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Pubdate: 1902
Source: 1901 Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture
Author: Lyster H. Dewey, Assistant Botanist, Bureau of Plant Industry
Pages: 250-251

SEEDS - WHERE GROWN AND HOW HANDLED: HEMP & FLAX

HEMP

Hemp seed is raised in Kentucky, Missouri, and eastern Kansas, most of it being, however, sold as bird seed. When hemp is to be grown for seed it is planted in hills 42 to 48 inches apart, and is cultivated like corn. It is sometimes "topped" to make it spread and produce more seed. After the male plants have shed their pollen they are cut out. The seed is thrashed with a flail in a wagon box or any other convenient place, or beaten out over sheets of cloth spread on the ground. Much seed is also produced by plants grown for the fiber. This is known as "lint" seed, and is light and inferior in quality. It is not used for seed purposes except in years of short crops, when the heaviest of the lint seed is cleaned out to be sold for seed. Growers commonly prefer a small dark-colored seed.

Small quantities of seed are annually imported from China, France, and Italy. The seed from China is mostly received through missionaries in small packets, and is highly prized. The first year it is sown for seed purposes exclusively, and does not at first yield as good fiber as the American plant. The Chinese variety rapidly becomes acclimated, and the seeds of the second and third generations produce plants with fiber of the best quality. The occasional importation of the Chinese seed is necessary to keep up the quality of the American hemp, which tends to deteriorate.