Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Differences in Hemp Varieties
Gilbert Fournier
Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, UMR 8076 CNRS (BioCIS),
Faculté de Pharmacie, 5 rue J.-B. Clément, F - 92296 Châtenay-Malabry Cedex
19.1 Introduction
from the seeds was used as a foodstuff, as a
drying oil and therapeutically.
In Southern Europe, the use of textile
fibres derived from hemp in the manufacture
of cordage and rough cloth materials began
during the Middle Ages, and the fibres were
used for finer cloth from the start of the
Renaissance period. This industry continued to
develop until the middle of the 19th century.
Some 175,000 ha was devoted to its produc-
tion at this time; its fibres were used in the pro-
duction of canvas, woven material, cordage
and string, while the seeds were used to pro-
duce oil for various purposes. This industry,
together with other natural textile and oil indus-
tries, has subsequently fallen victim to progress.
The disappearance of sailing ships, competi-
tion from other textiles (cotton, sisal and jute)
and oils (groundnut) and the appearance of
synthetic textiles have seen to that. This disaf-
fection with hemp can also be attributed to the
insufficient revenue that its cultivation can
command and the difficulty in finding the ne-
cessary labour, especially for the onerous tasks
such as harvesting and retting in water.
From a peak of 175,000 ha in 1850, the
area cultivated has fallen regularly. In 1960,
there were only 700 ha left devoted to hemp
production in France; a trend mirrored across
Europe. From 1961, hemp producers needed
to undertake specific actions in order to pre-
serve cultivation:
Hash, marijuana, ganja, sinsemilla, skunk, ned-
erwiet, pot, weed, grass … these names all
evoke hemp, cannabis smoking and THC. This
is not, of course, what we will be dealing with
here. We will present a description of the hemp
that has been anchored firmly in our society as
a source of textiles and cordage up until the
early 20th century. This use has witnessed a
resurgence recently with the development of a
wide range of new industrial applications.
19.2 History
Hemp (
Cannabis sativa
L.) is, above all else, a
textile plant with cortical fibres and oil-rich
seeds. It is one of the oldest non-food plants
used by humans. It originates from Central
Asia and its use dates back some 6000 years.
Mentioned for the first time in a 4700-year-old
Chinese text, it was described in detail in a
botanical treatise of the 15th century
BC
. The
use of hemp in Asia, Europe and around the
Mediterranean basin stretches back into distant
history. Even though its main use is not speci-
fied in ancient texts, it is certain that hemp has
been considered an important plant for
humans. It was widely used as a textile, for
linen and for cordage, while the oil extracted
