No. 10. 



Cultivation of the Hop. 



323 



remain tliere they never take the disease. 

 But bring these trees to New Haven, and 

 in fifteen months after their arrival they are 

 dying with the "yellows." There must 

 therefore be somclhing here which is not 

 there. The disease shows itself too soon 

 after the trees reach this country to admit 

 of the supposition that the cxliausting pro- 

 cesses said to be peculiar to our climate and 

 practices, have an agency in producing it. 

 Must we not suppose the disease to be con- 

 nected somehow with place rather than con- 

 dition? It matters not where our trees or 

 seeds come from — Liverpool, Flushing, New- 

 burg, Western New York or Ohio — if planted 

 out in New Haven or its vicinity, either in 

 light sand, or deep, rich loam, they die of 

 the " yellows ;" some in one, some in two, 

 all in three or four years. 



The inference from all this seems una- 

 voidable, that the cause of tne disease has 

 existence independent of the constitution of 

 the trees. What this cause is, where it is, 

 what it is attached to, what it emanates from, 

 thousands besides myself are waiting and 

 watching with anxiety to know. Many facts 

 which cannot now be detailed, show satisfac- 

 torily that the presence of a diseased tree 

 among healthy ones, has some deleterious 

 influence, direct or indirect, upon the health 

 of its neighbours — but in what way, we are 

 as yet unable to say. Our best mode of 

 guarding our trees against this destroyer is 

 in conformity with this idea of a communi- 

 cation of disease from one tree to another ; 

 which is, to exterminate diseased trees, and 

 replace them with such as are healthy. It 

 is found in practice desirable that the exter- 

 mination should extend to all affected trees, 

 leaving none. And the greater the territory 

 over which this measure is enforced, the bet- 

 ter. I cannot, from my own experience, say 

 confidently that it makes any difference whe- 

 ther the trees are rooted up when in full leaf, 

 or after the leaves have fallen. 



NoYEs Darling. 



New Haven, Ct., Feb. lOlh, 1846. 



Asparagus should be tender; if not, the 

 slower it is boiled the better. It should be 

 put into boiling water, with a little salt, and 

 boiled for half an hour. It is better to boil 

 it in a cotton bag, — and, by the way, all 

 house-keepers should have small cotton bags 

 for boiling vegetables in, as they are not only 

 better, but save time in dishing. When done, 

 have some toast ready, which dip in the wa- 

 ter in which the asparagus is boiled. Then 

 lay the asparagus on it, pour melted butter 

 over it, and send it to the table. — Ohio Cul- 

 tivator. 



Cultivation of tlic Bop.—Numulvs 



lupuhts. 



Although the Hop is not a culinary ve- 

 getable, as it is more or less used in every 

 part of our country, it may not be amiss to 

 treat of its culture. It is presumed, that in 

 proportion as habits of temperance are incul- 

 cated, our citizens will have recourse to 

 beer as a wholesome beverage; and as a 

 great deal depends on the manner in which 

 Hops are cured, I propose giving directions 

 for their management throughout, so as to 

 enable those who choose, to prepare their 

 own. My information is collected chiefly 

 from Loudon's Encyclopedia of Plants. 



" The Hop has been cultivated in Europe 

 an unknown length of time for its flowers, 

 which are used for preserving beer. Its cul- 

 ture was introduced from Flanders in the 

 reign of Henry the VIII; though indige- 

 nous both in Scotland and Ireland, it is little 

 cultivated in those countries, owing to the 

 humidity of their autumnal season. Like 

 other plants of this sort, the hop bears its 

 flowers on different individuals; the fe- 

 male plants, therefore, are alone cultivated. 

 There are several varieties grown in Kent 

 and Surrey, under the name of Flemish," 

 Canterbury, Goldings, &c. ; the first is the 

 most hardy, differing little from the wild or 

 Hedge Hop; the Goldings is an improved 

 and highly productive variety, but more sub- 

 ject to blight than the other. 



"The hop prefers a deep loamy soil on a 

 dry bottom ; a sheltered situation, but at the 

 same time not so confined as to prevent a 

 free circulation of air. The soil requires to 

 be well pulverized and manured previous to 

 planting. In hop districts the ground is 

 generally trenched either with a plough or 

 spade. The mode of planting is generally 

 in rows six feet apart, and the same distance 

 in the row. By some, five, six, or seven 

 plants, are placed in a circular form, which 

 circles are distant five or six feet from each 

 other. The plants or cuttings are procured 

 from the most healthy of the old stools ; each 

 should have two joints or buds : from the one 

 which is placed in the ground springs the 

 root, and from the other the stalk. Some 

 plant the cuttings at once where they are to 

 remain, and by others they are nursed a 

 year in a garden. An interval crop of beans 

 or cabbage is generally taken the first year. 

 Sometimes no poles are placed at the plants 

 till the second year, and then only short ones 

 of six or seven feet. The third year the hop 

 generally comes into full bearing, and then 

 from four to six poles from fourteen to six- 

 teen feet in length are placed to each circle, 

 or one pole to each plant if cultivated isa 



