The Hemp Files: Various Hemp Related Historical Documents

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HR 1009 IH

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1009

To amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marihuana, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 13, 2007

Mr. PAUL (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. STARK, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

__________________________________________________ ___________
A BILL

To amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marihuana, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007'.

SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP FROM DEFINITION OF MARIHUANA.

Paragraph (16) of section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(16)) is amended--

(1) by striking `(16)' at the beginning and inserting `(16)(A)'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

`(B) The term `marihuana' does not include industrial hemp. As used in the preceding sentence, the term `industrial hemp' means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.'.

SEC. 3. INDUSTRIAL HEMP DETERMINATION TO BE MADE BY STATES.

Section 201 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 811) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(i) Industrial Hemp Determination To Be Made by States- In any criminal action, civil action, or administrative proceeding, a State regulating the growing and processing of industrial hemp under State law shall have exclusive authority to determine whether any such plant meets the concentration limitation set forth in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (16) of section 102 and such determination shall be conclusive and binding.'.

END

Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)

[zolar]

is it too much to ask that the controlled substances act be reviewed every 25 years to follow the constitutional mandate for congress to promote the progress of science [US Constiturion article 1 para 32] such that new scientific knowledge regarding medical use toxicness and drug schedules be incorparated and updated and substances having demonstratable use delisted if new data contradicts old.

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nope, its not too much to ask. apparently its to much for them to do though.

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Proposed Wording:

California Cannabis Hemp & Health Initiative 2008

AN ACT TO AMEND THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE OF CALIFORNIA:

I. Add Section 11357.5 to the Health and Safety Code of California, any laws or policies
to the contrary notwithstanding:

1. No person, 21 years or older, shall be prosecuted, be denied any right or privilege, nor be subject to any criminal or civil penalties for the possession, cultivation, transportation, distribution, or consumption of cannabis/hemp/marijuana, including:

(a) Cannabis hemp.

(b) Hemp industrial products.

(c) Hemp medicinal preparations.

(d) Hemp nutritional products.

(e) Hemp intoxicating products.

2. Definition of terms:

(a) The term "cannabis hemp" means the plant hemp, cannabis, marihuana, marijuana, cannabis sativa L, cannabis americana, cannabis chinensis, cannabis indica, cannabis ruderalis, cannabis sativa, or any variety of cannabis, including any derivative, extract, flower, leaf, particle, preparation, resin, root, salt, seed, stalk, stem, or any product thereof.

(b) The term "hemp industrial products" means all products made from cannabis hemp that are not designed or intended for human consumption, including, but not limited to: clothing, housing, paper, fiber, fuel, lubricants, plastics, paint, seed for cultivation, animal feed, veterinary medicine, oil, or any other product that is not designed for internal human consumption; as well as hemp plants used for crop rotation, erosion control, pest control, weed control, or any other horticultural or environmental purposes.

(c) The term "hemp medicinal preparations" means all products made from cannabis hemp that are designed, intended, or used for human consumption for the treatment of any human disease or condition, for pain relief, or for any healing purpose, including but not limited to: the treatment or relief of Alzheimer's and pre-Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, asthma, cramps, epilepsy, glaucoma, immunodeficiencies, migraine, multiple sclerosis, nausea, PMS, side effects of cancer chemotherapy, fibromyalgia, sickle cell anemia, spasticity, spinal injury, stress, Tourette's syndrome, wasting syndrome from AIDS or anorexia; use as an antibiotic, antibacterial, anti-viral, or anti-emetic; as a healing agent, or as an adjunct to any medical or herbal treatment.

(d) The term "hemp nutritional products" means cannabis hemp for human consumption as food, including but not limited to: seed, seed protein, seed oil, essential fatty acids, seed cake, dietary fiber, or any preparation or extract thereof.

(e) The term "hemp intoxicating products" means cannabis hemp intended for personal use, other than hemp industrial products, hemp medicinal preparations, or hemp nutritional products.

(f) The term "personal use" means the internal consumption of cannabis hemp by persons 21 years of age or older for any relaxational, spiritual, religious, recreational, or other purposes other than sale, that does not conflict with any statutory law not effected by this initiative.

3. Industrial hemp farmers, manufacturers, and distributors shall not be subject to any special zoning requirement, licensing fee, or tax that is excessive, discriminatory, or prohibitive.

4. Hemp medicinal preparations are hereby restored to the list of available medicines in California. Licensed physicians shall not be penalized for, nor restricted from, prescribing or recommending cannabis hemp for medical purposes to any patient, regardless of age. No tax shall be applied to prescribed hemp medicinal preparations. Medical research shall be encouraged.

5. Personal use of hemp intoxicating products.

(a) No permit, license, or tax shall be required for the non-commercial cultivation, transportation, distribution, or consumption of cannabis hemp.

(b) Testing for inactive and/or inert residual cannabis metabolites shall not be required for employment or insurance, nor be considered in determining employment.

6. Commerce in cannabis hemp intoxicating products shall be limited to adults, 21 years and older, and shall be regulated in a manner analogous to California's wine industry model. For the purpose of distinguishing personal from commercial production, up to 12 pounds (192 ounces) of dried, cured cannabis hemp flowers/bud (not leaf) produced per adult, 21 years or older, per year shall be considered as being for personal use.

