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be Co fubjecl to fire blafts, which often deftroy the j ground ; let them be prefled clofe with the hand, and 

 middles of large plantations, while the outfides re- 

 main unhurt. 

 As for the preparation of the ground for planting, it I The ground being thus planted, all that is to be 



covered with fine earth, and a ftick Ihould be placed 

 on each fide the hill tofecureit. 



fhould, the winter before, be ploughed and harrowed 



even •, and then lay upon it in heaps a good quantity 



of frefh rich earth, or well rotted dung and earth 



mixed together, fufficient to put half a bulhel in every j turned up by ploughing, and to raife a fmall hill 



hole to plant the Hops in, unlefs the natural ground j round about the plants ; and in June you mufl twift 



done more that fummer, is to keep the hills clear from 

 weeds, and to horfe-hoe the ground about the 

 month of May, gathering up the ftones, if more are 



be very fre(h and good. 



Then lay a line acrofs it from' the hedge, in which 



knots have been tied, at the diftance you dcfign your 



the young binds or branches together in a bunch or 

 _ knot, for if they are tied up to fmall poles the firft 

 year, in order to have a few Hops from them, it 



Hop-hills to be at, about eight or nine feet diftance j .wilj not countervail the weakening tlie plants. , 



the whole length of the ground, and place a fharp I ; A mixture of compoft or dung being prepared for 



pointed ftick at every knot j then lay afide the line 



and with two forked fticks of about eight or nine feet 



' iong, you may from the firft row fet out the whole 



* ground, by applying the two forks to two of the fticks 



which were firft fet up, and placing anotlier row at 



your Hop-ground, the beft time for laying it on, if 

 the weather prove dry, is about Michaelmas, that the 

 wheels of the dung-cart may not injure the Hops, nor 

 , furrow the ground : if ^ this be not done then, you 

 muft be obliged to v/ait till the froft has hardened the 



: the ends, where "the forked fticks meet triangular- j . ground, fo that it will bear the dung-cart ; and this 



wife i 'then you fliould dig a hole at every ftick about j is alfo the time to carry on your new poles, to recruit 



a foot and a half wide, and fill it fulj of the good j , thofe that are decayed, and to be caft out every year. 



' '" ' If you have good ftore of dung, the beft way. >viil be 



earth you brought in. 



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' If you plough the ground' witVhbrfes between the j to fpread it in the alleys all over the ground, and to 

 ' .1 1 1 n . , ... v* - -^ • /- ^. ^dig or plough it in the winter following. The quan- 



.^^^tity they will require, will be forty loads to an acre, 

 reckoning about thirty bufhels to the load. 



hills, it will be beft to plant tKem in fquares ctiequer- 

 wife'; but the quincunx form is the moft beautiful, 

 and it will alfo be better for the Hop \ but if the 

 ground is intended to be^ cultivated by the breaft- 

 . plough, it will be beft to plant thcnn in fquares^; but 

 which way foeVerybli'rnakeufeof, affiake fKould be 

 ftuck down at all the places where the hills are to be 

 made. 





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Perfons ought to oe very curious m the choice of the 

 • plants and fets, as to the kind of the Hop ; for if the 



Hop-garden be planted ^^^h a "mixture* of two" or 



three forts of Hops that ripen at different times, it 

 '■'will caufe a ereat deal of trouble, and be a great de- 



tnment to the owner. 



The two beft forts are the white and the gray bind ; 

 '\.the latter is a large fquare Hop, more hardy, and is 

 ; . the more plentiful bearer, but ripens later than the 



•^If you have not dkjng enough to cover all the ground 



- Jn one year, you riiay lay it on one part one year, and 



on^Tie reft in another, or a third -, for there is no occa- 



Tidn to dung the ground alter this manner, oftener 



./th^n once mj;vvoor three years.. w^^]^^ ^^ ' > ^i ■ 



njThofe who have but a fmall quantity of dunsr, ufu- 



ally content themielves with laying on about twenty 



^; loads upon an acre every year ; this they lay only on 



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It 



the hills, either jibout November, or in the fpring ; 

 jyhich laft fonic_acgount. the b^ft tjnie, wh§n the Hops 

 are drefled, to cover them after they are cut ; but if it 

 be done at this time, th.e compoft or dung ought to 

 be very well rotted and fine. 



former. 



