HEMP (in O. Eng. henep, cf. Dutch hennep, Ger. Hanf, cognate with Gr. {kánnabis}, Lat. cannabis), an annual herb (Cannabis sativa) having angular rough stems and alternate deeply lobed leaves. The bast fibres of Cannabis are the hemp of commerce, but, unfortunately, the products from many totally different plants are often included under the general name of hemp. In some cases the fibre is obtained from the stem, while in others it comes from the leaf. Sunn hemp, Manila hemp, Sisal hemp, and Phormium (New Zealand flax, which is neither flax nor hemp) are treated separately. All these, however, are often classed under the above general name, and so are the following: -- Deccan or Ambari hemp, Hibiscus cannabinus, an Indian and East Indian malvaceous plant, the fibre from which is often known as brown hemp or Bombay hemp; Pité hemp, which is obtained from the American aloe, Agave americana; and Moorva or bowstring-hemp, Sansevieria zeylanica, which is obtained from an aloe-like plant, and is a native of India and Ceylon. Then there are Canada hemp, Apocynum cannabinum, Kentucky hemp, Urtica cannabina, and others.

The hemp plant, like the hop, which is of the same natural order, Cannabinaceæ, is dioecious, i.e. the male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. The female plant grows to a greater height than the male, and its foliage is darker and more luxuriant, but the plant takes from five to six weeks longer to ripen. When the male plants are ripe they are pulled, put up into bundles, and steeped in a similar manner to flax, but the female plants are allowed to remain until the seed is perfectly ripe. They are then pulled, and after the seed has been removed are retted in the ordinary way. The seed is also a value product; the finest is kept for sowing, a large quantity is sold for food, while the remainder is sent to the oil mills to be crushed. The extracted oil is used in the manufacture of soap, paint, plastics and even fuel oil, while the solid remains, known as oil-cake, are valuable as a food for cattle as well as humans in the form of flour. The leaves of hemp have five to seven leaflets, the form of which is lanceolate-acuminate, with a serrate margin. The loose panicles of male flowers, and the short spikes of female flowers, arise from the axils of the upper leaves. The height of the plant varies greatly with season, soil and manuring; in some districts it varies from 3 to 8 ft., but in the Piedmont province it is not unusual to see them from 8 to 16 ft. in height, whilst a variety (Cannabis setiva, variety gigantea) has produced specimens over 17 ft. in height.

All cultivated hemp belongs to the same species, Cannabis sativa; the special varieties such as Cannabis indica, Cannabis chinensis, &c., owe their differences to climate and soil, and they lose many of their peculiarities when cultivated in temperate regions. Rumphius (in the 17th century) had noticed these differences between Indian and European hemp.

Wild hemp still grows on the banks of the lower Ural, and the Volga, near the Caspian Sea. It extends to Persia, the Altai range and northern and western China. The authors of the Pharmacographia say: -- "It is found in Kashmir and in the Himálaya, growing 10 to 12 ft. high, and thriving vigorously at an elevation of 6000 to 10,000 ft." Wild hemp is, however, of very little use as a fibre producer, although a drug is obtained from it.

It would appear that the native country of the hemp plant is in some part of temperate Asia, probably near the Caspian Sea. It spread westward throughout Europe, and southward through the Indian peninsula.

The satisfactory growth of hemp demands a light rich and fertile soil, but, unlike most substances, it may be reared for a few years in succession. The time of sowing, the quantity of seed per acre (about three bushels) and the method of gathering and retting are very similar to those of flax; but, as a rule, it is a hardier plant than flax, does not possess the same pliability, is much coarser and more brittle, and does not require the same amount of attention during the first few weeks of its growth.

The very finest hemp is very similar to flax, and in many cases the two fibres are mixed in the same material. The hemp fibre has always been valuable for the rope industry, and it was at one time very extensively used in the production of yarns for the manufacture of sail cloth, sheeting, covers, bagging, sacking, &c. Much of the finer quality is still made into cloth, but almost all the coarser quality finds its way into ropes and similar material.

Hemp is grown for three products -- (1) the fibre of its stem; (2) the resinous secretion which is developed in hot countries upon its leaves and flowering heads; (3) its oily seeds.

Hemp has been employed for its fibre from ancient times. Herodotus (iv. 74) mentions the wild and cultivated hemp of Scythia, and describes the hempen garments made by the Thracians as equal to linen in fineness. Hesychius says the Thracian women made sheets of hemp. Moschion (about 200 B.C.) records the use of hempen ropes for rigging the ship "Syracusia" built for Hiero II. The hemp plant has been cultivated in northern India from a considerable antiquity for its fibre. The Anglo-Saxons were well acquainted with the mode of preparing hemp. Hempen cloth became common in central and southern Europe in the 13th century.

Lets begin with addressing world hunger. With 1 in 6 people in the world going day to day without enough to eat we need an inexpensive, readily available export commodity that provides an excellent source of protein for the starving of the world. The Hemp Seed is the solution. With an excellent supply of easily digestible proteins, one of nature's perfect protein and the immune boosting qualities of the Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs, hemp seed far outperforms any other crop. Hemp seed can solve the world's starvation problem without even exporting it. If the western world switched our diets to one that was based on vegetable protein rather than animal protein we would not feed enough gain to stuff the world's hungry to cattle and chickens yearly.

With all that grain being grown for livestock, the farmers are trying to maximize production with bio-genetics and toxic chemicals they grow poisonous crops to feed to cattle so that you can get your meat. If there was a vegetable protein source that could adequately supply the human body, we would be assured of plentiful harvests at lower yield requirements and feed the world well.

Whether you believe in global warming or not, there are changes occuring on the planet currently that warrant some kind of action, even if they are just in a temporary cycle. One of the major contributors to global warming is Carbon Dioxide. The way to counteract this quickly and effectively is to convert the world to vegetable based economies and by increasing bio-diversity of crops. To supply the world's demand for paper, plastic, diesel and home heating oil, construction materials, protein needs, concrete, ropes, fabrics and paints you need to grow a whole lot of hemp. By converting these industries over to a plant based source, we would convert the world into values based at the turn of the 19th century but would be using modern technologies. Imagine the possibilities.

As Europe becomes more amorous with high-efficient diesel engines with 50% of current purchasing we need to also begin to reduce our demand on fossil fuels. Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the Diesel engine created it specifically to run on vegetable oils. At the 1900 World's Fair, he ran his display engine on peanut oil. With the massive oil production of hemp seed, it would be an excellent choice to also begin to reduce our dependency on diesel from crude oil. Our farmers would have massive planting contracts, our air would be cleaner from the added biomass, and we would have bio-diesel made from hemp at our pumps.

Many current diets focus on intestinal health as one of the best ways to lose weight. Have you ever eaten a lot of fibre at once to cleanse yourself? Well many people never eat fibre at all. Perhaps this is why so many people are carrying around extra weight in undigested food in their gut. Hemp seeds are an excellent source of both soluble fibre and insoluble fibre. They are an excellent way to gently cleanse the intestinal system and are a welcome addition of heavy fiber to anyone's diet.

With our toxic environments, our poor immune response, and our reliance on easy food, we need a snack that increase our longevity. Hemp food is an excellent addition to any diet and we recommend you add it to any meal, we are sure that it will help you feel better.

HempSeed: Have you ever wondered about hemp seed? Perhaps you are looking for a source of protein that is better than meat. Maybe you are a vegan and need an excellent source of protein? Perhaps you have heard of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) and are looking for a web site with more information about EFAs and hemp. Well Hemp Seed .ca is the perfect place for you to find all this information and more.

It is not widely known that Hemp seed is the highest in essential fatty acids of any plant. Hemp seed contains all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids needed to maintain healthy human life, which makes it a perfect substitute for meat or as a protein supplement for anyone in their diet. No other single source provides such a complete protein in a form that is so easily digested and absorbed by the body. No other plant contains the essential oils neccessary for perfect health in a ratio exactly suited to the bodies needs.

There is no other plant like hemp, there is nothing that compete against hemp. The hemp plant and hemp seed are perfectly suited to do what nature intended them to do, provide us with a sustainable source of protein food, fibre for clothing and paper, hurd for plastics and oils for nutrition and paints. If we were to wake up and realize that we could end our dependance on petrochemicals and still have the same lifestyles with the same vehicles and conveniences yet be cleaning the planet and providing a sustainable future for our children just by growing one plant, Cannibis Sativa, why would we not? Well, the answer to that is part of the biggest industrial conspiracy in modern history. Hemp is too perfect, hemp seeds are too much of a viable alternative to the petrochemical age we live in. So much so that the only way the people in power for the last 80 years could control it was to first demonize the plant, then when people had forgotten how amazing it was and how many things used to be made from it, then they made it illegal.

Since 1990 when we were first introduced to hemp and hempseed we have been on a crusade to educate as many people as possible about the reality of hemp and hemp seeds since the misinformation put out by the US seems to be so effective in deterring people from finding out the truth on their own. We have had a whole range of reactions to hemp seed. There was the old Eastern European man who approached our table at an outdoor event with tears in his eyes because it had been so many years since he had seen hemp seeds. He told us that the seed from the hemp plant was such a common thing to him when he was a child, his Mother used to make the hempseed into a gruel for him and seeing the hemp seed on our table brought back fond memories of his Mother's kitchen. There was the Mother who dragged her Daughter away before she could sample the hemp seed exclaiming "Honey, don't eat hemp seed, you're pregnant!", HOW FOOLISH, it would have been excellent for both her and her unborn baby! There was the man who approached the table looking like he was going to become quite violent exclaiming "you're feeding my children DRUGS!". Of course, he was totally wrong, there is no drug content in hemp seed. Just as there is no drug content in poppy seeds, even though they come from the plant that produces opium. It's just that poppies cannot make 75000 different products that compete with just about every industry that makes money for the rich people currently in power.

So you see, hemp seed and the Cannibis Sativa plant are the unfortunate recipients of a bad rap simply because they are just too good! What other plant could boost your immune system decreasing your need for doctors and pharmaceuticals; provide you with your daily requirement of protein, making meat obsolete; allow you make clothing using minimal pesticides, unlike cotton which has half of the world's pesticides sprayed on it; providing you with a renewable fuel for your more efficient diesel engine as the engine was initially intended to run on vegetable fuel; providing you with a non-toxic biodegradable source for the manufacture of plastics; allowing you to make the highest quality paints without the toxic smells and by-products; and if all that weren't enough, providing you with everything you might need to live a very long healthy life while returning the planet to a garden rather then a toxic waste dump.