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HINTS TO FARMERS.
No. XII.
HEMP ? No. 1.
'Nemo animaconcidat, aut quasi confunriajur,.
si experimenta quibus incumbit, expectation!
sure non. rospondeant. Etenim quoil suceedit
inagis complacet. Et quod non snecedit
ajpenumero, non minusimorniui. — hauu.i.
If Knglan,d has risen to. a pitch of glory
md power unattainable by surrounding
lations — if her commerce can grasp the
.vhole earth in its span and call the
:mpire of the ocean its own, it is because
Britain was taught by stern experience,
hat all wealth, and power, and greatness,
spring from the mother of the arts alone.
England sedulously studied and cherished
hose principles which promised to conir
nute her internal resources into exhaust
less fountains of wealth; and she at
length established for herself the hypo
thesis universally advanced, that agricul
ture is the only* firm and abiding,
foundation on which empires can rest in
security and independence. Moral and,
political hurricanes may wreck and deso
late those kingdoms which subsist on a.
different political economy ; but they
blow like innocuous summer breezes over
the country ^whose emblem is the
plough. . - . ????'?'???'''.
' It must be acknowledged,' says Don,
Jos. Volcarel, 'that England haa.
opened the eyes of other nations. These
islanders have discovered at last,^after
many schemes, that it is agriculture alone
which forms the source and origin of
Lheir greatness. If on these* principles,
ive were to calculate the progress of that
monarchy, we would find their power to.
have increased in a threefold degree, and
that this has been augmented in propor
tion to their improvement in th:s art.'
With this acknowledgment of an illus
trious enemy, at war with our country*,
and who had scrupulously examined every
stone of which the British constitution
Avas composed — an acknowledgment which
has long been the creed of every nation in
Europe with regard to the greatness of'
Britain, it cannot but be deeply regretted
by all who love their country, that the
principal constituent of; the parent's
prosperity is entirely wanting in some ot
her offspring. It it a painful reflection,
that in New South Wales, a land whick
offers unequalled opportunities and ad
vantages to the industrious for the exer
cise of their skill in the various arts,,
agriculture, the chief of them all, and
the nurse which supplies them with
nourishment, should be the least en
couraged. The greatest political mistake
that can arise from human folly or igno
rance is the neglect of agriculture. But
whatever be the cause of this anomaly in.
this country, it is not my business or
inclination; ; to enquire. Neither is it
convenient to spend time in expressions of
unavailing1 regret at the unnatural: dis-v
union of agriculture and grazing, occa
sioned by the insatiable cupidity of one
party, and the contemptible pusillanimity
of another.
It is the duty of every one, in whose
bosom the vile seeds of a grasping ambi
tion to wrest every source of enjoyment or
profit from his neighbour have not yet
quickened into active malignity, to exert
himself in repairing the blunders, and in,
restoring this invaluable art to its proper
rank, as the chief ot all the branches ot
general industry. , The agriculture of thia
country, such as it is, cannot boast of a
single export: Nor indeed can the country
in general show tha,t it possesses one of
sufficient magnitude and importance tq
raise its character above Zero, an the scale
af commerce. A country, to deserve that
name, requires an established. as well as a
Fugitive population. , Agriculture en
couraged would soon create an abundance
of fixed inhabitants, which, in truth, form
the sterling wealth and strength of a
country. But agriculture can neither in-,
crease nor extend ; nor can it create a
dense population, if it cannot produce a
sufficient surplusage of a variety of , pro-,
ducts to form a profitable export. .
In my letters on flax I endeavoured to
show, by the analogy of, the soils and
climates of other countries, that this plant
might be both successfully and advan
tageously cultivated in New South Wales.
How far I have succeeded in weaning
farmers from their former unprofitable
habits, and in inducing them to make the
experiment I there, proposed, time will
show. My object in advocating a new
scheme of rural economy is to construct,
if possible, an independent system of
agricultural commerce, which .will prove
beneficial to the country ; and, I presumed,
on no incompetent authority, that flax
would form one very important item in
this scheme. The subject is certainly full
of interest to the community. I am con*
vinced it is so pregnant of useful results
that I shall not stop at the threshold. To
be satisfied in our present despicable con
dition with one export, when our energies,
well directed, might command an infinite
number, would be only mocking the
destiny which made us cultivators. As
ft ell might we expect a hale and hearty
man. to live upon air as to hope that this
country shall prosper before we. raise and
establish a system of exports ;from our
fields. The soil we tread on teems with
the elements of an extensive and enriching
commerce, ready, at the invocation of the
husbandman, to start into form and sub
stance like 'spirits from the vasty deep.'