7. The manufacture, marketing, distribution, or sales between adults of equipment or accessories designed to assist in the planting, cultivation, harvesting, curing, processing, packaging, storage, analysis, consumption, or transportation of cannabis hemp plants, industrial hemp products, hemp medicinal preparations, hemp nutritional products, hemp intoxicating products, or any cannabis hemp product shall not be prohibited.

8. No California law enforcement personnel or funds shall be used to assist or aid and abet in the enforcement of Federal cannabis/hemp/ marijuana laws involving acts which are hereby no longer illegal in the state of California.

II. Repeal, delete, and expunge any and all existing statutory laws that conflict with the provisions of this initiative.

1. Enactment of this initiative shall include: immediate release from prison, jail, parole, and probation, and clearing, expungement, and deletion of all criminal records for all persons currently charged with, or convicted of any cannabis hemp/marijuana offenses included in this initiative which are hereby no longer illegal.

2. Within 60 days of the passage of this act, the Attorney General shall develop and distribute a one-page application, providing for the destruction of all cannabis/hemp/marijuana criminal records in California for any such offense covered by this act. Such forms shall be distributed to district and city attorneys and made available at all police departments in the state to persons hereby affected. Upon filing such form with the Attorney General and a payment of a fee of $10.00, all pertinent records anywhere in the state of California fisted in the form and covered by this act shall be destroyed. Such persons may truthfully state that they have never been convicted of any cannabis/hemp/marijuana related offense which is hereby no longer illegal.

III. The legislature is authorized upon thorough investigation, to enact legislation
using reasonable standards to:

1. License concessionary establishments to distribute hemp intoxicating products in a manner analogous to California's wine industry model. Sufficient community outlets shall be licensed to provide reasonable commercial access to persons of legal age, so as to discourage and prevent the misuse of and illicit traffic in such products. Any license requirement or fee shall not be excessive, discriminatory, nor prohibitive.

2. Place an excise tax on commercial production of hemp intoxicating products, analogous to California's wine industry model, so long as no excise tax or combination of excise taxes shall exceed $10.00 per ounce.

3. Determine an acceptable and uniform standard of impairment based on performance testing, to restrict persons impaired by hemp intoxicating products from operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery, or otherwise engaging in conduct that may affect public safety.

4. Regulate the personal use of hemp intoxicating products in enclosed and/or restricted public places.

IV. Pursuant to the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, the people of California hereby repudiate and challenge Federal cannabis/hemp/marijuana prohibitions that conflict with this act.

V. Severability: If any provision of this act, or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid by any court, the remainder of this act, to the extent it can be given effect, or the application of such provisions to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

VI. Construction: If any rival or conflicting initiative regulating any matter addressed by this act receives the higher affirmative vote, then all non-conflicting parts shall become operative.

VII. Purpose of Act: This act is an exercise of the police powers of the state for the protection of the safety, welfare, health, and peace of the people and the environment of the state, to protect the industrial and medicinal uses of cannabis hemp, to eliminate the unlicensed and unlawful cultivation, selling, and dispensing of cannabis hemp; and to encourage temperance in the consumption of hemp intoxicating products. It is hereby declared that the subject matter of this act involves, in the highest degree, the ecological, economic, social, and moral well-being and safety of the State and of all its people. All provisions of this act shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of these purposes: to respect human rights, to promote tolerance, and to end cannabis hemp prohibition.

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Pubdate: January 18, 1828
Source: 20th Congress, 1st Session. Doc. No. 68. House of Reps. American water-rotted hemp, &c. &c. Reports from the Navy Department, in relation to experiments on American water-rotted hemp, when made into canvass, cables, and cordage
Author: John Quincy Adams
Pages: 11-12


ON THE CULTURE AND PREPARING THE HEMP IN RUSSIA, TRANSMITTED BY THE HON. J.Q. ADAMS, MINISTER AT ST. PETERSBURGH, MARCH, 1810.

In Russia, when the season is mild, the hemp seed is sown about the 1st June, old style. The richer the soil of the land employed for it, the better. A chetwirt of seed, (100 chetwirts are equal to 73 quarters, Winchester measure,) is sown on a piece of land of 80 fathoms (English feet) long, and 60 fathoms broad.

The land is first ploughed and harrowed, and, about 200 single horse loads of dung being spread upon it, it is left for six days, when it is again ploughed, and the seed sown and harrowed the same day. In about four months the seed becomes ripe, and the hemp is then pulled up with the roots; if it be allowed to remain too long in the ground, it is apt to become harsh. It is bound into heads or bunches of four handfuls each; these are hung upon sticks placed horizontally, thus, x-o-o-o-o-o-o-x and allowed to remain so for two days. It is then made into cut or thrashed hemp, as may be agreeable. The cut hemp is made by chopping off the heads containing the seed. These are put into the kiln, and, after remaining there for eighteen hours, the seed is beaten out.

If thrashed hemp is to be made, the heads or tops must not be cut off, but the bunches of hemp, placed entire in the kiln; and, if the weather be warm, it will be sufficiently dry in three days, when the seed must be thrashed out of the heads. In either case, three days after the seed is separated from it, the hemp must be put to steep or rot, either in a stream or a pond, and that the hemp may be entirely immersed, it is put under wooden frames upon which stones are placed, or, where they are not to be had, earth is substituted, after the frames are covered with planks.

