DeKalb County's 1943 Hemp Crop Is In

From the October 3, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1943, 75 Years Ago.

"Harvesting the first crop of hemp in the northern part of DeKalb County is rapidly nearing completion according to the manager of the Kirkland mill.  He reports that 3,600 acres of hemp have been cut and are now retting in the swath, where it will remain exposed to the weather until it has properly retted to be ready for the next step of binding.

"The process of retting is nothing more than allowing the weather to rot and start breaking down the bark of the hemp plant.  Certain forms of mold work on the straw, causing the removal of the resin or green color.  The process must be allowed to continue until the hemp reaches what is known as the 'bow-string' stage, a condition where the fiber or outer skin of the begins to separate from the inner.  Hemp usually has reached a dark slate color with dark specks at this time."

No Smoking the Product.  --GreGen