NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PublibU :d iv<Ty Saturday, l>y I'HDMAS W. SHtl'ARU, Kog.Ts' IJuiUiinj:, Congress Slreet, IJostnn ; at $2,M ptr ami. in advancfi, or $3,00 at th'-- close nl tht yt ai 



Vol. I. 



BOSTON. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5. 1822. 



No. 10. 



HOPS. 



We have been frequently requested to ghe, in tin- 

 ievf England Farmer, a statement of the mostapprov- 

 :d method of cultivating Hops. Wc accordingly copy 

 he following from Messrs. Wells & Lilly's edition of 

 Jcane's Georgical Dictionary. If any of our readers 

 ire" in possession of any more improved mode of pro- 

 luring that article, we should be very glad to receive 

 m account of it for publication. 



HOP, Humuhis, a narcotic plant of the rep- 

 ile kind, the flower of which is an in2:redient 

 n beer, ale, &.c. As 1 have not hud much ex- 

 jerience in hops, I shall give an account of the 

 Manaoement of them, chietl}' aljstt'acteJ from 

 he Complete Fiirmcr, and abridged. 



A rich, deep, mellow, dry soil, rather inclin- 

 ing to sand than clay, is best adapted to the ciil- 

 ivation of hops. A black garden mould is ex- 

 :ellent. 



The ground should be ploughed very deep, 

 jr dug ivith a spade, reduced to a tine mould liy 

 repeated ploughing and harrowing, and laid 

 ven. 



When the ground is in proper i-eaditiess for 

 slanting, let a line be stretched on a straight 

 side of a licld, with knots or rags in it, as far 

 jsunder as you design your hills shall be ; and 

 itick in the ground a sharp pointed stick at ev- 

 ;ry knot, as marks for the places uhcre the 

 lills are to be made. Remove the line to such 

 I distance as to make the hills equidistant both 

 •vays ; and so on through the whole ground. 



The distance of the hill should be regulated 

 jy the strength of the soil. But in every case 

 hey should be far enough asunder to admit the 

 loe plough at all times. If the soil be dry and 

 ihallow, SIX or seven feet will be a convenient 

 iistance : But if it be rich, moist, and apt to 

 jear large hops, it may be right to allow eight 

 )r nine feet. 



The time to plant hops is when they begin 

 .0 shoot in the spring. The sets are cuttmgs 

 "rem the roots, or branches which grow from 

 :he main root. They should be from live to 

 seven inches long, with three or more joints or 

 3uds on each, all the old and hollow part be- 

 ing cut ofi. Make holes twelve or sixteen in- 

 ;hes wide, and of a depth proportioned to the 

 lature of the ground. It' shallow, with hard 



I~l;lay or gravel under, dig not into it, lest 3 on 

 liiake a basin to retain water ; but raise a small 

 !i;ll of good mould. If there is a good depth ol 

 rirh mellow mould, dig the hole a foot and a 

 li ill. or two feet deep; the hops will thrive the 

 jGller. 



When all things are ready for planting, fill 

 up the holes with the mould before thrown out, 

 it" it be good ; but if the same earth be not rich 

 enough, make use of tine I'rcsh mould, or of a 

 cnmpost provided for the purpose, a peck in 

 each hill, but no dung on any account. 



Then with a setting stick make live or six 

 ' '1 s, one in the middle perpendicular, and the 

 L round it sloping, and meeting at the top 

 liar the centre. Put in the sets so that they 

 a\ay stand even with the surface, press the 

 ai.iiild close to them, and cover them with tine 

 jiould two or three inches thick. A stick 



should be placed on each side of the lull to se- 

 cure it. 



The ground being thus planted, all that is to 

 be done in the following summer is to keep the 

 hills and alleys clear of weeds by frequent hoe- 

 ings, to dig tlie ground in May, and carry olfthe 

 stones raised by digging; to raise a small hill 

 about the plants, and throw some mould on the 

 roots, and in May or June to twist all the vines 

 a.nd branches together in a loose knot, and lay 

 them thus twisted on the top of the hill. 



Early in the following spring, when the 

 weather is tine, open the hills, and cut off the 

 shoots of the first 3'oar, within an inch of the 

 stock, together with the younger suckers that 

 have sprung from the sets, and cover the stock 

 with tine earth. 



In the third and following years, when };ou 

 dig your hop ground, let the earth be taken 

 away with a spade or hoe, round about the hil!-^, 

 very near them, that you may more convenient- 

 ly come at the stock, to cut it. Then in fan- 

 weather, if your hops be weak, begin to dress 

 them: But if strong, do it later; for dressing 

 late restrains their too early springing, which 

 hurts the hop. 