The clearer and purer the water, the better will be the color of the hemp. Where the water is warm, three weeks steeping will be sufficient, but, if cold, as in rivers, springs, &c. five weeks or longer may be necessary. At the expiration of this period, a head of the hemp is taken out and dried; if, on beating and cleaning it, the husk comes off, the hemp may then be taken out of the water, but if the husk still adheres to it, it must be allowed to remain some time longer. This trial must be repeated from time to time, till the husk separates, when the hemp must be taken out of the water, and suspended to dry, as directed before, on its being taken off the ground.

The hemp is now made into the two sorts, distinguished by the names of Spring and Winter hemp; the former being dry and rather of a withered appearance, the latter more moist, and of a fine brownish green color, containing more of the vegetable oil, and, therefore, the most apt to heat, though, if not shipped at St. Petersburg or Riga, before September, there is not much risk of its heating any more on board the ships, especially on short voyages, as to England, and are the best fit for cables. If it be intended that the hemp should be early ready for market, it is made into Winter hemp by the following process: On being taken out of the water, it is left suspended in the open air for about a fortnight, when it is put into the kiln for twenty-four hours, after which it is broken by means of a hand-mill, and the husk is then beaten off by striking the heads obliquely with iron and wooden instruments, of the shape of a large two-edged knife; lastly, to unravel it, it is drawn through a wooden comb, or card, with one row of wide wooden teeth, fixed perpendicularly.

The hemp is then laid up or suspended in sheds, and is fit to be sorted, bound into bundles, and loaded into the barks.

The hemp, to be prepared as Spring hemp, is allowed to remain suspended, and exposed to the weather the whole Winter, until it be dried by the sun in the Spring, when it is broken and cleaned in the same manner as the Winter hemp.

As the greatest part of the Summer elapses before it can be made fit for the market, none of this hemp reaches St. Petersburg until the following Spring, that is, two years after it was sown.

The hemp is sown in the same manner as linseed, rye, or wheat; land, of a sandy soil, may also be employed for it, but it must be strongly manured, otherwise it will be too short, and a flat country should always be preferred.

One chetwirt of seed commonly yields 25 loads (upwards 36 pounds English) of hemp, and twelve chetwirts of hemp seed.

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Pubdate: 1874
Source: Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the year 1873
Author: Hon. Horace Capron, Formerly U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture
Pages: 372-373

AGRICULTURE IN JAPAN - HEMP & FLAX

Hemp is raised on valley-lands, which are dug up and flooded the same as for rice, and the same kind of fertilizers are used, that is, rape-seed or fish oil-cake, straw-manure, sea-weed, or liquid manure from closets. The hemp is not sown broadcast as with us, but is planted in March in drills 16 inches apart. As soon as the plants are well up they are hoed, and in addition to the manure worked into the soil previous to the planting, two or three times each month liquid manure is applied to the roots of each plant. Between these drills some kind of vegetable is grown and thoroughly fertilized. The ground is completely flooded several times by means of the ubiquitous irrigating ditches. In August the hemp is pulled, not cut, and is placed in the water-ditches and alternately soaked a few days and then dried for a time, till the external coating is thoroughly rotted; it is then beaten on a board or plank platform with a bamboo stick till the fiber is entirely cleaned. Another method for separating the fiber is by holding a number of the stems near their tops with the left hand, (an equal number at each time,) and with the right hand breaking them short off and stripping the fiber from the stems. This leaves it in hanks of uniform size, which is retained through the whole process until baled for market. To relieve the fiber of its glutinous coating is a very simple process. A thin piece of bamboo, about 3 inches wide and 2 or 3 feet long, is stretched over two bridges in a manner similar to the hairs on a fiddle-bow, so as to render it elastic; this is fastened in a convenient manner a little inclined. The hanks of hemp in the damp state are laid upon this as they are stripped, then another piece of bamboo, curved like a currier's scraper, is run down over this several times till the fiber is entirely clean. These hanks are then hung over bamboo rods to dry. It is then pressed into bales of 100 pounds each, and sent on pack-horses to market. It is probably the finest hemp grown in the world. The great length, fineness, glossiness, and strength of the staple are unequaled.

I have been unable to ascertain the average yield of hemp per acre. It is sold very low in the market at present, but when the proper machinery is invented for working this fiber it will prove a mine of wealth to Japan.

Flax is grown on the same soil as hemp, and manured the same, and prepared in like manner for market. It is also noted for its excellence. These two crops are raised by rotation, that is, are never grown two seasons in succession on the same ground.

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Pubdate: 1896
Source: 1895 Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture
Author: Gilbert H. Hicks; Assistant, Division of Botany, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Pages 198-199

OIL-PRODUCING SEEDS: HEMP

Hempseed oil comes from an annual plant of the nettle family (Cannabis sativa), which is indigenous in central Asia and the East Indies. It is cultivated in India, Persia, China, North America, Germany, and, more than anywhere else, in Russia. It grows from 4 to 8 feet high in waste and cultivated ground. The odor of the fresh leaves sometimes produces headaches, while the celebrated narcotic, hashish, is prepared from a gelatinous resin contained in the leaves and stems. The latter also furnish the well-known fiber used for cloth and cordage.

