FARM AND GARDEN.

Dunstan Times, Issue 2336, 18 June 1906, Page 3

FARM AND GARDEN.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES. Hemp (continued) —Various Soils— The Fib r o— Its Uses—Uses of Seeds— Leaves—Sowing—Quantity of seed'.to an acre—The Oak—Raising Oak Seeds— Transplanting—Various Methods. When viewed with a micros cope each of these fibres Is seen to be made up of bandies of other fibrils which are twisted spirally, and which, after the process of maceration, can bs drawn out and lengthened consider* ably. The leaves grow out in pairs opposite task other oo petiole*, aooompaalod by Stipples or leaflets. The 'saver are divided

'nto four, five or cure deep lobe*, which are pointed and deeply serrated on tbo margins. The upper sides are dark green, the under of a lighter bne; they are rough and farrowed above and ridged underneath. The male and femah flowers grow upon separate plants. In general the male phuitu are more slender and delicate than the female, and have also finer and more elastic fibres com* posing the bark. The stems grows up single (ill near its top, where it divides into several branches, which terminate in. thin pointed spikes. In the female the stem is snrmounted by tufts of leaves of a con side raw* siae, which readily distinguish it from tnt male plant. The male flowers grow near the top of the stem in clusters, each cluster being nine or ten flowers. The fruit grows in great abundance on the stem of the female hemp. The seed is not preceded by any corolla; a membranous hairy calyx terminating in long points incloses the pistils, the base of which becomes the seed. The male plant is quicker In its growth than the female and generally rises half a foot higher, by which provision of Nature the fatina from the stamina is readily diffused on the pistil of the lower female plant. The seeds which have grown on the same stalk produce both male and female plants indiscriminately, and the difference cannot be known until the plants are somewhat advanced in growth. When the seed is put into the ground it is therefore quite uncertain what proportion there will be of each; yet here, too, we have occasion to mark the admirable arrangements of Nature, for tbo due proportion of each generally make their appearance. A rich moist soil is most favourable for the full growth of hemp; but it will grow on any soil if well manured, except on a stiff clay, where it does not thrive well. A poor Bght soli yields but a email return, although the quality is flue ; while a strong rich soil yields abundantly, tut tbo quality is inferior.

Tho fibre of hemp produces a cloth much stronger than that of flax ; but its principal use is for the manufacture of cotdago, for which its great tenacity particularly adaph it. Tho seeds yield by expression an oil which the Russians use in their cookery, m.d which painters employ in other parts of the world. The seeds are reckoned, also, a good and nutritious food for poultry, and are supposed to increase the number of hen’s eggs. Small birds are, in general, very fond of them ; but they mmt be given lo caged birds with caution and mixed with other seeds, elso they prove too stimulating. The bullfinches and goldfinches by feeding on hemp seed change the rod of their plumag< to a black. The leaves of hemp possess s strong narcotic quality, and they form tin basis of the well known Turkish intoxicating drug called bang, or hascbisch. The hemp plant is grown in a’most every country of the world, perhaps more extensively in Russia ihan elsewhere. When the hemp is required for cordage, it should bi sown in ddlls, as a stronger and coarser fibn will be produced. When it is wanted for purposes of weaving, then broad-cast is the best method, as the slims nse more slender and fine in proportion, but there should not bo much less than a foot between each plant. Three bushels of seed is the ordinary allowance for an acre when sown broad-oast, this quantity being more or less acoord'ng to circumstances. If sown in drills a bushel and a half is found sufficient. When the seed is sown it is carefully covered witheadh either by means of a harrow or rake; tho birds, if unmolested, make sad havoc among the newly-sown grain. Tho seeds rise up cut of the ground with their green shoots in the manner of French beans, and the birds mistaking these for perfect seeds, tear them away with the young plants adhering to them; thus the hopss of the planter miy be destroyed as soon as they have sprung forth.

For raising oak seeds in the nursery a good, flesh loamy soil is selected. Having prepared the beds, the acorns (which should also be well selected and taken from tho finest trees) are to be sown about three inches apart and covered over with ice soil. In about six weeks the plants will appear above ground, and in these beds they may remain two years without any further care than keeping them freo from weeds. The ground when they are planted out must be prepared by deep trenching or ploughing several times. The plants are then pulled up, tho tap root cat off, and a sufficient bole being made with a spado successively placed into the fresh earth in rows four foot apart. In all cases of planting shelter and warmth are essentially necessary; and when the aspect is unfriendly, the plantation should be skirted to a sufficient thickness with Scotch fits, mixing some of them also in tho body of the wood. In this manner an exposed situation may be made to produce excellent timber; and when tho trees are grown to a size sufficient for tfceir own protection, the firs in tho centre should be removed, otherwise they will injure the young oaks. On the judicious thinning and clearing of young wood depends much of the planter’s success and profit. The transplanting of large trees seems to have been a circumstance long ago practised. It is recorded that a former governor of Brazil planted a grove of trees near bis residence containing six hundred cocoa trees of eighty years’ growth and fifty feet high to the nearest bough. Those trees were removed from the place of their growth four miles distant and planted in the place chosen for them, and this was done so successfully that the trees bora abundantly tho very first year. So likewise very large oaktrees have been successfully transplanted to supply defects in avenues of park-like residences, Tho process is ingenious and worthy of communication :

‘Choose a tre« as big as you- thigh, remove the earth from about it, out through all the collateral roots till, with a competent strength, yon can surface it down upon one side so as to come with yonr axe at the tap root; out that off, redress your tree, and so let it stand covered about with the mould you loosened from it till the next year, or longer if you like, then take it up at a fii season ; it will then have drawn new tender roots apt to take, and sufficient for the tree wherssogver yon shall transplant it.’ Some ere for laying bare the whole root, and then dividing it into four parts In form cf a oroM, to ont away the interjacent rootlings, leaving only the cross and master roots that were spared to support the tree.