CHARACTERISTICS OF TUE PLANT. 27 



their support. The end of the vine during the growing 

 season, — say from one to two feet, — is very tender in 

 the morning, and is easily broken; in the afternoon it 

 will stand more careless handling without breaking. 

 If the end of a vine is broken off in the growing season, 

 the next joint will throw out two vines and soon catch 

 up with the original vine and bear just as many hops, 

 but the arms from the second joint are best. 



The vine when climbing a perpendicular supf/ort 

 always winds with the sun, from left to right, or with the 



Fia. 8. FEMALE VINE, SHOWINQ FLOWERS. 



hands of a clock; other kinds of vines mostly climb 

 in the opposite direction, which is, perhaps, why the 

 patent office years ago granted a patent to a man who 

 claimed to have "invented" the hop's habit of winding 

 from left to right. The hop vine is hollow, six-sided, 

 and has six rows of small, sharp hooks. These hooks 

 are especially sharp on the tendrils, enabling the latter 

 to cling fast, so that the plant can climb rapidly. 



The hop vine has two motions. The first motion 

 is a twist of the vine from right to left, the reverse of 

 the sun and clock hands. The second motion is a 