After dressing in the second year, the next 

 thing is to pole them. — Poles ten or twelve feet 

 long will do then; but in the third year, when 

 they come to their full bearing state, they will 

 require poles of full size : This, if the ground 

 be rich, and the hop vigorous, will be from 

 sixteen to twenty feet; or there will be danger 

 of losing great part of the crop. 



The hop will soon run itself out of heart, if it 

 be over poled. Neither can a good crop be ex- 

 pected from over poled ground ; because the 

 branches which bear the hops grow very little, 

 till the buds have overreached the poles, which 

 they cannot do when the pole is long. Two 

 small poles are sufficient for a hill in a jouni; 

 ground. 



A hop garden, Mr. Young says, will last al 

 most forever, !)y renewing the hills that fail 

 to the amount of about a score annually ; but 11 

 IS reckoned better to grub up and new plant it 

 every 20 or 25 j-ears. 



In forward years hops are ripe at the begin- 

 ning of .September. — When they begin to changi 

 colour, or are easily pulled to pieces; when 

 they emit a fragrant smell, and when their seed- 

 begin to look brown and grow hard, 3 ou mn_\ 

 conclude that tliej' are rijie. Then pick llicn, 

 •vitli all expedition; for a storm of wind will di 

 them great mischief at this time. 



When the poles are drawn up in order to be 

 picked, the vines around should be cut asunder 

 at the height of three or four feet from the 

 ground: For cutting them lower, especiail\ 

 while the hops are green, would occasion so 

 great a ilow olsap, as would weaken the root. 



It has been remarked b}' one who had much 

 experience, that hops which are late pickeo 

 bear more plentifully the following year than 

 such as arc picked early : For which reason he 

 recommends late picking. But the hops which 

 are picked early look better, and are undoubt- 

 edly stronger. 



The best way of drying hops is on kilns. 



Four V";i'«l^ ot imdried hops, will make one 

 pound after they are dried. 



Bdfore hops are bagged, they should be laid 



in a hpap, that they may sweat and grow tough : 



, And if thoy are covered" for a while with blank- 



!cts, they will be the better. The bags arc 



j coarse linen cloth. They are ccminonly about 



eleven feet long, and near two yards and a half 



j in circumference, and contain about 250 weight 



of hops. The small bags, called pockets, con- 



t:iin about half as much. 



The manner of L;igging is thus. Make a 

 round or scpiare hole abo'.it 2G or 30 inches over, 

 in the floor of the chamber where the hops are 

 laid in heaps after sweating. Tie with a piece 

 of ])ack thread, a handful of hops in each lower 

 corner of the bag, to serve as handles for the 

 morc easy lit'ling or removing, the bag; and 

 fasten the mouth of the bag to a frame, or hoop, 

 somewhat larger than the hole, that the hoop, 

 may rest on its edges. The upper [iart thus tix- 

 ed, the rest of the bag hangs down through the 

 hole, but not so far as to touch the lower lloor. 

 Then throw into it a bushel or two of hops, 

 and let a man go into the b;tg, and tread the 

 iiops down till they lie close ; then throiv in 

 more and tread ; and so on till the bag is full. 

 Loose it from the hoop, and sew up the mouth 

 as close as possible, tying hops in the upper, as 

 was done in the lower corners. The harder 

 Ihe hops are pressed, and the closer and thicker 

 the bag is, the longer and better the hops will 

 kee{>. 



A small manuring of hop ground every second 

 ye:ir is suliicient. — Dung was tbtmcrly more in 

 use than at present, ex|)erience having shewn 

 ihat lime, sea sand, marie, ashes, S:c. answer 

 ihe end better, and last longer. But hog dung 

 prevents mildew Irom taking hops. 



Each pole, according to Dr. Kales, has three 

 vines, which makes s.x vines to a hill. .\ll the 

 sjirouts above this number, should be broken oft' 

 n the spring. 



From the American Farmer. 



Prince Gcorgt's County^ Sept. 2Qth, 1822. 



Di:ar Sir — I do not recollect to have seen 

 n your paper, a cure for the disease to which 

 iogs are subject, commonly called the distem- 

 per. 



Allho' I am a professed enemy to cirn, biped 

 ;nd (juadruped, yet 1 confess I feel great respect 

 ;'or some dogs, and take pleasure in relievuig 

 iiieni from a malady \-. hich let alone, or injudi- 

 ciou'^ly treated, becomes fatal to thousands. 



The cure is simple .and certain. To a dog 

 eight months old, give 4 grains of Turbeth's 

 mineral, m grnel or any thing else in which it 

 will mix. Keep him from cold water 24 hours, 

 then give 4 grains of crocus metallorum, and 

 lurn him out. I have never known this reme- 

 dy to fail. 



A Cucumber was raised in a garden in Port- 

 land, by Mr. John Young, which measured 

 twenty inches in circumference, and weighed 

 seven pounds and two otinccs. — Portland Ga-, 



