310 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[April 21, 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 1326. 

 TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



CULTURE OF HOPS. 



Dover, N. H. April 14, 1826. 

 Sir — I observed in a late ninnber of the Farm- 

 er, some remarks on the culture of Hops. An 



inch. Two or three sets to a pole will be suf-| myai be taken to gather hops in if possible ; and 

 ficlent, anj three poles to a hill will be found, hops ought not to be gathered when the dew ia 

 most productive. Place one of the poles to- ; on them, for dew is apt lo make them mould. 



wards the north, the other two at equal dis- 

 tances, about two feet apart. The sets are to 

 be placed in the same manner as the poles, that 

 they may the easier climb. The length of the 

 poles may be from fourteen to eighteen feel, 



They should be dried as sopn as possible after 

 they are gathered ; if not immediately, they 

 must be spread on a floor to prevent their 

 chanfjing colour. The best mode of drying them 

 is with a tire of charcotil, on a kiln covered witli 



accordmg as the soil is tor richness. The poles] hair cloth, in the manner of a malt kiln. The 

 should be placed inclining towards each otherjtire must be kept steady and equal, and the hops 



instance was adduced in which great profits had ,„ „, to meet at the top," where they may be 1 stirred gently. Great attention is necessary iq 

 arisen from their culture. In this vicinity the I ,igj ^^h.^ j^ contrary to the European method, 'this part of "the business, that the hops be unl- 

 r.ising of hops has received very little attention, but will be found best in America. In this way I tormly and sufficiently dried : if loo much dried 

 VVe are, ot course, ignorant ot the maimer ol j ,i,ev „il| strengthen and support each other, j they will look brown as if they were burnt, ami 

 managing them to advantage. It is observed in i g„j ^^^^ ^^ g^, ^ j^fg^ce against the violent ; if loo little dried, they will lose their color and 

 the article alluded to that « they were planted g,,^,^ „,■ „i„j ,^, „hich our climate is frequent- 1 flavor. They should be laid on the hair cloih 

 eight leet apart; but whether the roots ',r , ,,,:gj.t ;„, he months of July and August, as ^about six inches thick, after it had been mode- 

 seeds were planted we are not informed. Youj,„ „t their being blown down. They i ralely warmed ; then a steady fire kept up till 

 would confer an obiigal.on on your subscribers .^l„ 1,,^^,^^,^ f„^^ ^ f^ree- sided pyramid, which the hops are nearly dry, lest the moisture or 

 here, It you would inform us through the medi-^^^i,, h,,^^ ,^6 greatest possible advantage from .sweat, that the lire has raised, should fall back, 

 um ot your paper, how the ground should he j^g ^y^ - - ■ ■ . . .' . . . ' 

 prepared for planting, — what is the method of' 



It is suggested by experience, that and change their colour. After the hops have 

 hops which grow near the ground are the best, been in this situation about seven, eight or nine 



hours, and have got through sweating ; and 



plantmg,-and rruinner ot treatment alter plant- 1 rp^„ ^ -,g^ ^^^ ^^, '^, ^^^, ^,,^g „^„,t ^e 



,ng-likew,se the manner ot harvesting and | .^^g^ „ = t the vines do not run beyond the 

 preparing the hops lor market. A FARMER. L„,g, ^ ,,^i„i„^ „gf „,gir ,„p, „i„ p^e'vent it.- 



The best kinds of wood for poles are the alder, I spread them again, and 

 lash, birch, elm, chesnut and cedar. Their du- they are all equally dry 



Remarks hy the 



tions for the culture ; 



when struck with a stick, will leap up, then 



throw them into a heap ; mix them well and 



et them remain till 



While they are in the 



j the ground, will be of service to preserve them. 

 Hops should not be poled till the spring of the 

 second year, and then not till they have been 

 dressed. All that is necessary for the first year, 

 is lo keep the hops t'ree from weeds, and the 

 ground light and mellow, by hoeing often, and 

 ploughing if the yard is large enough to require 

 it. The vines when run to the length of four 

 on which hops are to be planted, should be made ; or five feet should be twisted together to pre- 



which (hey stand, and burning the end put into burning them. Slacken the fire when the hops 



^ , ^ ""'' curing of hops, are tak- j rableness is directly the reverse of the order in |s\ve'al, it will be best not move them' for fear of 



en Irom the 1 ransaclions ol the Agricultural!, . •' . - . i. ... . . 