The male and female flowers are borne on different plants. The nut-like fruits, commonly called seeds, are used in great quantities in bird food. They are nearly egg-shaped in outline, flattened at the margins. Color, dark gray, with fine, net-like, whitish markings on the smooth and shiny surface. Each fruit is completely filled with the seed proper, which is of the same shape and about 4mm. long by 3 mm. wide and 2 to 3 mm. thick. The seeds contain no endosperm, but are filled with a whitish embryo which yields 30 to 35 per cent of a peculiar-smelling, mild-tasting oil, greenish yellow when freshly pressed, becoming brownish yellow with age. Hempseed oil is used to a considerable extent in the preparation of paints and varnishes, although it does not dry as readily as linseed oil. In Europe it enters largely into the composition of soft soaps. Sometimes it is used in the Old World as an illuminant and, rarely, for food.

Hemp will thrive in most parts of the United States, and is said to produce from 20 to 40 bushels of seed to the acre, worth about $2.50 per 100 pounds. With extra good care and soil the yield may reach 50 to 60 bushels. The seed should be planted in drills, early in April in the South, two weeks later in the North. The young plants are thinned out when a foot high, and must be kept free from weeds. The male plants should be pulled as soon as they have shed their pollen, so as to allow the seed-producing plants plenty of room and all of the available soil food.

Hemp should be harvested promptly as soon as the seed begins to drop, which always takes place after a sharp frost, if not before. The seeds scatter easily; hence hemp should be cut early in the morning when the dew is on, and great care exercised to prevent waste. When cut, hemp should be set up in loose shocks to dry, a sheet being placed under each one, and some protection afforded from birds, as they are fonder of this seed than almost any other. Drying is completed by spreading the plants out on a tight barn floor, where they are thrashed by hand.

Hempseed, notwithstanding its oily content, loses its germinative power quickly, usually by the end of one year; hence only fresh seed should be sown. Neither cracked nor dull-looking seed will germinate well. Hemp culture in America is mostly confined to Kentucky and Missouri, principally the former State. The value of hemp for fiber, birdseed, and oil would seem to make its cultivation a very profitable one.

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Pubdate: 1910
Source: 1909 Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture
Author: James Wilson, U.S.D.A. Secretary
Pages: 77-78

FIBER INVESTIGATIONS - HEMP

Many plant fibers and many questions pertaining to fiber production have been investigated during the past year, but attention has been directed especially to hemp and flax, which, aside from cotton, are regarded as the most promising fiber-producing plants for this country.

HEMP - The preliminary experiments in the cultivation of hemp in Wisconsin in 1908, in cooperation with the state experiment station, gave very encouraging results not only in the destruction of Canada thistle and quack grass but also in the production of fiber. In spite of adverse weather conditions for retting, more than 9,000 pounds of fiber were obtained from 6 acres. This average yield of a little more than 1,500 pounds per acre compares very favorably with the average of 1,000 pounds per acre on the best farms of Kentucky. The hemp was dew retted on the land where it grew, as is the common practice in this country, returning to the soil most of the fertilizing elements taken up in its growth.

Experiments have been continued in Wisconsin in 1909. The severe drought in summer prevented the full development of the hemp, but it has given good results in killing Canada thistle and quack grass. Improved methods used in harvesting these experimental fields this year will reduce very materially the cost of handling the crop.

Machine brakes for preparing hemp fiber are replacing the slow hand brakes, and in some instances, at least, they are doing not only more work but much better work. The satisfactory results with American hemp binder twine, which has been placed on the market during the last two years, give promise of an extensive market for fiber of medium grades suitable for this purpose.

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Pubdate: 1918
Source: 1917 Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture
Author: W.W. Stockberger, Physiologist in Charge of Drug-Plant and Poisonous-Plant Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry
Pages: Excerpts from 169 & 171

PRODUCTION OF DRUG-PLANT CROPS IN THE UNITED STATES

Medicinal plants have been cultivated in the United States for more than two centuries. Only a few decades have elapsed since healing herbs shared with small fruits and vegetables a place in every kitchen garden, and in certain localities their production and sale at one time formed the basis of small industries. In time, however, the numerous convenient preparations obtainable at every drug store rendered the domestic herb garden no longer necessary, and the great development of foreign commerce made it possible to obtain supplies of most crude drugs from sources where the cost of production was less than in this country.

CANNABIS

Cannabis is now grown commercially as a side line by a few farmers in South Carolina and by occasional individuals in some other States. Two large drug manufacturers also grow sufficient cannabis for their own needs. Considerable technical skill is required to produce cannabis of a quality that will meet the standard requirements for this drug. Cannabis grown in some localities is deficient in the active principles upon which its value depends, and preliminary tests to determine the quality of the product are therefore always advisable before planting this crop on a commercial scale.

