the manufactures, and the consequent consumption of cotton, has been rapidly progressive. The present average value of cotton goods exported from Great Britain, amounts to the enormous sum of from thirteen to fifteen millions sterling for piece goods, and from three to four millions for yarn and twist.

The processes of spinning and weaving, as conducted by machinery, are truly astonishing; but I must not at present stop to describe them. The following fact, however, which I extract from the Library of Entertaining Knowledge, will serve to exemplify the celerity with which manufacturing operations are now conducted in England. The proprietor of a cotton manufactory in Manchester, having recently received an order for the shipment of some goods of a particular description, purchased ten bales of cotton, of suitable quality, in Liverpool. On their arrival in Manchester, they were received into the highest floor of his works, and thence, proceeding regularly downwards, underwent all the intermediate processes of carding, spinning, and weaving, until, in ten days from their reception, the finished goods into which they were converted, were packed in bales, and were proceeding again to Liverpool for shipment.*

When, in 1787, spinning machinery was first erected, one pound of Demarara cotton could be spun into yarn one hundred and sixty miles in length. Since that period, great improvements have been made in this kind of machinery; and yarn is now spun having a still greater degree of fineness.

There cannot, perhaps, be a more remarkable proof of the effect which the various providential arrangements of the material world produce, in stimulating the mental qualities, than in the invention of the machinery which possesses these amazing powers. The invention and perfecting of the steam-engine, with its tremendous forces, had only a little while preceded it; and this, too, received its stimulus from the wants of civilized man in another department. The mechanical genius of Ark† Macpherson.

* Article, Vegetable Substances, p. 49.

wright took fire at this effort of a kindred mind; and, minutely observing the laborious, and sometimes imperfect processes by which the produce of the cotton-plant was fitted to supply the necessities and comforts of men, he formed the apparently Utopian scheme, of applying this newly-discovered force to the improvement and acceleration of these processes. The difficulties with which, under the most favorable circumstances, a poor and unfriended workman had to contend in this most arduous attempt, may be more easily supposed than described; and these difficulties seem to have been tenfold increased by domestic jars and want, consequent on the neglect of his proper employment. The time, however, was come, when the progress of society demanded, as it were, a genius adequate to the task. Arkwright persevered; and, by the dint of an energy of mind and a power of invention, with which few mortals have been favored, produced a system of machinery, which, for the ingenuity of its contrivances, and the extent of its complicated arrangements, forms one of the noblest monuments to genius ever erected by human resources. And, what constituted his highest reward, he had the satisfaction to think, that by this one happy invention, he had bestowed a gift on his country, which was to be the means, in the hand of Providence, of averting, or, at least, indefinitely postponing the period of a national bankruptcy, on the verge of which Britain was laboring, of largely advancing its prosperity, and of giving vigor and permanency to its various powers.*

* In 1762, Hume had predicted a national bankruptcy, should the national debt ever amount to a hundred millions. He founded his anticipations on reasoning, which only proved to be unsound, because he did not take into account the inventive genius of a Watt and an Arkwright.— [Neither did he take into account the many energies and resources of a moral, intelligent, and industrious people. Prophecies of bankruptcy with regard to such a people, with whatever show of sagacity they may be uttered, are always likely to prove vain.-AM. ED.]

TWELFTH WEEK-TUESDAY.

VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES USED FOR CORDAGE.-HEMP.

THE vast importance of commerce to the advancement of society, has rendered every thing which may promote its welfare a matter of research, especially in modern times. Among such objects, materials, which may contribute to safety or commodious use in shipping, hold a prominent place. In the early history of navigation, thongs of leather were usually, and, indeed, almost universally, employed for the purpose of naval cordage; and it was not till civilization had made considerable advances, that vegetable substances were generally substituted. There are several kinds of these substances, however, which have been found admirably adapted for this purpose; and, among these, hemp is that most commonly used.

