30 SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION. 



generally set in each Hillock ; they should be planted at least 

 20 inches in the ground, and well secured, and they should 

 not on any account lean toward each other. About the 

 close of November the season for tying the bine commences. 

 The most forward shoots should be extirpated, and the others 

 tied to the pole. As the bines progress the persons employed 

 to tie them will have to provide themselves with light lad- 

 ders. This is all that will require to be done until the season 

 for taking the crop. Hops are known to be ready for pulling 

 when they acquire a strong scent, and the catkins become firm 

 and of a brown colour. The bines are then cut even with 

 the ground, the poles lowered carefully, and the hops picked 

 off, after which they are dried in a kiln. This should be 

 done as* speedily as possible after they are picked, as if left 

 for five or six hours they are apt to ferment and become un- 

 saleable. 



It is usual to plant one male to one hundred female sets ; 

 but one to one thousand might probably suffice. It requires 

 good deep soil, as the plant roots deeply, and lasts a number 

 of years. 



Two or three sets should be put in together, and the 

 earth heaped over them, these mounds being 6 feet apart 

 every way. By having the mounds in one row opposite the 

 spaces of the next, it enables you to run the plough, or 

 horse hoe, in three directions, which is an advantage. 



At this distance apart 1200 mounds will go to an acre; 



and as the average yield of each mound is about one bushel, 



or 1J lb., an acre will produce in a favourable season 16 to 



18 cwt. of hops. 



The first year poles of 6 feet are sufficient, but afterwards 



