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feet to each hill ; this will make about 680 hills to the acre. Air, 

 light, and the full influence of the sun, are very important to 

 the perfection of the flower and the forming a good portion of 

 the lupulin, the yellow flower in which nearly all the essential 

 properties of the plant consist. 



The first season of planting, Indian corn, potatoes, beans, 

 &c. may be planted in the same field, in the vacant spaces, as 

 the hops will occupy only a quarter of the ground. Hops once 

 planted frequently do well for ten years in succession, if the 

 roots, in the month of April or early part of May, are well dress- 

 ed and pruned. 



The second year after planting, the poles are set. Two poles 

 go to each hill and two vines to each pole, selecting four of the 

 best and most thrifty vines ; and when about two feet long they 

 are to be trained to the poles by some slight fastening. About 

 1360 poles are required to the acre, which in this county are 

 worth three dollars per hundred or about forty dollars for an 

 acre. Cedar, spruce, hemlock and larch poles, with proper care 

 will last from seven to ten years; it will require an annual ex- 

 pense, not exceeding six to seven dollars, to keep the poles good. 

 Pine, maple, oak, birch, and other kinds of wood, are used for 

 poles ; but these do not last so long as those first mentioned. — 

 The length of the poles varies from 16 to 22 feet. They 

 should not be too stiff", but a pole with considerable elasticity is 

 to be preferred. They must be firmly placed in the ground, so 

 as to stand against the wind. Strong winds injure hop fields, 

 and especially if the poles, as is sometimes the case, are from 

 25 to 30 feet long ; but the height of the poles should bear 

 some relation to the strength and richness of the soil. It is 

 desirable, other circumstances being equal, to select a situation 

 not exposed to the violence of the winds. 



The best way of manuring hops is to spread the manure on 

 the ground and plough it in when the vines are dressed. In 

 this way it affords gradually and universally the nourishment 

 which the roots require. I3y applying it directly to the hill it 

 forces to an excess the growth of the stem and leaf, and its cffl- 



