RELATION OF STAND TO YIELD IN HOPS. 27 



they are set, or the replanting is deferred until the soil has become so 

 dry that it does not afford the conditions essential to proper growth. 

 Replants usually make a poor growth unless the site of the missing 

 hill which they are intended to replace is excavated, the dead crown 

 and roots removed, and the soil replaced by fresh earth taken from 

 midway between the rows. 



The stand may become imperfect through numerous other causes, 

 but the ones here described should receive first consideration, since 

 it is within the power of the hop grower to minimize in great measure 

 their effect. 



VARIATION IN THE PERCENTAGE OF PERFECT STAND. 



The percentage of perfect stand varies widely and is to a large 

 extent dependent upon the local conditions affecting a given hop 

 field and upon the knowledge, skill, and industry of the hop grower. 

 In some yards which have come under the writers' observation a 

 careful count of the missing hills showed the stand to be 99.3 per cent, 

 while in other yards the stand was found to be as low as 75 per cent. 

 These, of course, represent extreme cases and are far less numerous 

 than those in which the stand ranges from 90 to 95 per cent for indi- 

 vidual fields. The percentage of stand for any given yard will be 

 found to fluctuate from year to year, according to the rate at which 

 the hills are dying out and the care and attention given to replanting. 



The estimate by inspection of the number of missing hills and the 

 percentage of stand have been found to be very misleading. In every 

 case in which a grower's estimate of the percentage of stand has been 

 verified by an actual count of the missing hills, his estimate has 

 proved too high, and it is believed that growers often deceive them- 

 selves as to the extent of the loss suffered through an imperfect stand. 

 An estimate of the percentage of stand that is based on a count of 

 the missing hills in every fifth or tenth row, although less accurate 

 than a full count, is much to be preferred to one based on inspection 

 alone. 



VARIATION IN STAND ON A SINGLE ACRE. 



An exact record of the stand on an acre for 4 consecutive years 

 shows some striking variations which are believed to be fairly repre- 

 sentative of the conditions existing in many hopyards. This acre 

 was laid off at one side of a large field which had been under hops 

 continuously for 10 years, and during the 4 years it was under obser- 

 vation it received the same attention and culture treatment as the 

 remainder of the field of which it forms a part. At harvest time each 

 year a record was made of the condition of each hill, and the position 

 of each hill that was missing or which had vines bearing no hops was 

 noted on a chart. From this chart the data in Table I were compiled. 



[Cir. 112] 



