1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



325 



For the New England Farmer. 



HOP VINES. 



"Good evening, neighbor Robbins. Take a 

 seat." 



"Good evening, sir. Pen, ink and paper before 

 you. I often find you thus occupied. I wonder 

 what you can find to write about, so much." 



"Yes, I sometimes employ a leisure hour in this 

 way. I was just thinking I would write something 

 for the Farmer. What shall I write about ?" 



"Well, there are so many subjects connected 

 with agriculture, that I should think you could 

 readily find something to write about." 



"But, my dear sir, in the very fact that there are 

 so many subjects, lies the difficulty. If there were 

 but one or two subjects, one would never be at a 

 loss what to write about. I suppose many a man 

 has lived a bachelor all his life, because he could not 

 make u]) his mind which one of the many pretty girls 

 arouiid him, he should select for a wile. If there 

 had been but one or two girls in his neighborhood, 

 he would have married long ago. Is it not so, 

 neighl)or II. ?" 



"Perha])s there is something in your suggestion. 

 One would not like to offend all the rest, by select- 

 ing one who is no better than they are." 



"Offend the rest ! Do you believe the girls are so 

 selfish as to be offended because a man chooses one 

 of their number for a wife? No, no ! They will 

 like him the better for thus showing a proper ap- 

 preciation of tne value of the sex ; and, besides, 

 when one is taken off there is a better chance for 

 the rest. Depend upon it, sir, the girls will never 

 be offended when a man takes a wii'e. But what 

 is that which you have in your hand ?" 



"A piece of hop vine." 



"Let me see it. Perhaps this will do for a sub- 

 ject to write about." 



"Write about a hop vine ! I think if I were 

 going to M'rite, I would take some juicier subject 

 than that. That must be a little too dry." 



"The virtues of jilants do not all reside in their 

 juice, neighbor. Let us see. Here is the bark or 

 outer covering, the bitter principle, the tannin 

 and the coloring matter, the leaves and the young 

 shoots, of which cattle are very fond. Now let us 

 recollect what we have heard about the uses of 

 hop vines. 



In England, they are used instead of oak bark, 

 for tanning light skins. The red vines are said to 

 contain the most tannin. In Sweden, the stalks 

 are successfully converted into strong cloth for 

 sacking and bags for holding the hops. They are 

 gathered in autumn, and soaked in water during 

 the winter, and after being dried on stones, are 

 dressed like flax. A coarse kind of paper has been 

 made from them. They are used as binders for 

 sheaves of grain. The prunings are cut into pieces, 

 and stored for winter food for cattle and horses, 

 which are very fond of them, their bitterness con- 

 stituting them an excellent stomachic. The tender 

 shoots of the hop may be used in the spring as a sal- 

 ad. In Flanders, the young shoots are used in the 

 same way as asparagus. An extract is procured 

 from the leaves and shoots that forms a dye for 

 woollens, of a fine cinnamon color, and in France 

 they are made to aflbrd a ])crmanent brown. All 

 these uses are distinct from the hop itself, for which 

 the plant is cultivated. Here, then, we have tannin, 

 «Ioth, paper, ropes, food for cattle and men, medi- 



cine and dye-stuff'*, all from the hop vine. This is 

 not so dry a subject, after all, neighbor! And, 

 besides, from this subject, we may gather "food for 

 thought." How many of the products of nature 

 consist essentially of the same elements, and may 

 be readily substituted in practical use, the one for 

 the other. Here is a fruitful text from which an 

 ingenious man might write a long sermon ; herein 

 are displayed the forecast and wisdom of the Crea- 

 tor. When the supjily for man's wants is exhaust- 

 ed in one form, he finds it stored up in another 

 form, and safely preserved for his use ; as a general 

 fact, man never learns the uses of material things 

 any sooner than he is compelled by his necessities; 

 and, sometimes he struggles a long time under dif- 

 ficulties, before he finds out the proper remedies, 

 although they exist in abundance in the common- 

 est objects that lie thickly scattered around him. 



The Indians and Mexicans used iron ore to paint 

 their bodies, and ornament the dressed sl<ins of an- 

 imals, and all the while used axes and chisels and 

 arrow-heads of stone, because they had not learned 

 to separate the metal from the oxygen which had 

 convei-ted it into rust. Oyster shells, clam shells 

 and bones, were an incumbrance and a nuisance un- 

 til their agricultural use gave them a commercial 

 value. When we shall invent some process 1)y 

 which granite can be converted into fine powder 

 like gypsum, it will become valuable as a manure 

 for certain soils, and then we shall be able to make 

 apple trees thrive on clay soils, as well as on graA'- 

 eliy loams. Straw, certain grasses and weeds, are 

 now becoming valuable as materials for paper, and 

 I have recently noticed that the stalks of the 

 broom corn are being used for this purpose. The 

 waste of the soap maker and tanner are now 

 valuable as manures. So in a thousand instances, 

 substances of the most promising appearnce, and 

 of no apparent value, have become the fruitful 

 sources by which our wants and conveniences are 

 supplied. The fact is, neighbor, nature has created 

 nothing in vain. When we have discovered a new 

 and important value in some common and hitherto 

 worthless article, we are surprised that it was never 

 thought of before. The most necessary and useful 

 articles are the cheapest and most al^undant, the 

 world over, and in this fact the care and benevo- 

 lei.ce of the Creator are manifested. He has fur- 

 nished the raw material, and left it to the ingenuity 

 and industry of man to convert it into such forms 

 jas shall best contribute to his advantage and com- 

 , fort. But I am not going to write a sermon, and 

 so I will stop. I thank you, neighbor, for bringing 

 I in that piece of hop vine. If it has no other use, it 

 I has served to occupy us pleasantly for half an hour. 

 ' Well, I shall hang up this dry hop vine, in some 

 j conspicuous place, just to remhid nie that there is 

 nothing made in vain, and so good-night." J. R. 



Devon Cattle. — We have received from San- 

 ford Howard, Esq., American Editor of the De- 

 von Herd Book, a circular, stating that he is now 

 collecting materials for a third volume, and inviting 

 breeders to send him the pedigrees of all animals 

 eligiijle for entry in the work. Mr. Howard has 

 also sent us Lewis G. Morris' 7th catalogue of 

 pure bred domestic animals, to be sold at auction 

 at Mount Fordham, N. Y., on Tuesday and Wednes- 

 day, the 24th and 25tli of June, 1856. 



