168 HOPS. 



Owing to the circumstance that the cones alone are sold, 

 the leaves and bine being left on the land, the amount of 

 valuable plant food annually removed from the soil by the 

 hop crop is not so very great, the quantity of nitrogen and 

 phosphoric acid being notably smaller than is taken by a 

 medium wheat crop (about 1,700 lb. per acre). 



An average hop An average wheat 



crop, 6621b. per crop, 1,700 lb. per 



acre, contains acre, contains 



Lb. Lb. 



N 21-30 < 34-51 



K^O 17-28 > 10-38 



CaO 8-34 > 1-08 



P2O5 8-40 < 15-74 



Ash 49-90 > 33-32 



The conditions are, however, very different if we compare 

 the amount of materials required to produce, on the one hand, 

 a medium crop of straw and grain in the case of wheat, and, 

 on the other, those necessary to form the total aerial portion 

 of the hop plant per unit of surface ; and of which amounts 

 the soil must contain a large multiple in order to enable 

 either kind of crop to develop vigorously and in a normal 

 manner. 



Thus, a medium crop removes, per acre of soil — 



These figures very clearly show that hop gardens require 

 a far larger supply of manurial matter than corn land. This 

 fact is fully recognised in practice, and every hop-grower 

 knows that it is only by abundant manuring that his gardens 

 will continue to yield good- crops. 