This plant seems to be indigenous in Europe. We have, at least, proof, that it has grown, and been employed, in this quarter of the world, for between 2000 and 3000 years. Herodotus, the father of Grecian history, says, "Hemp grows in the country of the Scythians, which, except in the thickness and height of the stalk, very much resembles flax; in the qualities mentioned, however, the hemp is much superior. It grows in a natural state, and is also cultivated. The Thracians make clothing of it, very like linen cloth; nor could any person, without being very well acquainted with the substance, say whether this clothing is made of hemp or flax. A person who has never before seen hempen cloth, would certainly suppose, that this, of which I am speaking, is made of flax."*

Hempt is an annual plant, usually rising to the height

* Herodotus, book iv. p. 74. The Scythians of Herodotus lived in Europe, north of the Danube, and bordering on the Black Sea.

+ Cannabis sativa. The word canvass, which is the name for hempen cloth, is an obvious corruption of this Latin term. The Italians, making but little change, call it "canape."

of five or six feet. In some situations, it is, however, capable of attaining to a much larger growth. Du Hamel relates, that in some parts of Alsace, hemp plants are found, which reach twelve feet in height, and are more than three inches in diameter at the bottom of the stalk, having such deep roots that the strongest man is not able, unassisted, to pull them out of the ground: and in a newdrained marsh, near the Lago di Patria, in the Neapolitan dominions, hemp attained, in 1826, nearly the same dimensions. The fibres of the bark in this plant, like that of flax, comprise the part used in manufacture.

The stalk is channelled and hollow in the inside, containing a white soft medullary substance, enclosed in a very tender tube, commonly called the reed, or, technically, the boon of the hemp. It is covered with a green bark, rough and hairy, which is formed of numerous fibres, extending the whole length of the stem. These are not reticulated, but placed parallel to each other, and united by means of the cellular texture. A microscopic view of these fibres discloses, that each single fibre is itself a bundle of fibrils, of extreme fineness. They are twisted spirally, and, after maceration, may be stretched out to a considerable length. This description may serve to show how well adapted such fibres are for giving strength and pliancy to the articles manufactured from them.

The leaves grow on opposite footstalks, by pairs; they are divided, as far as the footstalks, into four, five, or a greater number of narrow segments, pointed, or deeply indented, in the margin. The flowers and fruit grow upon separate plants, the former the male, and the latter the female plant. In general, the male hemp is more slender and delicate than the female. The stem divides itself, at the extremity, into several branches, terminating in thin pointed spikes, while the female plant is surmounted by tufts of leaves of a considerable size. The flowers of the former grow near the summit of the stem, which generally rises about half a foot higher than that of the female, a creative contrivance, by which the farina or dust that conveys fertility to the seed is readily shed on

the latter. The fruit grows in great abundance on the stem of the female plant. This seed is not preceded by any flower; a membranaceous hairy calyx, terminating in long points, encloses the pistil, the base of which becomes the seed. The male hemp is of quicker growth than the female, and sooner arrives at maturity; either kind is produced indiscriminately from the seeds sown, and the difference cannot be known until the plants are somewhat advanced.

Most soils may be made fit, by good manuring, for the cultivation of hemp; but rich, moist earth, is considered the most favorable to its growth. A poor land will yield but a scanty crop; the quality, however, will be proportionally finer. Cultivators are therefore regulated in their choice of soil by the description of hemp they wish to raise. Sir Joseph Banks remarks, on this subject, that 66 coarse hemp, such as is required for the manufacture of cables, hawsers, and other heavy rigging, requires every where an abundance of manure, and land of the richest quality ;" and they have a saying in Italy, intimating, that though hemp may be raised every where, it cannot be produced fit for use, "either in heaven or earth, without manure."

Hemp possesses other properties besides the highly useful one of being gifted with fibres capable of conversion into cordage and articles of clothing. Pliny speaks of the root, juice, and other parts of this plant, as possessing wonderful medicinal virtues, and it would seem, that for such qualities it was held, in those days, in higher esteem than for the qualities which now occasion its cultivation.* It is also remarkable for its property of detroying weeds. These are known not to vegetate in a hemp field, whether it be that some peculiar poison resides

* Thumberg, on a journey from the Cape of Good Hope into the interior of Africa, found the Hottentots cultivating hemp. "This is a plant," says he, "universally used in this country, though for a purpose very different from that to which it is applied by the industrious Europeans. The Hottentot loves nothing so well as tobacco, and with no other thing can he be so easily enticed into servitude; but for smoking he finds tobacco not sufficiently strong, and therefore mixes it with hemp chopped very fine.”