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As to the dreffing. of the Hops, when the Hop- 

 round is dug or ploughed in January or February, 

 There is alfo another fort of the white bind, which | .the earth about the hills, and very near them, ought 



to be taken away with a fpade, that you may come the 



more conveniently at the ftock to cut it. 

 -;; About the end of February, if tjie Hops v/ere planted 



ripens in a week or ten days before the common ; but 

 this is tenderer, and a lefs plentiful bearer, but it has 

 this advantage, it comes firft to market. 



But if three grounds, or three diltant parts or one I ., the Ipring before, or ir the ground be weak, thev 



ground, be"planted with thefe three forts, there will be j ought to be drefled in dry weather ; But elfe, if the 

 ]: this con vcniency, that they may be picked fucceflively j 'ground be ftrong and in perfedion, the middle of 

 i as they become ripe...;,.': jr'^^y^^^^^^^ . ' | March will be a good tirnci and the latter end of 



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, be five or fix inches long, with tKrce of more joints 

 ^ or buds on them,^" all the old bind and hollow part of 



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The fets ought to be procured out of grounds that are I March, if it be apt to produce over rank binds, or the 

 entirely of thefanie fort you would have,' they ftiould I ^ beginning of April, may be foon enough. 



1 hen having with an iron picker cleared away all the 

 earth out of the hills, fo as to make the ftock bear to 

 the principal roots, with a fliarp knife you muft cut 





the fet being cut off. 



'^ If there be a'fdrt of Hop'you'value, and would in- I ^ off all the ftioots which grew up with the binds the 



.'creafe plants and fets from, the fupei-fluous binds'may J • ^l^ff year-, arid alfo all the young fuckers, that none 



■■ be laid down when the Hops are tied, cutting off the I be left to run in the alley and weaken the hill. It will 



;\tops, and burying them in the h ill ^9/^ when the I be proper to cuj: one part of tfee ftock lower than the 



Hops are drefled, all the cuttings may be faved, and 



•laid in rows in a bed of gbocf earth ; tor almoft every 



- part will grow, and become a'good fet the next Ipring. 



,.Some have tried to raife a Hop-ground by fowing 



'. feeds, bqt^ that turns to no account, becaufe that 



"way is not only tedious, but the Hops fo produced are 



■ ■ commonly of different kinds, arid" many of them wild 



and barren. 



., other, and alfo to cut that part lew, that was left 

 higheft the preceding year. By piirfulng this me- 

 thod, you may expedt to have ftronger buds, arid alfo 

 keep the hill in good order, ;; : tj 



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-'\ In dreffine; thofe Hops that have been planted the 



:, year before, you ought to cut off^ both the dead^^tops, 



V an5 the young: fuckers which have fprune; up from the 



fets, and alfo to cover the ftocks with fine earth a 



As to the feafons of planting Hops, the Kentifli I finger's length in' thicknefs.^^V* 



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planters beft approve the months of Oftqber and 

 .V.March, both which fucceed very well; but the com- 

 ] mon fets are not to be had in Odober, unlefs ffom 



ground that is to be digged up arid deftroyed ^ 

 and likewife' there is fome danger that the fets may 

 be rotted, if the winter prove very wet ; but the moft 

 ufual time of procuring them is in March, when the 

 Hops are cut and dreffed. 



As to" the manner of planting the fets, you fhould put 

 two or three good fets iri'^ every hole with a fetting 

 ftick, at about four inches diftatnce, placing them 

 floping ; they muft ftand even with the furface of the 



About the middle of April the Hops are to be polled, 



when the flioots begin to fprout up ; the poles rnuft be 



, fet to the hills deep into the ground, with a fquare 



J iron pit'cKeror crow, that they may the better endure 



the wind ; three poles are fufficient for one hill. 



J f 



Thefe ftiould jj^e placed as^ near, the hills as may be, 

 with their bending tops turned outwards from the 

 hill, to prevent the binds from entangling ; and a 

 fpace between two poles ought to be left open to the 



. fouth^ to admit tKe fun beams. . , ■, ;>--"*--, 

 The poles ought to be in lehgtll fixteen or twenty 



' feet, more or icfs, according as the ground is in 



. 8 G ^ ^ftrength; 



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