94 HOPS. 



acre when the tackle is hired, and the farmer must, as a 

 rule, provide the coal and water for the engines. A not 

 unimportant factor is the distance of the farm from the 

 contractor's depot, since of course the transport of the 

 tackle to and fro has to be included in the cost. 



The most appropriate time for working the ground 

 intended for hops is in the autumn. Frost, as is well known, 

 exerts an almost unsurpassable beneficial influence on ground 

 newly turned up from the subsoil^ even the hardest clods 

 being unable to withstand its action but crumbling to pieces 

 spontaneously. When spade labour is practised the work' 

 may also be done during the winter, but, of course, not at a 

 time when the ground is very wet or deeply covered with 

 snow, though in dry frost hand trenching can be carried on 

 without objection, the only difficulty then encountered being 

 the loosening of the frost-bound surface crust, which can be 

 done with picks. 



An additional advantage of trenching in autumn and 

 winter is that, when delayed till the spring, the pressure of 

 work at that season is liable to delay the operation past the 

 most favourable time for planting, and thus retard the 

 growth of the hops for that season. It is undoubtedly 

 preferable for the work of preparation to be so far advanced 

 by spring time that a single harrowing or scuffling is 

 sufficient to get the ground ready for planting. Moreover, 

 if the ground is loosened deeply in the spring a considerable 

 loss of moisture will ensue, which is certainly not likely to 

 assist such a thirsty plant as the hop to thrive. 



In trenching drained ground care must be exercised to 

 prevent injury to the drains by the displacement of the 



pipes. 



Marking out for Planting. 



. As soon as the ground is dry enough in spring and has 

 been harrowed down, the next step is to mark it out for 