A people prone to industry, untrammelled
by prejudices, and clear sighted enough
to. perceive that the squI of prosperity is
wrapped up in clay, and that they can.
only discover it by innovating upon old
bad practices, and experimenting upon new,
have a wide and promising scope for the
exercise of their skill and industry in tho
fertile lands of Australia. All countries
[For conclusion see fourth pa^us.^

[Continued from third pt'geJ]
contain the principles of wealth — -umvt's
fert nmnin tell'ts: but neither the slug
gard, the timorous, nor the intractable can
perceive them. Our failures teach us the
most solid kind of wisdom. The past and
present prices of grain impart a. serious
lesson which ought- to divert the energies
of genius to objects of better, promise ';? for
experience -has clearly demonstrated that
the glory of wheat and maize has departed,
and that the long cherished dual istic rota
tion, so dear: to colonial fanners, has
?ceased to afford either pleasure or profit.
'Kiches) and the reward of industry! are to
'?be sought for in other mines.
I should therefore call the attention of
agriculturists to a second article of export
of considerable moment,' a second stream
from the. parent source of all wealth.: That
the climate and soil -are admirably adapted
to the .growth of he.ni]), is. a fact of great
interest, which I; have' reason to believe I
shall be able to establish beyond all con
troversy.
Ca-nn'Abis'saiiva, common hemp, Di
cscia fJt-ntai)dHa l., and Urticeca .1., is
the', only: known species, although in 'its
'botanical, characters as nearly allied to
the nettle, with which it also agrees inits
.general appearance. It is an annual pi ant;
-dicecious, or inale and' female, the islems
Tiearly. simple erect, rising' from1' six' -to
-eight feet high, and covered with!' rigid
Tiairs. The leaves are alternate or oppo
site, digitate, ,ahd; stalked ; the leaflets
five in number, narrow, lanceolate, sharp
,pointed, serrated,1 rough, .and' pale; green
?on the under surface1; »the uppermost leaves
have only three leaflets. ? The male flowers
^arc in small loose spikes, pendulous from
short s-talks at. the axils .'of -'the. upper
-leaves, with :a. 'calyx of fine- spreading,
narrow, lanceolate sepals containing five
stamens. The ;female-'flo\vers are- single,
ftut appear in close leafy clusters- at the
junction of the upper leaves and stems,
and consist of a roundish calyx ? split half
?way down into t ?* o parts, and containa
simple one-celled ovary bearing a lenticu
lar seed, and ' terminated -by :two- awl^
shaped stigmas. ' ' '
It is supposed to be a native of Persia;
and is found growing wild 'among the.
hills and mountains north of India, and
in various parts of Asia, Africa, and Eu
rope '; it is cultivated all over the globe,
and thrives equally in all climates, for
while it defies the: utmost irigors of- Siberian
frosts, it supports ? without injury the
fiercest ardour of the solar heats of India.
But it rises to a' riiucli greater height in
th'ewarm than in the cold latitudes. In
Itussia and other parts of the North of
Europe; and of .America, it seldom ex
ceeds six or seveh'feet, 'whereas in some
parts of th'e 'South of Europe, as' in. the
J3olognese ' .territory, , and ? theK'Terra di
Lavora in Italy, where it is 'cultivated
extensively, its height' frequently-exceeds
eighteen - feet, and yields an extremely
fine and beautiful fibre. This accords
exactly ' with what Pliny related of the
same plant eighteen hundred years ago.
lie says, ihe hemp from Alabanda (a city
of Caria in Asia Minor) is the best; -the
next in quality is from-Mylasa : but as
to its height, at 'Rosia, in the-Sabine
country', it-grows as tall as a tree. ? Nat,
Hist.; lib. xix; 9. ' ? ? ?'
