58 



GENESEE FARMER. 



Mar. 



Hop Culture. 



IVIr. Editor ; — We wish to learn something about hops 

 and hop-raising. Will you be so kind as to give hs through 

 the medium of your excellent publicatiin, all that is impor- 

 tant upon the subject? We contemplate next season lay- 

 ing out a hop garden, if we are justified in the undertaking, 

 and should like all the definite and necessary information 

 we can obtain. 



Please inform us first how to lay off a hop garden ? — how 

 to plant it .'—how much manure to apply on common red clay 

 soilj? — what situation to choose, hill-side or low land? — how 

 to attend such a vine garden when planted ? — what is the 

 average yield per hill or per acre ? — liow to prepare them for 

 market when gathered? — (don"t they have to be dried ?) — 

 In a word, if it be profitable business, where the price may 

 range from 18 to 20 cts. per pound ?— -or will the outlay and 

 labor bestowed not justify the undertaki.ig ? 



F'or the above information we wi 1 not only remain 

 obliged to you, but will allow you the liulance of the remit- 

 tance over what will renew our subscription for another 

 year to your valuable perioaicai, for your trouble. 

 We remain, yours, very resptttfully, 



Fl.KTCiIEK C. K.\NAG.\. 



Urbaria, O.. D.?r. 24, 184G. 



Mr. Editor : — One of your subscribers, (Mr. Wilbur.) 

 wishes to know, through the Farmer if convenient, vvjiere 

 he can obtain hop roots — the soil best adapted, and the best 

 manner of cultivation. He contemplates setting about five 

 acres. 



Canandaigua, Jan. 1847. Wm. Maiitin. 



The above is a fair sample of a large number 

 of letters on all subjects pertaining to rural affairs, 

 that constantly accumulate on our hands. To do 

 full justice to these numerous inquiries, to our- 

 self, and the iinportant subjects referred to, would 

 not only consume our wlsole time, but require a 

 journal twice as large as this. Hitherto, hop- 

 growers have had very little of editorial service 

 and we feel bound to give them a liberal space 

 in this number, to the seeming neglect of other 

 interests. 



The Hop [Hamulus lupulus) is a valuable 

 plant. Its successful, and profitable culture, re- 

 quire some experience, and much care. It is a 

 crop in the production of which Science can 

 render the most essential aid. Tuis aid to the 

 practical hop-grower we aim to impart in this 

 article, while we shall briefly describe for our 

 Western correspondent the general practice for its 

 culture, so far as we are informed. 



The land sliould be naturally rich, or made so, 

 by well rotted manure, lime, and ashes. Chem- 

 istry informs the practical farmer that the hop 

 blossom [slrohulus,) and bitter elements {I ujnil in) 

 abound in salt-petre, or nitrate of potash; while 

 long e.xpcrience teaches him that this plant grows 

 most luxuriantly in a soil about as rich as an old 

 nitre bed near a stable or bain-yard, can make 

 it. In England the ground is often trenched, 

 and the excavation filled with compost, that the 

 roots may go deep, and imbibe their appropriate 

 nourishment from a large surface. Deep, and 

 thorough plowing, are indi-spensable. A side 

 hill, or a southern ex{)0sure should be selected, 

 if practicable. 



The roots are perennial, and will live and 

 bear annual crops for many years, with good cul- 

 ture, and good luck. They are usually planted 



in rows six feet apart either way, and hx>m four 

 to six inches deep. They are cut frona the hills 

 of old plants, whose roots have been laid bare by 

 the plow. The portions planted should contain 

 one or two eyes, of which eight or ten are enough 

 for a hill. They should be well separated on the 

 ground, i. e. placed a foot apart, that the future 

 roots may have room, and easily spread in all 

 directions . No poles are needed the first sea- 

 son ; and a hoed crop may be grown on the land, 

 which should be kept clean, and in good tilth. — 

 In November, the ground should be plowed and 

 the earth turned toward the hills. Early in the 

 spring the hillocks are opened, and the last year's 

 shoots cut off within an inch of the main stem ; 

 and all the suckers quite close to it. Two or 

 three substantial poles, from 16 to 25 feet iu 

 length, should be firmly set with an iron bar 

 in each hill. When the plant has grown three 

 or four feet, it should be trained and tied to the 

 pole below the third set of leaves, and started in 

 its windings upward in a direction with the sun. 

 Care should be taken not to let too many vines 

 grow from a hill, as their foliage will shade the 

 blossom?:, and greatly injure their fruitfulness. 

 Two or three vines to a pole are enough.* — 

 Hops are plowed and hoed in this State like corn. 



The gathering, kiln-drying, and bagging of 

 hops, is an important branch of the business of 

 the planter. It is in this part of the process that 

 experience and good judgment are most valua- 

 ble. The time to gather ihe blossoms is indica- 

 ted by the turning of the lower leaves on the 

 vine, and the bright straw color of the seeds. 



The vines should be cut a foot or two from the 

 ground, as the bleeding, of the stems will weaken 

 the roots if severed close to the earth. The 

 poles are laid over long narrow boxes, which re- 

 ceive the hops as girls and others pick them from 

 the vines. After the latter become dry, they 

 should be cut off the poles, burnt, and the ashes 

 kept to apply to the hills of the parent roots next 

 season. 



We will describe the drying and bagging pro- 

 cess in our next ; as we have yet to illustrate by 

 a drawing and description the anatomical peculi- 

 arities of this cultivated plant. Don't be fright- 

 ened at botanical names. The information com- 

 municated will be found of much practical value 

 to all hop-growers that happen not to be accjuaint- 

 ed with the class Dixcia. and many are thus sit- 

 uated. 



The Humulus lupulus belongs to the class 

 Dicccia, i. e. to one in which the pistils and sta- 

 mens, (the organs that form seeds and propagate 

 the race,) grow on separate, and often distant, 

 plants. Letter a, in the drawing below, shows 

 a male, or staminate hop, which prepares pollen, 

 or fertilizing dust, not unlike that which falls on 

 the silk of corn from the spikes above. The 

 male plant is often regarded as a wild hop, and 



S^orae hop-growers allow only one vine to a pole. 