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Pubdate: 1947
Source: The Yearbook of Agriculture; 1943-1947, United States Department of Agriculture
Author: H.A. Borthwick, USDA Senior Botanist in the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering
Pages: 282-283

DAY LENGTH AND FLOWERING - HEMP

New practices that can be used in breeding hemp have resulted from recent photoperiodic studies. Hemp is a short-day plant. It flowers promptly when day lengths are less than 14 hours and very slowly or not at all when day lengths are greater than 14 hours. Under average field conditions about half of the plants are female and half are male. Under some circumstances, however, female plants, each of which may produce a very large number of female flowers, will also produce a few typical male flowers. The opposite condition occurs in the males; that is, a male plant will form an occasional female flower in addition to a great number of male flowers. This tendency for hemp plants to produce these extra flowers of the opposite sex is increased by subjecting them to photoperiods of 14 hours or less and to cool nights when flowers are being formed.

Most rapid progress in breeding plants can be made with those that can be self-pollinated. Hemp, obviously, can be self-pollinated only when it produces these occasional additional flowers of the opposite sex. The advantage of being able to increase their tendency to form these flowers is apparent.

Dr. Hugh C. McPhee of the Department made use of this behavior of hemp several years ago. He used the pollen of the male flowers that were produced in small numbers on certain of the female plants to self-pollinate those plants. When he grew the resulting seeds he made the important discovery that all of the plants were female. We have recently produced several thousand seeds in this way and have not obtained a single male plant, thus thoroughly confirming Dr. McPhee's observations.

Under greenhouse conditions, with proper control of temperature and day length, a very high percentage of female plants produced enough male flowers so that self-pollination could be effected, and in certain experimental lots of female plants produced out-of-doors in late summer when days were short and nights were cool, enough male flowers were formed so that natural pollination occurred and a quantity of pure "female" seed was produced. These results suggest that a locality can be found in which the conditions are favorable to the formation of these intersex male flowers on female plants in sufficient quantity that a good crop of seed could be obtained. If this could be done, a means would be at hand to produce commercial quantities of "female" seed, thereby enabling growers to produce a pure stand of female plants. Such pure stands would result in a more uniform fiber crop and eliminate certain harvest problems. The basis for developing such a procedure lies in finding in nature a combination of environmental factors similar to that which, under experimental conditions, has resulted in formation of abundant male flowers.

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Pubdate: October, 1956:
Source: Fibres (Engineering and Chemistry)
Author: Carl V. Feaster, Agronomist, Field Crops Research Branch, Agricultural Research Service, U.S.D.A.

MONOECIOUS HEMP BREEDING IN THE UNITED STATES

The hemp breeding programme in the United States is being directed toward improvement of fibre quality through the development of strains with uniform maturity among plants. Present commercial varieties are dioecious, with the male plants returning about three weeks before the female plants. This results in fibre of different maturity and consequently less uniformity.

The development of monoecious strains, where all plants mature at approximately the same time, is an effective means of eliminating much of the variability in fibre quality among plants. Monoecious hemp also may allow for changes in processing methods to the extent that water retting would be economically feasible. At present, hemp in the United States is dew retted.

Trials and results

The original monoecious plants were selected by Borthwick and Scully*, while conducting photoperiodic studies with Kentucky hemp, a dioecious variety. This material was released to the Hemp Improvement Project and a monoecious hemp has been developed by several generations of sibbing selected monoecious plants. The monoecious character has become relatively stable. A few female plants appear in some strains; however, no male plants occur unless foreign pollen is involved.

Yield trials comparing Kentucky hemp with Kentucky monoecious show the yield of fibre to be about the same for the two varieties; however, the percentage of fibre has averaged slightly higher for the dioecious variety and the stalk yield slightly higher for the monoecious variety.

Evaluation of individual plants from Kentucky monoecious showed considerable variation in the percentage of fibre, stem weight, stem weight, stem diameter, and weight/diameter ratio of the stem. Per cent fibre was negatively correlated with the other measured characters. That is, plants with low stem weight, small stem diameter, or weight/diameter ratio of the stem were relatively high in per cent fibre. When the progenies from these selected selfed plants were grown, heritability was found to be high for per cent fibre but was negligible for stem weight, stem diameter, and weight/diameter ratio of the stem. These results indicate that although stem weight, stem diameter, and weight/diameter ratio of the stem is correlated with per cent fibre, the stem measurements do not express the inherited phase of per cent fibre. The measurements do, however, account for some of the differences in per cent fibre which are due to environment. When proper adjustment of per cent fibre was made on the basis of stem weight, stem diameter, or weight/diameter ratio of the stem, the variability due to genetic differences was more evident and selection of plants inherently high in fibre was more effective.

The genetic variability and heritability of a character is indicative of the extent to which improvement is possible through selection. Improvement of fibre content within this strain appears promising since it is relatively heterozygous for per cent fibre and heritability of per cent fibre is high.

Some of the details of the above work appear in an article entitled 'Genetic and Environmental Variability of Percent Fibre and Other Characters in Monoecious Hemp, Cannabis Sativa L.' The Textile Quarterly, Volume 6, No. 1

*Borthwick, A., and Scully, N.J. Photoperiodic Responses of Hemp. The Botanical Gazette 116; 14-29. September 1954

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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.

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Pubdate: 1902
Source: USDA Yearbook 1901
Author: Lyster H. Dewey, Assistant Botanist, Bureau of Plant Industry
Pages: 541-554

THE HEMP PLANT.

