182 HOPS. 



on poles ; and, 2. Framework, wherein wire or string is used. 

 The former, being the older method, may be dealt with first. 



1. Poled Gardens. 



Of all the various trees the pine and fit yield the best 

 hop poles,^ the slender and straight growth of the stems 

 rendering them particularly suitable for this purpose among 

 others. Scotch fir and other woods are more rarely used for 

 hop poles. As a rule the poles are 25 to 30 feet long, with a 

 diameter of 3 to 4 inches at the butt, and, consequently, the 

 best pine and fir trunks are those of 20 to 30 years' growth. 



The trunks, which are preferably felled during the winter 

 months, are usually just roughly trimmed of their branches 

 before being sold to the hop-farmer, to whom is left the 

 further task of preparing the poles by sharpening, trimming 

 up, and stripping the bark. 



The price of poles naturally varies with the locality, fir 

 poles costing 30s. to 60s. per hundred, or sometimes as 

 much again. Consequently a stock of poles represents a 

 considerable amount of capital. 



Occasionally the operation of trimming the poles is 

 restricted to removing the rough outer bark. Although it is 

 often recommended that, for the protection of the hop plant, 

 the whole of the bark should be stripped because of the 

 harbourage afforded by the cracks and fissures to vermin in 

 winter and in the breeding season; still this course is objected 

 to in some cases, for the reason that the bine does not climb 

 so readily on the smooth pole but slips down and requires 

 more frequent tying, v?hich increases the expense of cultiva- 

 tion. The advantages and drawbacks of stripping are not 

 difficult to estimate ; nevertheless stripped and unstripped 

 poles are often found in use side by side. 



1 Translator's Note. — Ash is more widely used in England. 



