The Hop Industry in Victoria. 35 



and tea-tree. Three poles are commonly nsed to tlie set wlien the 

 gromid is rich, and they are preserved in varions ways, the simplest 

 being to char the wood, or to creosote the poles at the base. But 

 wood impregnated with bluestone solution is very durable, the poles 

 being immersed in a 30 per cent, solution or 3 lbs. of sulphate of 

 copper to one gallon of water. While pole- work is more common in 

 Victoria, several are going in for the post and wire system, which is 

 also being generally adopted by the larger growers in Tasmania. 

 The poles and wires, however, are not so numerous as in England, 

 since all the cultivation is done with horses in the larger plantations. 

 String, instead of wire, is now coming into use, on account of its 

 cheapness. It is certainly weaker than wire, rots easily, and tears at 

 the point of union with the horizontal wires, but its resisting power 

 may be increased by steeping it in a 3 to 4 per cent, solution of alum 

 or bluestone. 



In Kent, as stated by Mr. Hall in the Journal of the Board of 

 Agriculture for March, 1902, " poles are giviug place to permanent 

 structures of wire strained on stout posts ; to the wires ar.' laced each 

 year strings of coir yarn about ^ inch in diameter and with a breaking 

 strain of about 50 lbs., up which the hopbine twines." 



Comparative tests in the same garden on plots poled and plots 

 where the hops were grown upon string and wire, showed that the 

 average crop was 10 to 23 per cent, better on the latter. The uneven 

 ripening of the crop, and the weakening of the stock and subsequent 

 loss of crop caused by cutting away the bines at picking time, are 

 also drawbacks to the pole system. The poles are looked iipon as a 

 refuge for the red spider, and the use of wire frames is recommended 

 as a preventive. 



The material used for tying the bines is often reeds or rushes 

 growing in the neighborhood, but flax is sometimes employed. 



Time of Hop Picking. 



Not only does the quantity of these I'esins vary with the variety 

 grown, but also greatly according to the time the hops are picked. If 

 the hops are picked green, before maturity, there will be a deficiency 

 of resin, and on the other hand if allowed to become over-ripe there 

 will be a loss of resin ; consequently it is of prime importance that the 

 hops should be picked at the right time, when there is a maximum of 

 resin present, and this is just a little prior to full maturity, and the 

 resins are still too adhesive to be lost by the shaking attendant 

 on picking. 



Drying Hops. 



Another matter that should receive the careful attention of growers 

 is to dry their hops as soon as possible after they are picked. If this is 

 not attended to the hops will heat and ferment, their appearance will 

 become brown or reddish, and they will even go mouldy, losing their 

 aromatic flavor in a very short time. 



