CHAPTER VII 



LAYING OUT A YARD — TRAINING THE VINES 



or plants arc usually planted 

 7x7 feet or 8x8 feet in Amer- 

 ica and 6x6 feet in England 

 and Europe, but the numljer 

 of hills may vary from 800 to 

 1 ,200 per acre. In New York 

 state 6^- feet each way is pre- 

 ferred by some experts. 



On the Pacific coast in 

 very few yards are hop roots 

 planted less than seven feet 

 apart, and in a great many yards the rows are eight 

 feet apart. It has been demonstrated there that just as 

 heavy a yield can be obtained from a yard planted with 

 the roots seven feet apart as from one 6 or 6J feet apart, 

 notwithstanding that in the former there are only 889 

 hills to the acre, while in the six-foot yard there are 

 1,280 hills. As the most expensive part of raising hops 

 is the work done by hand on each root and vine, such 

 as grubbing, tying and training, it can be readily seen 

 that the expense to cultivate an acre of hops is consid- 

 erably larger in a six-foot yard than in a seven-foot 

 one. Where the trellis system is used, it requires a 

 great deal more twine in the six-foot yard. Another 

 objection is that a team of horses cannot pass through 

 a six-foot yard without injuring the roots or vines. In 

 Oregon, as well as in Sonoma county, California, 

 nearly all the hop yards are set out with the hills eight 

 feet apart. 



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