gmertca, , ?|emp, an& JUapoleon - Vote Hemp

Hemp, Flax, and Iron: The American ViewOu r dependence on Russia did not stem from an inability toraise hemp in the United States. Hemp could be grown practicallyanywhere in America, and the strands of American hem pwere potentially as strong and durable as Russian. But whe nCongress asked the Secretary of the Nav y in 1824 wh y ournavy did not use more American hemp, the Secretary answeredbluntly that "cables and cordage manufactured fromit ... are inferior in color, strength and durability to thosemanufactured from imported hemp , and consequently are notas safe or proper for use in the navy." 20Experiments on board the "U.S. Constellation" in thei82o's proved that, at best, American hem p was perhaps asgood as Russian for rigging, but similar experiments with twocables (or hawsers) made of American hemp aboard the "U.S.North Carolina" showed that commo n opinion was correct,that American hem p exposed to water did quickly lose afrightening proportion of its strength. Whe nfirst brought onboard, these cables were as strong or stronger than equivalentRussian cables. An d after eighteen months the two cableslooked sound, "but, on unlaying the rope and drawing theyarns," it was found, after trying twenty yarns of each separately,"that the yarns would not withstand on average a pull ofover eighteen pounds apiece, although, when new, the yarns ofeither would have suspended at least 125 pounds."American hemp was of poor quality because of the way itwas processed. In hemp the valuablefibersare bound to eachother and to the woody core of the stalk by a viscous gum,which must be dissolved before thefibers can be removed. InKentucky, where most of American hemp was raised, and