Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0370Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is of a farmer harvesting crops, a four donkey team is pulling a piece of farming equpiment. Above the image "33" is printed, below the image "V23240 Cutting Hemp Near Lexington On One of the Largest Fields in Kentucky." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company Copyrighted, Underwood & Underwood Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Portland, Oregon, London, Eng., Sydeny, Aus." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
V23240
CUTTING HEMP NEAR LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
Lat. 38 (degrees) N.; Long. 85 (degrees) W.
Hemp is really a native of the warmer parts of Asia but has become naturalized in many parts of Europe and America. it adapts itself readily to all kinds of climate, although it varies in height according to the soil and climate, sometimes being four feet high, sometimes growing to a height of fifteen or twenty feet. It has an erect, hollow stem surrounded by a woody fiber called reed. Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois are the leading hemp producing states of the United States.
This pcitures shows us one of the larged hemp fields of Kentucky at the harvest season. The crop is ready to cut about three months after planting, when the first seeds are ripe. This is done by a knife or heavy reaper. After cutting, the hemp is stacked up to allow the star to decar enough that the fiber can be easily separated. This process is called "retting." It is sometiems "dew-retted" by spreading on the ground. Then the hmp stalks are cleaned from the fiber by "combing or hackling"; the fibere is tied into "hands" and baled. An average hemp field will yield about one thousand pounds to the acre. The seed is used as food for cage birds. The fiber is used in the manufacturing of rope, sail cloth, pack sheets, and so on.
It is essential to have a rich soil so that the seeds may grow rapidly from the first, in order to secure the long fiber. Soil rich in lime best suits it. In some of the eastern coutnries it is cultivated for its narcotic and intoxicating effects. A closely related hemp gives the hashish of India. This is an intoxicant which produces strange dreams and imaginations, and finally sleep.
Copyright by The Keystone View CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection