^\)C jTanncr's iHontf)!]) llisitor. 



117 



The soil hest ciilciitated for the |ii-odiietion of 

 liops I consider lo he a sandy loam, rather K>w 

 anil moist. 1 am led to this cotioinsiDn paitly 

 fi-oni my own oliservalion, and failher (coiisidcr- 

 ili<,' nature an iidallihlo iiislriii-tor) IVom firjilins 

 the lands which prndiico tlieiii natnrully (inter" 

 vals and the hanks of lar^e rivers) to he of this 

 Kind. Yet, I must ohserve, I liavo seen very fine 

 crops raised on very ditferent soils. 



I should recommend the following: mode of 

 preparins; the laiiil and manayinjc llie crop. In 

 Ihe Itill (Octohei) plomjl] the land deep, nine or 

 ten inches. In the spring following, passu heavy, 

 sharp iron-tooiheil harrow over the land in the 

 same direction it was ploughed ; after which, 

 spread )onr inamne evenly over the same, six- 

 teen coids per a<M-e, and njore if the land he 

 nmch reduced; then cross-plough the land near- 

 ly the same depth, and tlrrrow it as for planting 

 corn, the fnrrows to he at least four feet apart. 



Jt is cnstomaiy to plant corn or potatoes with 

 the hops; (1 should preler potatoes.) Plant eve- 

 ry other hill in every otiier row with hops, thus 

 placing the hop hills at least eight feet apart.— 

 Pot four emtings from the running rool.s, ahout 

 eight inches in length, into each hill, and cover 

 them the common depth of potatoes. 



niany yards have been much injured by beiii" 

 planted too closely. It is of g. eat importance to 

 have the lulls so liir distant from eaeli other as 

 to admit a free current of air to pass throu"h 

 the yard. " 



All the attention requisite the first season after 

 the hops are planted, is to kee(> them clean from 

 weeds, which is easily done when hoeiii" 

 the crop planted anionffst them. In the fall 

 Octohei-,) to prevent their being injured hy the 

 iiard frosts of winter, carry on and lay out of 

 your cart one shovelful of compost manure on 

 the topol each hill; manure from the hog-sty I 

 should prefer. 



In each following spring, before the hops are 

 opened, as it is termed, spread evenly over the 

 yard about eight cords of manure per acre, 

 coarse strawy manure I should prefer, as it will 

 have a tendency to keep the land loose,) and 

 plough the field both ways at the first hoeiii^ 

 rhey rerpiire but three hoeings in a season, un- 

 less necessary to subdue the weeds; the last of 

 which should he perlbrmed when the hops are 

 in fiill blossom, (ahout the beginning of August.) 

 After the first crop, it is necessary to open the 

 hops, every spring, by the middle of ftlay;— 

 which IS performed by making four furrows be- 

 tween tlie rows, turning the furrows fiom the 

 hills, and running the plough as near to the same 

 as possible without injuring the main roots.— 

 Then the earth is removed from the roots with 

 11 hoe, all the running roots cut in, with a sharp 

 knife, within two inches of the luain roots; the 

 tops of ihe main roots must also be cut in, and 

 then the hills covered with earth about two 

 inches deep. 



The next thing necessary to be done is to sot 

 the poles. This should be done as soon as the 

 hop-vines begin to make their appearance. By 

 so doing, miicii time and labor will be saved in 

 tying up the vines to the poles,as many of the vines 

 will naturally take to the poles. There should 

 not be to exceed two vines to one pole, nor to 

 exceed two poles to one hill, nor any pole to ex- 

 ceed sixteen feet in height. Many yards have 

 been very much injured by letting a greater 

 number of vines grow on one pole, and almost 

 destroyed by over-poling. 



Very much depends on paying due attention, 

 HI the spring, to select the most thrifty vines 

 and tiaining them to the pole.s, which is done by 

 fastening them to the poles with a piece of yarn, 

 slightly twisted together with the thumb and 

 nnger. 



It will be necessary to inspect your hop-yanl 



frequently, until the hops begin to blossom, and 



tie up the vines," as it is termed, as they are 



subject to he blown off the poles by every hi-h 



wind. ■' ■' = 



As soon as the bops are ripe, which is about 

 theheginningof September, they must be im- 

 mediately gathered, or the crop is lost. The 

 qiiality of the ho;,s depends considerably on 

 their being picked clean from leaves and stems. 