In the wild state, the'stem never arrives
at such perfection as to be of any utility
in the arts of life. It is, therefore, care
fully cultivated even in those countries
where it abounds, sown by the hand of
Natiue. -T:fouiidit growing' wild'' in the
greatest luxuriance and abundance on the
sandy ? banks of the river Hunter near
Patrick's Plains. But whether it had
?been originally introduced into that part
of New 'South Wales by some settler,
or whether the plant be indigenous, I
have not yet been able to ascertain beyond
a doubt. This spontaneous crop appeared
:to cover about two iacres of ah extremely
loose sandy loam,un asmallhole, which
seems to have been formed by vthe slipping
down of the high bank into the bed of the
.-river, by the overflowing of which most
of the vegetable and earthy mould has
.been washed away. ?'. The plants 'were all
vigorous and healthy, and:upon the whole
the crop looked' dense and evenly* oirthis
bed of almost pure sand. The stems were
.about three feet high; but as they were
not in flower at the time I' passed the spot,
I' conclude they had' not nearly come' to
their full height. I regret to -say I have
not had the opportunity of examining the
fibre' of these plants; but I hope to he
able, before 'long; to give some account of
the dressedi'fibre of a- cultivated specimen
of their offspring. Because some months
previous to my visit to the Upper Hunter,
a gentleman of that neighbourhood, It.
B. Dawson, Esq., called triy attention to
the fact, which I have been detailing, that
the hemp plant was growing wild on the
banks, nay, to use his own expression,
'?on the sharp sand of the river ;' and he
was so polite as to. send me a ripe female
plant with the end still iu the ovaries.
?Now. that circumstance has enabled me to
speak with some confidence of the habitat
and growth of this valuable plant, inas ?
'much- as I have : carefully cultivated the
seeds thus obtained. -
They were sowed on a small patch of
?rather loose clayey loam, containing a
small proportion of vegetable mould and
sand, on a clay subsoil. The place where
the experiment is in progress, had re
ceived a slight dressing of manure and
'borne a crop of potatoes the year pre
vious. Th'e_ground was dirty and over
run with weeds ; and all the preparation
? it received was a shallow breaking up
'with the farm hoe and smoothing with
the rake., The: seed; was scattered on the.
j 8th of December, and the plants made
their first appearance in tolerably thick
array on Christmas Day. Since then I
have watched the progress of these re

claimed savages with much attention
and. solicitude for their welfare. ,'1 he
rapidity of their growth is prodigious,
being at the rate of two inches and three
quarters every day since they were afoot
highj about the 18th of January. They
spring up more rapidly after rain than in
dry weather, a common occurrence with
nil plants ; but, I must observe, that for
the first six weeks after sowing, they had
to contend with all the' disadvantages of
extreme drought. Notwithstanding this,
the average growth has been what I have
slated ; and I have reason to presume
that had the tallest of the crop not been
broken down and, destroyed, by the late
unusually destructive ihail storm, they
would by this time have reached the
height of ten or eleven feet. Those, that
escaped this calamity were fully two' feet
shorter than the former, and. their height
at tliis moment (3rd March) is eightfeet.
These 'facts are important data for the
consideration of the cultivator. They
settle one fundamental question : they
dispel all doubts- that might be raised re
specting the fitness of our climate and
soil for the production of hemp. But
their remain other points,' of essential
interest to the agriculturist, yet to be
considered, namely, the expense of cul
tivation,' or, in other words, the amount
Df extra labour, above the ordinary es
tablishment of the farm, —for the farmer
ought by no means to abandon the culti
vation' of wheat and maize ; , only, he
should not depend on these crops alone
either for recompense or profit ; they will
tell in conjuction with other productions —
the value of hemp in a commercial point
of view, the reasonable amount of gain
likely; to accrue to the grower, and the
question of being able to compete with
the Russians in dressing and sorting the
material. On these points I trust I shall
be able to satisfy the intending hemp
grower, and hold out some fair induce
ments for his launching into this specu
lation, as' soon as he can procure good
seed. I repeat, that the country, col
lectively ;or individually, will never
flourish permanently, until the farmer
shall raise from his fields a variety of
exports.
Yours, &c,
ROBIN ? GOODFELLOW,
Fast Maitland,' March 3, 1845.

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