96 HOPS. 



disadvantageous : the plants drain the soil in an uneco- 

 nomical manner, producing luxuriant foliage ; and, even if a 

 larger crop of cones is put forth, the quality of the latter will 

 be found far from satisfactory, since, as already mentioned, 

 an excess of nutrient material leads to the production of 

 inferior and swollen cones. Furthermore, where a large pro- 

 portion of the surface is thus left unplanted great induce- 

 ment is offered to the growth of weeds, and, in the case of 

 soils inclined to dryness, the loss of moisture by evaporation 

 is increased, to the detriment of the hop plants. It is thus 

 evident that the amount of room to be left for each plant 

 depends on different factors and that various local con- 

 ditions will have to be considered before a decision is made. 

 No invariable rule can be laid down, but the case of each 

 district and even each garden requires to be taken separately 

 in order that, from the actual conditions of soil, climate, 

 variety and mode of training, the grower may fix upon the 

 most suitable room to allow each plant to develop and crop 

 in the most satisfactory manner. Even an estimate is 

 difficult to fix, direct and accurate experiment being the 

 only infalUble guide to success. Such experiments are not 

 difficult for the grower to carry out ; but the question is 

 primarily one for hop-growers' associations or colleges to 

 investigate and solve. 



The experiment is, as just mentioned, easy to perform, 

 all that is necessary being a few plots of ground each 

 measuring about a hundred square yards. The soil should 

 be as nearly uniform as possible, and represent in point of 

 physical and chemical characteristics the average land of the 

 district. Where the soil of the district varies considerably 

 an endeavour should be made to classify the different kinds 

 into groups and perform a separate experiment for each 

 group. Assuming that six plots of land are available, they 

 may for example be planted on the following system : — 