The hemp plant (Cannabis sativa) is an annual, belonging to the nettle family. It grows to a height of from 5 to 15 feet, and when cultivated for fiber (Pl. LXXIX, fig. 1 1901 USDA PLATE LXXIX) produces only a few small branches near the top of the slender stalk. Its leaves, of a rich dark-green color, are composed of 5 to 9 lanceolate, serrate, pointed leaflets, 2 to 5 inches in length and about one-sixth as wide. The staminate, or pollen-bearing flowers, and the pistillate, or seed-producing flowers, are on separate plants (Pl. LXXIX, fig. 2 1901 USDA PLATE LXXIX), both plants being nearly alike, but the staminate plants maturing earlier. The stems are hollow, and in the best varieties rather prominently fluted. The fiber consists of numerous series of long cells in the inner bark, firmly knitted together, which, when cleaned from the surrounding tissues, form tough strands nearly as long as the entire plant. This is a bast fiber, and is classed commercially among the soft fibers, with flax, ramie, and jute.

The hemp plant originated in central Asia, but it is now widely distributed, especially in the North Temperate Zone, growing spontaneously where it has been accidentally introduced with bird seed or cultivated for the fiber.

OTHER PLANTS CALLED HEMP.

The name "hemp" was first applied to the plant above described, but in recent years it has unfortunately been used to designate the sisal plant, or henequen, a species of agave producing a leaf fiber, and the manila fiber plant, or abaca, a kind of banana plant producing structural fibers in the leaf petioles. Sansevieria, a tropical genus belonging to the lily family, includes three or four fiber-producing species, often called bowstring hemp, and an East Indian species, Crotalaria juncea, is commonly known as Sunn hemp. The name is also applied to several other species of less importance.

PRINCIPAL USES OF HEMP FIBER.

Hemp fiber is long, soft, very strong, and capable of almost as fine subdivision as flax. It is especially adapted for use where strength is required. It is used in the manufacture of fine twines, carpet thread, carpet yarns, sailcloth, and for homespun and similar grades of woven goods. Nearly all of the best grade of long fiber, "dressed line," is used for making twines, yacht cordage, etc.; cheaper grades are made into binder twine. The tow is used for threads and for yarns to be woven into carpets, homespuns, and linen goods, and the refuse fiber combed from the tow is used as oakum for calking ships. The average annual consumption of hemp fiber in the United States is about 18,000,000 pounds, of which only about 8,500,000 pounds are raised in this country, the remainder being imported.

REGIONS OF CULTIVATION.

FOREIGN HEMP.

In foreign countries hemp is cultivated most extensively in Russia, China, Japan, Italy, Austria, and France. The tallest and best hemp plants are produced in China and Japan, but the best grades of fiber are imported from Italy, where it is prepared by water-retting. It is not cultivated commercially for the production of fiber in the Tropics.

DOMESTIC HEMP.

In the United States the production of hemp is almost confined to Kentucky (Fig 43). Three-fourths of the American hemp fiber is produced in that State in the counties of Fayette, Woodford, Jessamine, Garrard, Clark, Bourbon, Boyle, Scott, and Shelby. These nine counties are in the famous blue-grass region, of which Lexington, the principal hemp market, is the center. The most important secondary hemp markets in this region are Nicholasville, Versailles, Lancaster, Danville, Winchester, Paris, Georgetown, Shelbyville, and Frankfort. Small scattered areas of hemp are cultivated intermittently in other parts of the State, and there are probably few counties in Kentucky in which an attempt has not been made at some time to establish the hemp-growing industry.

There are two centers of hemp cultivation in Nebraska--Fremont and Havelock. During the past two or three seasons about 100 acres have been grown at each of these places. In California, hemp is cultivated at Gridley, in Butte County. The industry has been gradually established there during the last half dozen years, and having passed the stages of experiment and loss due to new and untried conditions, there is now a tendency to develop and increase the acreage. Trials in hemp cultivation have been made on Ryers Island, near Riovista, in the Sacramento Valley, and in San Benito County. During the past two years hemp has been grown successfully on a small scale near Houston, Tex., and with improved methods of handling the crop it seems probable that it may become a profitable industry in that region. Hemp has been grown in the vicinity of Champaign and Rantoul, in eastern Illinois, and along the Missouri River, between St. Joseph and Kansas City, but its cultivation in these localities has been almost discontinued, except at Rantoul, where about 400 acres are still cultivated each year.

SOILS SUITABLE FOR HEMP.

In Kentucky, as stated, hemp is cultivated most successfully in the blue-grass region, where the soil is chiefly a yellow clay loam or a rich sandy loam, rather firm in texture and usually underlaid with a sub-soil of yellow clay. The land is gently rolling, affording excellent drainage. Exceptionally fine crops are produced on the bottom lands along the Kentucky River and its tributaries, although it is regarded as risky to cultivate it where it is subject to overflow. A good stand of well-developed hemp plants is rarely obtained in undrained hollows in the uplands, although the soil in these hollows seems more fertile than that on the surrounding hillsides.

