86 HOPS. 



The expense of selection is practically nil, whilst the 

 results are of great value. Tausche rightly esteems the 

 individual selection of hop cuttings as a cardinal point in 

 the laying out and utilisation of the hop garden, asserting 

 that " when this procedure is adopted the business of agri- 

 culture becomes an art, in which practical knowledge and 

 science are united ". 



In taking cuttings the age of the parent plant should also 

 be borne in mind, youthful and vigorous gardens yielding 

 the best cuttings, whereas those from old stocks are inferior 

 in reproductive power, and those from very young planta- 

 tions are generally weak. Four to six year old gardens are 

 the most suitable for yielding cuttings. 



When the hops have suffered frOm disease or damage by 

 hail in any season the plants will be weakened, and it is 

 advisable not to take cuttings from gardens that have been 

 injured in this way. 



Planting a Hop Garden. 

 Drainage. 



It may occasionally happen that the planting of a hop 

 garden must be preceded by a regulation of the condition of 

 the soil as regards moisture. In draining a projected garden 

 it must be remembered that the conditions differ somewhat 

 from those of ordinary arable land, where, as a rule, 4 feet 

 is regarded as a sufficient depth for the drain pipes ; whereas, 

 if the untimely obstruction of the pipes by the roots of the 

 hop plants is to be averted, the drains in hop gardens must 

 be laid correspondingly deeper. 



The most suitable depth is 5 feet, deeper drainage lower- 

 ing the water level to such an extent as to easily cause 

 drought. Drainage may be effected by either open trenches 

 or underground channels, the former, however, being seldom 