Society of New York : 



" A rich, deep soil, rather inclining to mois- 

 ture, is, on the whole, the best adapted to the 

 cultivation of hops; but it is observal>le, that 

 any soil, (slifl'clay only excepted) will suit the 

 growing of hops when properly prepared; and 

 in many parts of Great Brit.iin they ii-^e the bog- 

 ground, which is fit forlillle else. The gronml 



rich with that kind of manure best suited to the 

 soil, and rendered fine and mellow by being 

 ploughed deep and harrowed several times. — 

 The hills should be at ihe distance of six or 

 eight feet from each other, according to the 

 richness of the ground. On ground that is rich. 



vent their bearing the first year, for that would 

 injure them. In the raonlhs of March or April 

 of the second year, the hills must be opened, 

 and all Ihe sprouts, or suckers, cut off within 

 an inch of the old root, but that must be left 

 entire with the roots that run down* ; then cov- 



Ihe vines will run the most, Ihe hills must there- 1 er Ihe hills with fine earth and manure. The 

 lore be farthest apart. | hops must be kept free from weeds, and the 



.\t the first opening of Ihe spring, when the : ground mellow, by hoeing often through the 

 frosts are over, and vegelalion begins, se!s, or ; season, and hills of earth gradually raised a 

 small pieces of llie roots of hops, must be ob- ' 

 t.iined from hops that are esteemed the best* cut 



off from the main .stalk or mot, six or eight 

 inches in length. Branches, or suckers, most 

 healthy, and of the last year's growth, must b'; 

 sought lor. They may easily be known by 

 their looking while. Two or three joints or 



round the vines during the summer. The vines 

 must be assisted in running on the [loles with 

 woollen yarn, suflering them to run with the 

 sun. 



By 4he last of August or first of September, 

 the hops will ripen and be fit to gather. This 

 may easily be known by their colour changing. 



buds should be left on each set. The sets ! and having a fragrant smell ; their seed grows 

 should be put into the ground as soon as taken : brown and bard.* As soon as ripe they must be 

 up, if possible ; if not, they should be wrapped , galhered without delay, for a storm or frosts 

 in a cloth, kepi in a moist place, excluded from] Will injure them materially. The most expe- 

 the air. A hole sboulil then be made large and dient method of picking hops is lo cut the vines 

 deep, and filled with rich mellow earth. The j three feet from ihe ground, pull up the poles, 

 sprouts should be set in this earth, with the ! and lay them on crutches horizontally at a height 

 bud upwards, and the ground pressed closo , dial may be convenienllv reached. Put under 

 round them. If Ihe buds have begun lo open, jt|,em a bin of equal leng'th, and four may stand 

 the uppermost must be left just out of the 1 on each side to pick at a time. Fair weather 

 ground; otherwise, cover it with the earth an 



Hops must be dressed every year as soon as the 



•* Of Ihe different kinds of 

 most csU'euied. It yields the _ 



most beuiitilul. Tlie beauty ofho(.3 consists in their 1 i,y ^^ny (q be the best method to maiu;re the hop 

 beinsofa pale bright green co!oiir._ jCare must l:e j y;,rd in the fall, and cover the hills entirely wilh ma- 

 nure ; asserting', with other advantages, that this prc- 



are to be turned, and increase it afterwards.—* 

 Hops are fully dried when their inner stalks 

 break short, and their leaves crisp and fall ofi" 

 ensily. They will crackle a little %vhen the 

 seeds are bursting and then they must be taken 

 from the kiln. Hops that are dried in the sun 

 lose their rich flavour, and if under cover, they 

 are apt to ferment and change wilh the weath- 

 er, and lose their strength. Fire preserves the 

 colour and flavour of the hops, by evaporating 

 tile water and retaining the oil of Ihe hops. — 

 After the hops are taken from Ihe kiln, ihey 

 should be laid in a heap to acquire a little moist- 

 ure 'o fit them for bagging. It would be well 

 to exclude them from the air by covering them 

 with blankets. Three or four days will be suf- 

 ficient for them to lie in that stale. 



When the hops are so moist that they may be 

 pressed together without breaking, they are fit 

 for bagging. Bags made of coarse linen clolh, 

 eleven feet in length, and seven in circumfe- 

 rence, which hold two hundred pounds weight, 

 are most common in Europe ; but any size that 

 best suits may be made use of. To bag hops, 

 a hole is made through a ^oor large enough for 

 a man to pass with ease ; the bag must be fast- 

 ened to a hoop larger than the hole, that the 

 floor may serve to support the bag and for Ihe 

 convenience of handling the bags, some hops 

 should be lied in each coiner to serve as han- 

 dles. The hops should be gradually Ihroivn 

 into the bag and trod down continually till Ihe 

 bag is filled. The mouth of the bag must then 

 be sewed, and Ihe hops are fit for market. The 

 harder hops are packed, Ihe longer and better 

 they will keep; but they must be kept dry. In 

 most parts of Great Britain where hops are cnl- 



hops, the long white is I (,.^^i ^y.l\ permit. On this bein^ Well done, depends in I tivated, they esliroale the charges of cultivating 

 reutest quantity and is , a great measure the success of the crop, it is thought ' an acre of hops at forty-two dollars, for manur- ^ 



tnken lo obtam all ul' one sort, but if differerit sorts are 

 iised, they must be kept separate in the field ; for 

 fher'^ is in ditrerent kinds oPhops a material diiTeicnce 

 ill their time of riiieniug ; and if intermixed, will oc- 

 casion extra trouble in irathciiu"'. 



vents tlie frosts during the winter, from injuring the 

 hop. The truth of this may , be determined by experi- 

 ments io our climate and countrv. 



ing and tilling, exclusive of poles and rent of 

 land. Poles they estimate at sixteen dollars 

 per year, but in this country they would not n- 

 mount to half that sum. An acre is computed to 

 requite about Ihree thousaad poles, which will 