In Nebraska hemp is cultivated on rich, black, friable prairie loam, comparatively loose and light in texture and lying high, with good drainage. Repeated efforts to cultivate hemp on the "gumbo" and other low-lying soils there have demonstrated that while these soils may produce some large hemp plants it is practically impossible to secure on them a good, even stand of hemp stalks of the proper size for fiber. In Texas good crops of hemp have been produced on rich dark prairie soil, but on upland soils, subject to drought, the crop has proved a failure. In California hemp is grown on alluvial soils in the bottom lands along the rivers. In the testing gardens of the Department of Agriculture, where several European and Japanese varieties of hemp have been tested during the past two years, the plants have attained a good height, but they have been uneven in size, and the fiber produced is not as tough as that produced in Kentucky and Nebraska. The soil of the testing garden is alluvial, composed chiefly of sand and silt, and almost devoid of clay.

An ideal hemp soil must be rich in available fertilizing elements, especially nitrogen and potash, to insure a rapid growth; deep and sufficiently loose in texture to permit the development of the root system and also to allow good drainage; sufficiently friable to make a good, mellow seed bed, so as to insure uniform germination of seed, yet with clay enough to give it a good body and firm texture. A good supply of humus (decaying vegetable and animal matter) is necessary, not only to furnish plant food, but to retain moisture. Very few farm crops require so much water as hemp, yet it will not endure standing water about its roots. It is not grown commercially under irrigation, and the effects of inundation on crops in river bottoms indicate that it would not thrive if subjected to the ordinary methods of flooding practiced in the irrigation of broadcast crops. In soils of good capillarity, where the general level of the soil water is within 10 feet of the surface, there is little danger of injury from drought after the first thirty days, during which the root system of the hemp plant will become well established.

PREPARATION OF LAND.

ROTATION OF CROPS.

In Kentucky, hemp sometimes follows hemp on the same land for two or three years, and if the stalks are retted on the same land and fertilizer applied to make up for the fertility taken off by the crops, no serious injury may result. It is the general practice, however, and doubtless the better practice, to cultivate a series of crops in rotation. A common five-year rotation is clover, hemp, corn, wheat, clover. Clover seeded in the growing wheat in spring occupies the land two years. Hemp follows clover whenever this is practicable. The stubble and roots of the clover, rich in stored-up nitrogen, furnish the desired fertilizing elements well distributed, and also the humus necessary for the development of a rapid-growing crop like hemp in soils long under cultivation.

In California and Nebraska no crop rotation is practiced for hemp, and on the deep, rich prairie soils of Nebraska, where there seems to be an almost inexhaustible supply of humus, it is claimed that the best results are obtained where hemp follows hemp through a long series of years. Hemp prevents the growth of weeds and other vegetation which would be found on such soils in most other crops or after other crops are laid by, and its cultivation also seems to make the soil more uniform in character.

FERTILIZERS.

In California and Nebraska the hemp is retted on the land where it is grown, and in this manner a portion of the fertilizing elements in the crop is returned to the soil. No other fertilizer is used in those States, and none seems necessary as yet on the deep, rich soils. In Kentucky, hemp is cultivated in a region noted for its horses and fine herds of cattle and sheep, as well as for its blue grass and hemp. The soils throughout this region have been kept in a high state of fertility, as is nearly always the case where stock raising is an important element in mixed farming. Barnyard manure is applied to corn and wheat, the crops preceding hemp in the rotation, but no fertilizer is applied to the hemp crop itself. Fresh stable manure applied as a top dressing produces an uneven growth of hemp plants, and when plowed under just before seeding it has a tendency to dry out the soil. Fertilizers, to produce satisfactory results with hemp, must be thoroughly and uniformly mixed with the soil, and should have a tendency to retain moisture. Barnyard manure and clover sod, therefore, being humus formers, may be expected to give better results in the long run than commercial fertilizers, which tend to deplete the humus. In the Southern States, where clover does not succeed and where stock raising has not yet received due attention, cowpeas and cotton-seed meal will make good fertilizers for hemp. Alkaline chlorides like chloride of sodium (common salt) tend to increase the cellulose in plants at the expense of starch and sugar. The application of salt may therefore be expected to increase the quantity and also to improve the quality of fiber in the hemp plant, and in experimental cultures this has been proved to be true. Salt must be used with caution, however, since it is likely to prove very injurious on light soils or soils lacking in fertility. Muriate of potash has an effect similar to that of common salt.

PLOWING AND HARROWING.

The best results are usually secured from deep fall plowing, followed by thorough harrowing in the spring. In practice, however, the land is plowed at all seasons through the fall, winter, and early spring, when the weather and conditions of the soil will permit. The hemp spread for retting often remains on the ground nearly all winter, and this prevents fall plowing when hemp is retted on land to be used for the same crop. In Kentucky the hemp is usually spread for retting on permanent pasture land, so as not to interfere with plowing. Thorough, deep plowing is necessary to fit the soil to retain moisture and to give opportunity for the development of the roots. Harrowing before the seed is sown is generally necessary to make the surface seed bed fine and uniform. Harrowing is advisable even in loose, friable soils which are pretty well pulverized by the plow, since the rough furrows left by the plow will result in uneven covering of the seed and lack of uniformity in germination.

SEEDING.

