp is left on the ground as it falls until retted, when it i- raked up with a horserake and hauled to the machine brake to be made into long tow. Kir. :.T] b THE CULTIVATION OF HEMP IX THE UNITED STATES. RETTING. Practically all of the hemp produced in Kentucky is dew-retted. It is spread on the ground, either from the gavel, shock, or stack, in rows with the stalks side by side and not more than two, or at most three, stalks in thickness, the butts all even and in one direction. It is left in this manner for from four to twelve weeks, or sometimes even longer, until the bark, including the fiber, separates readily from the woody portion of the stalk. The stalks are then raked up and set up in shocks to dry. As soon as dried they are ready lor breaking. BREAKING. Much of the hemp produced in Kentucky is still broken by the old- fashioned hand brake, but this method is not recommended for intro- duction into any new locality because it requires a degree of skill that would be difficult to secure in laborers not accustomed to the work. Even in Kentucky the newer generation of laborers do not learn to break hemp, and this is one of the principal reasons that the industry is not carried on there to a greater extent. At least six different kinds of machines for breaking hemp and preparing the fiber have been in use during the past three } T ears, and some of these prepare the fiber very much better than the hand brake. At Havelock, Nebr., and at Courtland, Cal., there are power machines consisting essentially of a series of fluted rollers, somewhat like a jute softener, followed by large beating wheels, and these machines make long tow. They will handle a greater variety of dif- ferent-sized hemp stalks in a satisfactory manner than the other machine brakes, but as the fiber is tangled instead of being straight it does not command as high a price as that produced by the hand brakes or by the other machine brakes mentioned. YIELD. The yield of hemp fiber ranges from 500 to 2,000 pounds to the acre. The general average yield under ordinary conditions is about 1,000 pounds to the acre. Yields are sometimes estimated at 150 pounds of fiber for each foot in height of the stalks, and also at 20 per cent of the weight of the dry. retted stalks, but estimates based on these factors alone may be misleading, for slender stalks yield much more fiber than coarse ones. MARKET. All of the hemp fiber produced in this country is used in American mills, and increasing quantities are being imported. It is used for making gray twines, •'commercial twines," carpet warp, and ropes of small diameter. [Cir. ."7] i ii i CULTIVATION O] HEMP IV I 11 1 UNITED STATES, 7 The twentj live mills in the I nited States using hemp fibei are mostly in or near Boston, New ^ ork, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. The average price paid during the last twent} years l>\ local dealers to the farmers in Kentucky for the rough fiber tied up in handmade bales lia> been about 5 cents a | nd. The prices during the Borne time for the fiber sorted, pressed in bales, and delivered ai the mills as ordered have ranged from $130 i" $175 per long ton. The market is occasionally overstocked with low grade hemp or tow, I »ui i here i^ little danger of an oversupply "f ■: I . strong, well- cleaned fiber. PROFITS. The following rough outline of expense - and returns maj serve as a basis for estimating profits, keeping in mind that there ma} !»• con- siderable variation either way, lue to local conditions /). r aen . /.'■ s I. I bushel, ai >i. . . $4 00 i 000 I bemp fiber Plowing 2 i0 run, Harrow ing once. ing 75 Harrowing (omitted ii sp drill is used) Rolling Cutting L. 00 Shocking 1. 25 Spreading for retting I Picking up I 50 Breaking, 1 ,000 pounds, at IJ cents per pound 15. 00 Baling and marketing l 00 Total cost per acre Gross returns Hemp can not be grown profitably in small isolated areas. Two hundred acres or more should be grown on one or more farms near together, so as to warrant the introduction of special machinery for drilling, harvesting, breaking, and baling, and also make it possible to ship the fiber in full car Ii it s. Before undertaking the cultivation of hemp on a commercial scale ii is advisable to tn some preliminary experiments with half an acre or less, i" determine whether the local conditions arc adapted to the crop. Approved : James Wilsos . Si cr< tary of . [gricuUun . Washington, !>.;.. Man [Or. 67] o UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 3 1262 08928 9929