THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



water to stand and kill out the roots. 

 Hops exhaust the potash elements of the 

 soil quicker than any other substance, and 

 necessitate the annual use. of fertilizers 

 containing a good percentage of potash. 

 In ordinary fields the application of 1,000 

 pounds of fertilizers containing 10 per 

 cent potash, 8 per cent phosphoric acid 

 and 3 per cent nitrogen are necessary 

 every spring to insure satisfactory -results. 



In the famous Yakima valley of central 

 Washington, about 3.000 acres are planted 

 to hop vines, and the income from this 

 area this season will aggregate $500,000 or 

 more. The roots are planted in the spring 

 and cultivated the same as corn. The 

 first year there are no returns, but with 

 care the yards continue producing for 

 twenty years, without transplanting. The 

 first season the vines must be trellised. 

 This is done by setting poles, about two 

 by four-inch scantlings ten feet long, in 

 the ground every twelve feet.- Wires are 

 then stapled to the poles, six or seven feet 

 above ground, and the vines trained up. 



The aphis or louse is the chief hop 

 enemy. This can be killed by spraying the 

 blossoms with arsenical compounds similar 

 to tho*e used for orchards. If the season 

 is dry the aphis seldom does harm, and if 

 too much rain falls during the period from 

 ripening to picking, the burrs are liable to 

 mold or mildew. Picking is done by 

 hand, an average picker gathering about 

 200 pounds per day. The green hops are 

 taken to dryhouses, where they are spread 

 out upon the floor or special drying cloths. 

 The drying process requires twenty-four 

 hours, when the hops are pressed into 

 bales of 200 pounds each and placed on 

 the market. As a general rule, hops lose 

 three-fourths of their weight in drying. 



Those who have been engaged in the 

 hop industry for manj r years estimate that 

 the original cost of a yard of ten acres, in- 

 cluding plants, cultivation, dryhouse and 

 complete equipment, is about $200 an acre, 

 and the annual maintenance expense 

 reaches $100 an acre. An established 

 yard can be grown, harvested and marketed 



for 8 cents a pound, and as the selling 

 price this year averages 15 cents, the 

 profits are good. Hops are used exten- 

 sively throughout the world, for manufac- 

 turing and medicinal purposes, that the 

 demand is constant!} 7 increasing, and the 

 supply in the United States is limited. 



American-grown hops sell readily in 

 foreign markets, and are sought by ex- 

 perts because of superior qualities The 

 hop industry, when fully established in a 

 locality, is an important money-producing 

 business, as many people are employed in 

 caring for and picking the crop. The 

 3,000 acres in Yakima valley this year 

 furnished one month's work to 6,000 per- 

 sons engaged as pickers, besides indirectly 

 employing many others to supply these 

 with food and clothing. There are many 

 farming districts in the United States 

 where hops could be introduced as a spec- 

 ial crop, and the people made more inde- 

 pendent by engaging in hop-growing. 



Hop roots are grown by nurserymen, 

 plant and bulb dealers, and most of the 

 prominent seedsmen quote prices in their 

 annual catalogues. An acre will require 

 about 5,000 roots, which should be set 

 deep in the ground, covering the crowns 

 with about four inches of dirt. If the soil 

 cannot be ploughed deep, it is well to run 

 a subsoil plough to stir the surface as deep 

 as possible. The roots may be set in fur- 

 rows, marked out either way. the proper 

 distances apart, or by making holes with 

 the shovel, the same as in transplanting 

 trees. 



HOW TO GROW TURNIPS, 

 'logrow turnips profitably the prepar- 

 ation of the soil should be commenced a 

 year or more in advance. Green crops, say 

 clover or cow peas, properly fertilized when 

 seeded and turned under at maturity, will 

 answer an excellent purpose. A fertilizer 

 composed of the following ingredients may 

 be used per acre: Acid phosphate 300 

 pounds and Kainit 400 pounds; broadcast 

 and plow in shallow, preferably a few weeks 

 before seeding; 100 pounds of muriate of 