For the best results the seeds should be sown in spring at about the time for sowing oats. In Kentucky, hemp seed is sown from the middle of March to the last of April; in Nebraska, from April to June; in California, in February and March. The best hemp crops are obtained by drilling and cross drilling with a force feed drill. This distributes the seed evenly and covers it at a uniform depth. An even stand of plants, uniform in size, is one of the principal objects to keep in mind in nearly every operation in hemp culture. It is well-nigh impossible to make good fiber from a mixture of stalks of various sizes. Unevenness in size of stalks will result from a lack of homogeneity of soil or from a lack of uniformity in the surface, in the distribution of the seed, or in the depth at which the seed is covered. A bushel of seed per acre is the quantity usually sown. If the seed is fresh (from crop of previous year), is small-sized, and germinates well, this quantity is ordinarily sufficient; but on very rich soils a heavier seeding and on poor soils a lighter seeding is advisable. Good hemp seed should germinate 85 to 95 per cent within ten days. Before sowing it is advisable to make a test to determine the percentage of germination, and to use the data thus obtained in determining what amount of seed per acre to sow.

WEEDS.

If the land has been properly prepared before seeding and the soil is suitable for hemp, weeds will rarely grow sufficiently to injure the crop. In some instances it may be advisable to pull out pokeweed, smartweed, and tall ragweed, when these overtop the hemp before it is 2 feet high, but it is best not to tramp through the crop more than is necessary, for bending and breaking the young plant will cause uneven growth. Broom rape (Orobanche ramosa), an annual plant parasitic on hemp roots, is the most injurious weed in hemp fields. It is disseminated by its very abundant small seeds, similar in size to those of tobacco, which adhere to the resinous coverings of hemp seed. It is most injurious in Kentucky and Illinois, sometimes causing almost complete ruin in hemp crops. No complaints of it have been received from California, and although it has been introduced in Nebraska, it has not caused any damage to the hemp crops there. Broom rape is an inconspicuous plant, growing not more than 6 to 12 inches high at the base of the hemp stalks, and is usually not noticed until the hemp plants suddenly begin to turn yellow and die a few weeks before harvest time. In some instances a partial crop is saved by cutting the hemp as soon as the first effects of broom rape are observed, but the fiber thus obtained is usually rather weak. The seeds of this weed retain for a long time their ability to germinate, lying dormant in the soil, and control or eradication is thus rendered extremely difficult. It can develop only on the roots of a few crops like tobacco, hemp, and tomatoes, and the best remedy is to leave these crops out of the rotation on infested land for a period of at least twelve or fifteen years. Aside from broom rape, which, being parasitic, does not require light, there are few weeds which can persist in the dense shade produced by the hemp as grown for fiber. The hemp grows so rapidly and attains such a height that it overtops all ordinary weeds and chokes them out. It is generally regarded as an excellent crop for clearing land of annual or biennial weeds, and it has been suggested as a good crop for subduing the growth of wild vegetation on reclaimed river bottom lands. Unless such soils could be well prepared by thorough cultivation, it is not likely that a satisfactory yield of fiber could be secured.

HARVESTING.

TIME OF HARVESTING.

Hemp is cut when the staminate plants are in flower. The time of harvest varies from eighty to one hundred and forty days from the date of seeding, the period of growth depending on the mean temperature and the supply of moisture, and on the variety. When sown at the proper season hemp is usually cut late in August or September (in July in California and Texas).

In some instances good fiber has been secured in Nebraska from hemp cut before flowering, but ordinarily the fiber is best when the crop is harvested just before the staminate plants are in full flower. If cut too early the fiber will be fine, but lacking in strength, deficient in yield, and wasting at every operation in its preparation. If allowed to become too mature the fiber will be coarse, harsh, and brittle.

METHODS OF HARVESTING.

In California hemp is cut with self-rake reapers or mowing machines. In Nebraska mowing machines have been superseded by self-rake reapers (fig. 44). Reapers have been used quite extensively in Kentucky during the past two years, and they seem to be growing in popularity there. Most of the hemp in Kentucky, however, is still cut by hand with the primitive reaping knife or hemp cutter, which is something between a corn cutter and a bush scythe, but unlike either (Pl. LXXX, fig. 1 1901 USDA PLATE LXXX). An experienced hand with a reaping knife will cut about one-half acre per day. With a sweep-rake reaper, under favorable conditions, from 5 to 7 acres may be cut in a day, and with a mowing machine, 7 to 10 acres. Hemp does not lodge like grain or heavy clover, but on windy days it is impossible to cut with either reaper or mower in the direction that the wind is blowing, for instead of falling back of the cutting bar the stalks drop down between the guards, where they are repeatedly cut off. The heavy, green, woody stalks, one-eighth to one-half inch in diameter and 8 to 14 feet tall, are much more difficult to handle than grass or grain, and they cause a much greater strain on the machine. Ordinary grain reapers are not entirely satisfactory for harvesting hemp; they are rarely strong enough. The experience of those who have used reapers indicates that a successful hemp-harvesting machine of the self-rake type should be made especially strong, having a cutting bar not more than 3 1/2 feet long, arranged to cut within 2 inches of the ground, extra heavy sections with rapid motion, and driving wheel with broader rim and larger lugs than are usually made for self-rake machines. Opinions differ as to whether two or three rakes give the best results. A team of four good farm horses is generally regarded as necessary f