1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



85 



THE HOP CHOP OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



The following extracts from the annual report 

 of the State Inspector of Hops, Mr. Charles Car- 

 ter, will be of much interest, not only to the hop 

 growers of tliis State, but throughout New Eng- 

 land. 



The total amount of hops inspected during the 

 four months ending Jan. 1, 18G2, was 117,019 lbs., 

 classified as follows: — First sort, 104,801 lbs.; 

 second sort, 7,253 lbs.; refuse, 5,805 lbs. The re- 

 port continues : 



The hops grown this year are better adapted to 

 the English market than a rich yellow hop, for the 

 good reason, that the best English hops grown in 

 the county of Kent, are a pale color, and our hops 

 will compare favorably with them. The hops 

 grown in the State of Maine, on the Androscog- 

 gin River, will come the nearest to the English 

 hop, for the good reason, the climate is the most 

 congenial to the culture of hops. The growers of 

 bops in the State of Maine, within the last seven 

 years, have changed their course from very coarse 

 picking to what at this time may be termed fine or 

 good picking ; not that we expect our growers to 

 fully compete with the English, but one thing I 

 can say, from letters seen from England, in reply 

 to hops sent forward from hops grown in the State 

 of Maine, that these hops would compare favora- 

 bly Avith the English hops, and would readily com- 

 mand one pound more per cwt. than ordinary 

 American hops. Under those favorable auspices, 

 we need not despair of growing hops, especially in 

 the State of Maine. 



One year since the duty on American hops sent 

 to London, paid to that Government, was £2 5s ; 

 before the crop of 18G0 came ofi", the duty was re- 

 duced to £1. At the same time a further reduc- 

 tion was to take place on the 1 st day of January, 

 1802, to 15s — which is the present duty on Ameri- 

 can hops. I would suggest to buyers to sell their 

 hops the yeai" grown in, as they depreciate one- 

 third in price from new to old, wliich takes place 

 at the end of the first year. 



If the growers of hops will adopt my last sug- 

 gestion, they may rest assured that the culture of 

 hops will pay a remunerative price for the labor. 



The price of hops the present season, since com- 

 ing to market for inspection, has been from 15 to 

 10 cents per lb. I thinlc, with an upward tenden- 

 cy at this time, with a small export demand in the 

 absence of any hops oi the growth of 18G0, v/e 

 may reasonably infer that all the hops of the 

 gi'owth of 1861 will be used, and out of the mar- 

 ket before the new crop comes off. What old hops 

 remain in our market are from two to five years 

 old, consequently entirely neglected by brewers 

 and consumers of hops. 



The Eautu a Bukning Cauldron. — In one 

 of his recent lectures at Manchester, England, on 

 "Prophecy," Rev. Dr. Gumming said he had con- 

 sulted Sir R,oderick Murchison as to the truth of 

 the statcmcat that the interior of the earth was a 

 burning ciuklron. Sir Roderick replied that "no 

 one but an ignoramus would daxe to deny it." 

 And when he, (Dr. Cumming,) quoted the words 

 of Peter, in support of his statement, Sir Roder- 



ick replied, that "not only was Peter scientifically 

 correct, but that Job gave him, (Sir Roderick,) the 

 first idea of gold mines in Australia, and that Job 

 was the best geologist he ever knew." 



For the New England Farmer. 

 TOO MUCH SEED. 



Well tested experimental facts are worth more 

 than old customs and habits. Yet people love 

 their habits so well that they will disregard their 

 senses, and plant a bushel of seed potatoes where 

 they ought not to plant a half-bushel. I wish to 

 tell nothing now, only what I have chme, and seen 

 others do. I have seeded my potatoes largely and 

 sparingly on the same ground under the same 

 treatment, and always found the light seeding to 

 yield the best and most marketable potatoes. I 

 find the most profitable way is, to plant in drills, 

 putting one piece in a place, and about 8 or 10 

 inches apart, in rows about 2i feet apart, with one 

 to three eyes in a piece. I saw last season GO 

 bushels of very handsome, marketable Jackson 

 whites and Davis seedling potatoes, raised from 

 5 pecks of seeds planted in the above manner, 

 upon a little less than one-fourth of an acre of or- 

 dinary upland, manured in the hill moderately. 

 Land adjoining it, equally as good, and manured 

 better, but planted in the old way in liills, and 

 seeded largely, ilid not yield two-tliirds as much, 

 under as good treatment. 



Near tliis patch of potatoes was a bed of turnip- 

 beets Avhich chose to take their own way in com- 

 ing up, and not more than one seed in ten made 

 its appearance to the sunlight. They had plenty 

 of room to grow, and they Occupied it to advan- 

 tage. The yield was enormous for the space oc- 

 cupied. Some of them Aveighed 13 pounds. Their 

 average weight was G pounds, and as good and 

 fine-grained for eating as ever grew. This ap- 

 peared to be the result of having plenty of room 

 to grow. Another man near by planted the same 

 kind of seed, which came up plentifully, and were 

 thinned out some, but yet stood quite thick, were 

 well cared for during the season, but made a light 

 yield. Every thing was equal in both cases, ex- 

 cept the one came up sparingly and yielded largely, 

 the other thick and produced a light yield. There 

 are many other cases I might name. I will refer 

 to only one more. This system of light seeding 

 holds good with small grain in good strong soil, 

 as far as my knowledge goes. 



While travelling in New Hampshire a few weeks 

 ago, I fell in with a farmer in Canterbury, who 

 had come to the conclusion that he had been seed- 

 ing his land too much, especially, as it was very 

 strong. In laying down nine acres to grass in the 

 spring, he soAved oats, at the rate of a half-bushel 

 to the acre. The result was five hundred bushels 

 of oats from the nine acres. Also his wheat, when 

 sown thin, filled better, and yielded more. Tins 

 all proves something. We arc just in our infancy 

 in the agricultural kingdom. 



I wish farmers would give us their experience 

 through the N. E. Farmer more than they do. 

 There are a great many young farmers, and not a 

 few old ones, that are earnest seekers after knoAvl- 

 edge. It may be interesting occasionally to hear 

 something about kingfishers, crows, hawks and 

 owls ; but for my part, I had much rather hear 



