Hemp for Victory (1943) - full transcript

HEMP
for
VICTORY

Long ago, when these ancient
Grecian temples were new,

hemp was already old in
the service of mankind.

For thousands of years, even then,

this plant had been grown
for cordage and coarse cloth

in China and elsewhere in the East.

For centuries, prior to about 1850,

all the ships that sailed
the Western seas

were rigged with
hempen rope and sails.

For the sailor, no less than the
hangman, hemp was indispensable.

A 44 gun frigate,
like our cherished ol Ironsides,



took over 60 tons
of hemp for rigging,

including an anchor cable
25 inches in circumference.

The Conestoga wagons and prairie
schooners of pioneer days

were covered with hempen canvas.

Indeed, the very word canvas comes
from the Arabic word for hemp.

In those days, hemp was an important
crop in Kentucky and Missouri.

Then, came cheaper imported
fibers for cordage:

rag jute, sisal and manila hemp

and the culture of hemp
in America declined.

But now, with Philippine and
East Indian sources of hemp

in the hands of the Japanese and
shipment of jute from India curtailed,

American hemp must meet the
needs of our army and navy,

as well as of our industries.
In 1942,

patriotic farmers,
at the government's request,



planted 36,000 acres of seed hemp,

an increase of several
thousand percent.

The goal for 1943 is
50,000 acres of seed hemp.

In Kentucky, much of
the seed hemp acreage

is on river bottom land, such as
this along the Kentucky River Gorge.

Some of these fields are
inaccessible, except by boat.

Thus, plans are afoot for a great
expansion of the hemp industry

as a part of the war program.

This film is designed to tell farmers
how to handle this ancient crop,

now little known outside
of Kentucky and Wisconsin.

This is hemp seed.
Be careful how you use it,

for to grow hemp legally,

you must have a federal
registration and tax stamp.

This is provided for
in your contract.

Ask your AAA committeeman or
your County agent about it.

Don't forget.

Hemp demands a rich
well-drained soil,

such as is found here in the
Bluegrass region of Kentucky

or in central Wisconsin.

It must be loose and rich in
organic matter. Poor soils won't do.

Soil that will grow good
corn will usually grow hemp.

Hemp is not hard on the soil.

In Kentucky, it has been grown for
several years in the same ground,

though this practice
is not recommended.

A dense and shady crop,
hemp tends to choke out weeds.

Here's a Canada thistle that
couldn't stand the competition,

dead as a dodo.

Thus, hemp leaves the ground in good
condition for the following crop.

* For fiber, hemp should be
sown five ??? to the acre.

With drill, the closer the rows,
the better.

These rows are spaced
about 4 inches.

This hemp has been broadcast.

Either way, it should be sown thick
enough to draw a slender stalk.

Here's an ideal stand: the right
height to be harvested easily,

thick enough to grow slender stalks
that are easy to cut in process.

Stalks like these here on the left,

they yield the most
fiber and the best.

Those on the right are
to coarse and woody.

For seed, hemp is planted in hills,
like corn, sometimes by hand.

Hemp is a dioecious plant.
The female flower is inconspicuous,

but the male flower
is easily spotted.

In seed production,
after the pollen has been shed,

these male plants are cut out.

These are the seeds
on a female plant.

Hemp for fiber is ready to
harvest when the pollen is shedding

and the leaves are falling.

In Kentucky,
hemp harvest comes in August.

Here, the old standby has
been the self-rake reaper,

which has been used for
a generation or more.

Hemp grows so
luxuriantly in Kentucky

that harvesting is
sometimes difficult,

which may account for the
popularity of the self-rake

with its lateral stroke.

A modified rice binder has
been used to some extent.

This machine works
well in average hemp.

Recently,
the improved hemp harvester,

used for many years in Wisconsin,
has been introduced in Kentucky.

This machine spreads the hemp
in a continuous swath.

It is a far cry from this fast
and efficient modern harvester

to the Armstrong model of yore.

But here's one kind of
harvester, at least,

that doesn't stall
in the heaviest hemp.

And Kentucky hand cutting is practiced
in opening fields for the machines.

In Kentucky, hemp is shocked
as soon as safe after cutting

to be spread out for
retting later in the fall.

In Wisconsin, hemp is
harvested in September.

Here, the hemp harvester with automatic
spreader is standard equipment.

Note how smoothly the rotating apron
lays the swath preparatory to retting.

Here, it is a common
and essential practice

to leave headlands
around hemp fields.

These strips may be planted to
other crops, preferably small grain.

Thus, the harvester has
room to make its first round

without preparatory hand cutting.

The other machine is
running over corn stubble.

When the cutter bar is much
shorter than the hemp is tall,

overlapping occurs.
Not so good for retting.

The standard cut is
eight to nine feet.

The length of time hemp is left on the
ground to ret depends on the weather.

The swaths must be turned
to get a uniform ret.

When the woody core breaks
away readily like this,

the hemp is about ready to
take up and bind into bundles.

Well retted hemp is
light to dark grey.

The fiber tends to pull
away from the stalk.

The presence of stalks
in the bow string stage

indicates that retting
is well underway.

When hemp is short or tangled,

or when the ground is
too wet for machines,

* it is bound by hand.
A wooden buck (?) is used.

Twine will do for tying, but the
hemp itself makes a good band.

When conditions are favorable,
the pickup binder is commonly used.

* The swath should last (?) smooth
and even with stalks parallel.

The picker won't work
well entangled hemp.

After binding, hemp is shocked as soon
as possible to stop further retting.

In 1942, 14,000 acres of fiber hemp
were harvested in the United States.

The goal for 1943 is 300,000 acres.

Thus, hemp, cannabis sativa,
the old standby cordage fiber,

is staging a strong comeback.

This is Kentucky hemp going into
the dryer of a mill at Versailles.

In the old days,
breaking was done by hand,

one of the hardest
jobs known to man.

Now, the power breaker
makes quick work of it.

Spinning American hemp
into rope yarn or twine

in the old Kentucky River
Mill at Frankfort, Kentucky.

Another pioneer plant that has been
making cordage for more than a century.

All of such plants will presently
be turning out products spun

from American grown hemp.

* Twine of various kinds for tying (?),
winding armatures and upholsterers work.

* Rope for marine rigging and
towing (?), for hay forks, derricks

and heavy-duty tackle.

Light duty fire hose.

Thread for shoes for millions
of American soldiers...

and parachute webbing
for our paratroopers.

As for the United States Navy,

every battleship requires
34,000 feet of rope

and other craft accordingly.

So, here in the Boston Navy Yard,

where cables for frigates
were made long ago,

crews are now working night and
day making cordage for the fleet.

In the old days,
rope yarn was spun by hand.

Today,
even the ropewalk is mechanized.

160 fathoms to go.

The rope yarn feeds through
holes in an iron plate.

This is manila hemp, from the
Navy's rapidly dwindling reserve.

When that is gone, American
hemp will go on duty again.

Hemp for mooring ships,
hemp for towlines.

Hemp for tackle and gear,
hemp for countless naval uses,

both on ship and shore...

just as in the days when ol
Ironside sailed the seas victorious,

with her hempen shrouds
and hempen sails...

Hemp for victory!

subtitles by:
Tio Beto from Brazil