Pretty good 14-minute WWII film about growing hemp in the USA (because the US lost access to sisal & manilla from the Phillipines) & making rope. Many of these techniques could have been used by the ancients, albeit with somewhat less automation. It says in this film that you have to have a special marihuana permit to grow hemp. The leaves of this plant look exactly like you would expect them to look. If anyone wants materials to experiment with ancient rope-making techniques, there's plenty of these materials available (many on US govt national parklands -- e.g., back country of Santa Barbara, back country of Big Sur, etc.). Unfortunately, many of the people engaging in rope-growing are starting to carry automatic weapons. It's also easy to see from this film why it's a bit difficult to grow rope in your back yard, unless you have really, really tall fences. Hemp for Victory - Entire Film - US Government asks farmers to grow hemp for twine & rope. Uploaded on Aug 15, 2010 Produced by the US Government in 1942... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xHCkOnn-A At 05:42 PM 10/26/2013, Whitfield Diffie wrote:

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The USA actually banned hemp because it is related to marijuana plant and hence plant contains some tiny amount of intoxicating substances, ...

Are you sure of this. The anti-marijuana act dates from the thirties and I am sure there was lots of hemp rope in my youth in the forties and fifties. I thought is was just superseded by more cost-effective materials.