 Ihe labor of picking or gathering the hops may 

 be well jierformed by women and children, hav- 

 ing one man to a bin to handle the poles and to 

 inspect the pickers. The bin is a wooden box, 



about nine feet long, three feet wide, and two 

 and a half high, made of thin pine hoards, that 

 it may be easily moveil over the yard, across 

 which the poles are laid, and into which the 

 hojis are picked by hand. Care should be ta- 

 ken, when gathering the hops, to cut the vines 

 two feet fi-oiii the ground, that the roots may not 

 lie injured by bleeding. 



The most important part in the management 

 of hops is the curing or drying of them. Here 

 I would note that hops always grow first sort, 

 and that all second sort and refuse hops are 

 made so by unfortunate or unskilful manage- 

 ment. 



Much depends on having a well constructed 

 kiln. For the convenience of putting the hops 

 on the kiln, the side of a hill is generally chosen 

 lor Its situation, (are should be taken that it be 

 a dry situation. The kiln should be dug out the 

 same bigness at the bottom as at the lop ; the 

 side vv.dls laid up perpendicularly, and filled in 

 solid wiih stone, to give it a tunnel form.— 

 Twelve feet square at tiie top, two feet sipiare at 

 the bottom, and at least eight feet deep, is deem- 

 ed a convenient size. On the top of the walls 

 sills are laid, having joisis let into them in like 

 manner as for laying a floor; on which laths, 

 ahout one and a half inches wide, are nailed, 

 leaving open spaces between them three-fourths 

 of an inch, over which a thin linen cloth is 

 spread and nailed at the edges to the sills. A 

 board about twelve inches wide is set up on each 

 side of the kiln, on the inner edge of the sill, to 

 form a bin to receive the hops. The larger the 

 stones made use of in the construction of the 

 kiln, the better; as it will give a more steady and 

 dense heat. The inside of the kiln shouFd be 

 well plastered with mortar, to make it complete- 

 ly air tight. Charcoal (that made fi-om yellow 

 birch or maple 1 should prefer) is the only fuel 

 proper lo be used in drying hops. The kiln 

 should be well heated belbre any hops are put 

 on, and carefully attended to keep a steady and 

 regnlnr heat. 



Fifty pounds of hops, when dried, is the lar- 

 gest quantity that should be dried at one time, 

 on a kiln of this size ; and unless absolutely ne- 

 cessary to put on that quantity, a less would dry 

 better. The green hops should be spread as 

 evenly and as light as po.'isible over the kiln.— 

 The fire at first should he moderate, but it may 

 be increased as the hops dry and the steam is 

 evaporated. 



Hops should not remain long in the bin or bag 

 afler they are picked, as they will very soon heat 

 and become insipid. The hops should not be 

 stirred on the kiln until they are completely and 

 billy dried. Then they should be removed from 

 the kiln into a dry room and laid in a heap, and 

 there reniain, unmoved and unstirred, until bag- 

 ged, which is done with a screw, having a bo.x 

 made of plank, the size the hag is wished, into 

 which the cloth is laid, and the hops screwed 

 into the box, which is .so constructed that the 

 sides may be removed, and the bag sewed to- 

 gether while in the press. 



The bops, after laying a few diiys, will gather 

 a partial moisture, called a sweat. The sweat 

 will probably begin to subside in about eight 

 days, at which time, and before the sweat is off, 

 they ought to be bagged in clear dry weather.— 

 As the exact time when the hops will begin to 

 sweat, and when the sweat will begin to subside 

 or dry off, (ihe proper time to bag them,) will va- 

 ry with the state of the atmosphere, it will be 

 necessary to examine the hops from day to day, 

 which is easily done by taking some of them 

 fiom the centre of the heap with your hand. If 

 on examination you find the hops to be very 

 damp, and their color ahering, which will be the 

 case if they were not com|detely dried on the 

 kiln, and not otherwise, you must overhaul them 

 and dry them in the air. 



The most convenient size for a bag of hops to 

 handle and transport, is about five feet in length, 

 and to contain ahout two hundred and fifty 

 pounds. The best bagging is coarse and stroni' 

 tow cloth of our (Jomestic irianufacturing ; next 

 to that, Russia hep,i|) bagging. The East India 

 sugar and gunny bsigs, so called, ought never to 

 be used. The sugar bags are of an unreasonable 

 weight, and both liiey and the gunny bags are of 

 no value to the brewer; whereas the other bags 

 are worth prime cost. 

