CULTIVATION. 193 



The wire cross system is worthy of consideration for 

 shy-growing varieties and gardens that are sheltered from 

 the wind, its cheapness being an advantage that should 

 not be undervalued. The central poles, having to carry 

 the iron crosses, which are fixed by nails, must, however, 

 be stronger than ordinary hop poles. 



Hiittl avers that the crosses will last for twenty-five 

 years, and that only one-fourth of the poles— which are not 

 taken up for the winter — need renewal every eight to twelve 

 years. 



Hiittl uses pack-thread for training. In consequence of 

 the smaller capital . to be sunk in poles, the abolition of 

 pohng, and the circumstance that the bines require less 

 tying by reason of the greater ease with which they cling 

 to the thin supports, the expenses in this system are con- 

 siderably lower than in the ordinary poling method. It, 

 must not, however, be forgotten that the wire crosses in- 

 crease the diflficulty of working the garden by horse labohr, 



2. Frame Training. 



Owing to the desire to keep down the cost of. pro- 

 duction a need has for some years existed, in districts 

 where wood is scarce, for a cheaper method of training 

 than on poles, the wire cross and simjlar systems being 

 only successful exceptionally, and therefore not permanently 

 satisfactory. 



Considerable attention has been devoted to this ques- 

 tion, both by theorists and practical men ; but it was not 

 until the "forties" or "fifties" that a definite turn was 

 taken, and the value of frame training began to be recog- 

 nised, the way having been prepared by the early experi- 

 ments of Matthieu de Dombasle.^ 



^ According to Strebel, the first attempts to train hops on wire frames 

 were made by De Dombasle in 1835. 



13 



