HEMP

the inner fibre of several plants, the various grades being used in the manu-. facture of cordage, sheeting, etc. The most widely cultivated are the numerous varieties of the Cannabis Sativa, an annual of the nettle family which attains an average height of from four to eight feet, grown chiefly in India, Ru ia, Argentine, and. the United States. Manila Hemp is the fibre of a plant of the banana family, grown almost exclusively in the Philippine Islands. The finest grades are made into shawls and the coarser into ropes, etc. [s. 305]