 It is now common for those who have enter- 



ed considerably into the cultivation of hops, to 

 build houses over their kilns, which, in wet 

 weather, are very convenient; otherwise, a kiln 

 111 tlie open air would, in my opinion, be prefer- 

 alile. It IS necessary to have these buildings 

 well ventilated with doors and windows; and to 

 bave them kept open night and day, except in 

 wet weather, and then shut those only which are 

 necessary to keep out the rain. If u ventilator 

 was put in Ihe roof of the building, directly over 

 the centre of the kiln, about six feet square, built 

 like those in breweries and distilleries, I am of 

 opinion they would be found very advantageous. 

 I have seen many lots of hops much injured both 

 III color and flavor by being dried in close build- 

 ings. 



Where the houses over the kilns are built 

 large, for the purpose of storing the hops as they 

 are dried, which is a great saving of labor, u 

 close partition should he made between the kilns 

 and the room in which the hops are stored, to 

 prevent the damp steam fiom tfie kilns coming 

 to them, as it will color them, and injure their 

 Havor and quality very much. 



I expect that many of our farmers will object 

 to the mode of manuring hops which I have re- 

 commended, their common practice being to put 

 the manure in the hills when they plant the 

 hops, and afterwards to apply the manure on the 

 hills at the first and second hoeings. I find the 

 hop-roots are very liable to be injured by the 

 worms, and to itecay. My opinion is, that the 

 manure in the hill has a tendency to produce the 

 worms, and its fermentation at their roots to 

 cause their decay ; and that the crop is not more 

 it as abundant, as when manured in the maiinei' 

 I have recommended : and, farther, that a hop- 

 yard manured in this manner will continue in a 

 healthy stale for many years. 



I also expect the quantity of manure I have 

 recommended will be objected to by many, it 

 being the common received opinion, that hops 

 should have little or no manure. I find it a gen- 

 eral complaint amongst the litrmers where hops 

 have been cultivated many years, that the quan- 

 tity raised per acre does not exceed the one-half 

 raised by their ancestors on the same land ; in- 

 ferring that the " hops are running out," as 'it is 

 termed, and cannot now be cultivated lo advan- 

 tage. Hops, I believe, in common with all sorts 

 of gram and vegetables, flourish best and pro- 

 duce the finest crops when cultivated on new 

 lands, which require little or no manure ; and 

 such were the lands which their ancestors culti- 

 vated. The same complaint I presutne would he 

 made against all sorts of grain and vegetables, if 

 raised with little or no manure, on lands that 

 have long been cultivated. 



From my own observations, 1 am confident 

 that no crap can be more improved and increas- 

 ed by high cultivation than hops. 



Making A Major GENERAi..-The recent man- 

 ntacture of Brigadier and Major Generals in Washing- 

 ton has had one good efrect at least. It has drawu 

 tiom partial oblivion the following anecdote in regard 

 to the appointment of Washington lo the office of Com- 

 mander-in Chief, at; ihe time when great men were 

 neither " few nor fur between." We clip it from the 

 Saturday Courier: 



At no period of the Revolution did the arm of Om- 

 nipotence appear more apparent in behalf of the Thir- 

 teen Colonies, than in the entire unanimity with which 

 Washington received his appointment of Commander- 

 in-(_hiet ot lier armies. Previous to that event Wash- 

 ington was comparatively unknown beyond his own 

 native province of Virginia. The shadowing forth of 

 tliat greatness of purpose, design and execution that 

 lias made him " the mark and model of the world " 

 was so feeble that he had never suspected it in him- 

 self, while Gen. Ward, in die Eastern Colonies, and 

 Lee, in the Southern, stood prominently forth as brave 

 and experienced Commanders, and upon them the eyes 

 ot all were turned as the most fitting persons for the 

 command. Congress had already assembled, and had 

 entered upon the work of allaying sectional interests, 

 tor, as they were Generals of equal grade, it seemed a 

 nicely balanced question as to which should receive 

 the appointment— each section naturally feeling jealous 

 of its rights, felt anxiaus for the honor. Then it was 

 that John Adams, the master spirit of the times, step- 

 ped forth; he al«ne of the three millions of inhabitants 

 liad hxed his eye, as if directed by unerring wisdom 

 upon another, and never, until the moment for action 

 arrived had he communicated his thoughts to a human 

 being. On the 14th day of June, 1776, he invited his 

 cousin, Samuel Adams, to a walk. Early in the morn- 



