One of the most poisonous of a suspicious family (the Umbelliferæ), "the great Hemlocke doubtlesse is not possessed of any one good facultie, as appeareth by his lothsome smell and other apparent signes," and with this evil character the Hemlock was considered to be only fit for an ingredient of witches' broth—

"I ha' been plucking (plants among)
Hemlock, Henbane, Adder's Tongue,
Nightshade, Moonwort, Leppard's-bane."

Ben Jonson, Witches' Song in the Masque of the Queens.

Yet the Hemlock adds largely to the beauty of our hedgerows; its spotted tall stems and its finely cut leaves make it a handsome weed, and the dead stems and dried umbels are marked features in the winter appearance of the hedges. As a poison it has an evil notoriety, being supposed to be the poison by which Socrates was put to death, though this is not quite certain. It is not, however, altogether a useless plant—"It is a valuable medicinal plant, and in autumn the ripened stem is cut into pieces to make reeds for worsted thread."—Johnston.

HEMP.

(1)Pistol.Let gallows gape for dog; let man go free,
And let not Hemp his windpipe suffocate.
Henry V, act iii, sc. 6 (45).
(2)Chorus.And in them behold
Upon the Hempen tackle ship-boys climbing.
Henry V, act iii, chorus (7).
(3)Puck.What Hempen homespuns have we swaggering here?
Midsummer Night's Dream, act iii, sc. 1 (79).
(4)Cade.Ye shall have a Hempen caudle then, and the papof a hatchet.
2nd Henry VI, act iv, sc. 7 (95).
(5)Hostess.Thou Hemp-seed.
2nd Henry IV, act ii, sc. 1 (64).

In all these passages, except the last, the reference is to rope made from Hemp, and not to the Hemp plant, and it is very probable that Shakespeare never saw the plant. It was introduced into England long before his time, and largely cultivated, but only in few parts of England, and chiefly in the eastern counties. I do not find that it was cultivated in gardens in his time, but it is a plant well deserving a place in any garden, and is especially suitable from its height and regular growth, for the central plant of a flower-bed. It is supposed to be a native of India, and seems capable of cultivation in almost any climate.[122:1]

The name has a curious history. "The Greek κάνναβις, and Latin cannabis, are both identical with the Sanscrit kanam, as well as with the German hanf, and the English hemp. More directly from cannabis comes canvas, made up of hemp or flax, and canvass, to discuss: i.e., sift a question; metaphorically from the use of hempen sieves or sifters."—Birdwood's Handbook to the Indian Court, p. 23.