HOPS. 483 



summer-houses or other outbuildings, since, when once planted, they last for many years, 

 requiring no care except to train the vines a little to their supports when first starting in the 

 spring. They will also grow in almost any ordinary garden soil. Hops cannot be profitably 

 grown south of latitude 40. 



Cultivation. Where there is sufficient depth of good soil, not too rich or too wet, 

 hops, with proper cultivation, may be continued almost indefinitely. If, however, the soil be 

 shallow, with a hard, impenetrable sub-soil, or is cold and wet, the roots will soon die out, 

 and the enterprise prove a failure. If the land be too rich, the product will be vines, rather 

 than fruit, a small, pale-green hop being the result, rather than the large, fully-matured, 

 yellow bur, which is the product of a less growth of vine, and consequently grown with less 

 shade and more air and sun. Hops have long roots, whose nature is to penetrate deeply into 

 the earth; therefore it is^uite as necessary that the sub-soil be of the proper quality to be 

 thus penetrated on the surface-soil. If the sub-soil be saturated with water, or of a hard, 

 compact nature, the roots cannot enter it, and the plants cannot therefore thrive. All soils 

 intended for hop-cuhVure should be either naturally or artificially drained. The former is 

 better, but when the latter is employed, tile-draining is essential. 



Hops, like corn, require a warm, mellow, and aerated soil. Any soil that will produce 

 a good crop of corn, will also produce hops successfully. They are an exhausting crop, and 

 lands on which they are grown require to have manures rich in nitrogen applied from time 

 to time, in order to maintain their fertility. A deep, rich, well-drained, alluvial soil, in a 

 locality well protected from sweeping winds, is generally considered the best for hops. A 

 sufficient quantity of air is essential, but strong winds are very injurious. &quot;Wet soils, hot 

 suns, and strong winds, in conjunction, are fatal to the hop product. 



High land, if the soil be good, is to be preferred to low land, especially if protected by 

 hills or trees, and not so exposed to the winds that they will be bare in winter. The soil 

 should be deep and friable, containing a sufficient amount of humus but not a surplus of 

 moisture, and yet one that will withstand drouth. If tenacious clay soils are used for this 

 product, they should be well drained. 



When the land designed for planting hops has been long in use for other crops, it should 

 be well dressed with compost or an abundant supply of fresh manure, previously plowed in 

 for other crops and largely retained in the soil. Fresh farm manure should be avoided, as it 

 has a tendency to produce a heavy growth of vines to the detriment of the crop. Light 

 loams or gravelly soils, when made sufficiently rich with fertilizers, will produce good results, 

 but a naturally fertile soil is much better. A gentle slope to the south is desirable, but this 

 should also be where there is a free circulation of air, yet protected from injurious winds. 

 When land is strong, it should be cleared before planting. The plowing should be quite 

 deep. The best time for doing it is in the fall. W ell-composted farm manure is used to 

 advantage for this crop; also lime and phosphates, on some soils. 



The surface of the land should be well pulverized, and rendered as mellow as possible. 

 It should then be marked off in squares at a distance of about eight feet, the rows to be in a 

 straight line. The distance between the hills varies, according to the nature of the soil and 

 the variety to be cultivated, some kinds growing much more luxuriant than others. It is 

 well to avoid crowding, for if planted too closely together, it will have the same effect upon 

 the product that close planting has upon the yield of corn. There should be a sufficient 

 amount of space between the hills for sun and air. A lack of these essentials will result in 

 more vines than blossoms, and there will be a deficiency not only in weight, but in the 

 quality of the bur. A soil that is too rich, as well as an unusually wet season, will also give 

 the same result. A light growth of vine will often produce a surprisingly large growth of 

 burs of good quality in proportion to the growth of the vine; hence, it is not advisable to 

 force the growth of the plants too much. 



