202 KITCHEN GARDEN. 



should be carefully and frequently stirred. Where many 

 acres are raised, a drying-house is built of stone in the form 

 of a tunnel, say two or three feet square at the bottom, 

 where an old stove is placed, and some twelve feet or more 

 square at the top. Care should be taken before, during, and 

 after drying to prevent the sweating of the hop,which is very 

 injurious. Care should also be taken in packing in square 

 bales of hemp cloth, placed in a box prepared the shape of 

 the bale, with the side boards so arranged as to be removed 

 from the bale when filled. 



The hop crop at present is more profitable than almost 

 any other. Farmers in Otsego and Orange Counties, N. Y., 

 are realizing at the present price of hops (30 to 35 cents 

 per pound) from $300 to $400 per acre. Some districts 

 have gone into their cultivation very extensively, and the 

 demand still keeps full pace with the supply. 



Complaint was recently made by the inspector of hops in 

 Massachusetts, that " too many male hops were permitted 

 (six hills are sufficient) to the acre in that State," and also 

 they were injured by " too early picking, before they were 

 ripe, and bad picking." Care must be taken to avoid 

 frosts, and on that account a warm southern exposure is 

 preferable. If a sandy soil is chosen, irrigation is of great 

 advantage. Clay soil is very favorable if no water is 

 allowed to rest on its surface or subsoil — that is quite fatal 

 to the hop. Side hills that are liable to be washed should 

 be avoided. Mr. H. 11. Potter of East Hamilton, Madi- 

 son County, N. Y., reported in the Albany Cultivator 7801 

 lbs. of hops as the product of five acres in 1851. This, 

 however, was one of the largest crops ever known. The 

 whole expense of cultivation, interest, &c, was above $100 

 per acre or $550. 



