PLANTING AND CULTURE. 93 



not followed in this country, although it is to some ex- 

 tent in Germany. Some farmers plant the roots in the 

 same way as potatoes by simply dropping them in the 

 mark. But they are apt to dry up or remain dormant 

 for a long time, in a dry season. They will thus get a 

 late start and make a feeble growth ; the runners, more- 

 over, are agt to shoot out a good deal from the hill, 

 thus getting the hill out of place. 



In Washington, the yard is planted by shoving a 

 spade deep into the ground on the same side of each 

 hill peg, and setting two roots in the hole thus made, 

 placing one in each side of the spade hole, and then 

 pressing the soil firmly around them. Care is taken to 

 get the roots set perpendicularly and the right end up, 

 or on a slight angle pointing to center of hill, and the 

 top end covered one or two inches below the surface 

 and level of the ground. 



Planting should be done as early in the spring as 

 possible, because the hills will thus get a much stronger 

 growth and the crop of the following year will be from 

 25 to 50 per cent, larger than from late planted hills. 

 Fall planting is the rule in England and on the conti- 

 nent. In California, planting is done in January and 

 February, and further north during March and April. 

 About three bushels of good roots may be allowed for 

 planting one acre of ground. There should always be 

 three or four rows planted across the field (between 

 the hop vines), with hills that are two feet apart. This 

 will give a supply of extra roots that can be taken up 

 the following spring to fill in the missing spots where 

 some hills may have died out. A nursery should also 

 be planted every year, so as to have sets to fill in any 

 of the missing hills the following spring. 



If the new plantation is not to yield a crop of hops 

 the first year, poles are not set, but stakes 12 or 15 

 inches high are driven in the north side of each hill to 

 mark its location. The space between the rows is then 



