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HOPS 



HOPS 



yard is usually shallow-plowed in the early spring 

 with a small one-horse plow, and after that is kept 

 clean until midsummer by surface cultivation. 

 Various types of cultivators are used. As the sea- 

 son progresses, the earth around the plant is gradu- 

 ally _ridged or mounded up into well-marked 

 hills. Some growers assert that high hills aid in 

 overcoming the damage from the hop grub. At 

 any rate,_ high hills are a protection to the crowns 

 in the winter. There is considerable variation in 

 cultural method, but the best growers agree that 

 it should be thorough and continued as late as pos- 

 sible. A new yard should not be neglected the first 

 year, but given the same care as later. 



Training. — One of the most important steps in 

 hop-growing is the training. There has been an 

 evolution of methods of training. A generation 

 &go, when poles were plenty and cheap, the com- 

 mon method was to have two good poles to each 

 hill and use no twine. A system of stakes about 

 seven feet high, with twine strung from one to the 

 other horizontally across the yard in both direc- 

 tions, was also extensively adopted. In the West is 

 employed a method of running twine directly from 

 the hills to heavy overhead wires carried on strong 

 poles or masts, the so-called "trellis" system. A 

 system of setting one tall pole to each hill, and then 

 running two strands of twine from a point about 

 iive feet from the ground to the top of neighboring 

 poles, has been rather generally adopted in the 

 East. This is known as the "umbrella" system. 



Poles are preferably of cedar and should be 

 twenty to twenty-four feet long. They cost about 



575. A hop-yard. New York. 



fifteen cents each delivered. They are set in the 

 ground in holes about two feet deep, which are 

 punched with a special form of bar. It is important 

 that this setting be well done, so that the poles do 

 not blow over with the load of hops. Usually the 

 poles are set as soon as the frost is out of the 

 ground, although on some soils they may be set the 

 previous autumn. The young vines must be started 

 up ths poles by wrapping them around the poles 



with the spiral curve in the proper direction and 

 tying loosely in places. In bright, warm weather 

 they will cling and care for themselves after hav- 

 ing been started, but in cold, wet periods they 

 make much trouble by slipping back and refusing 

 to run. They cling to twine and follow it very 

 readily if it is nearly perpendicular, but if the 

 slope is greater than 45° they will need constant 

 training. The tying is largely done by women. 



The question of how many vines to tie to a hill 

 is open. The number varies among growers from 

 four to perhaps fifteen or more. Successful growers 

 recommend six as most desirable, — two up the pole 

 and two up each string. Too many vines shade 

 the hops and produce an inferior crop. The most 

 promising vines are selected from the center of the 

 hill. 



Varieties. 



Hops are so strictly a local crop, and the litera- 

 ture on the subject is so limited, that the question 

 of varieties is not in a satisfactory condition. Indi- 

 vidual plants vary, and a rigid selection is not prac- 

 ticed. However, three or four distinct types are 

 recognized in New York. The most usual and desir- 

 able is English Cluster, in which the hops are 

 rather small and are borne in compact clusters on 

 rather short, branched laterals. Pompey is perhaps 

 a local name for a type in which the hops are 

 much larger and more four-sided, with a tendency 

 to be borne more scattering or singly. These two 

 forms merge into each other. Humphrey Seedling 

 is a variety maturing ten days earlier than the 

 standard sorts, valuable chiefly to 

 those persons having a larger area 

 than can be harvested in the reg- 

 ular season. Canada or Canada Red 

 is a name given to a late, hardy, 

 rough -vined sort. There is no 

 doubt that careful, systematic se- 

 lection would do much to improve 

 the vigor and desirable characters 

 of the strains now grown. 



Harvesting. 



Hops should be picked when 

 some of the seeds become brown 

 and solid, when the end of the cone 

 closes, and the hop feels solid and 

 somewhat papery-like. The danger 

 of loss from mold may make it 

 advisable to begin ' harvesting 

 before the best condition is 

 reached. Picking generally begins 

 the last week in August and should 

 be finished by September 20 at the 

 latest, otherwise there may be serious damage to 

 the crop by mold. 



Hops are gathered very largely by women and 

 children, one man, the "box-tender," taking down 

 the poles, " sacking" the hops and waiting on four 

 pickers. The size of the hop box varies, but usually 

 holds either ten or twelve bushels. A picker should 

 gather two to five boxes per day. It is very impor- 

 tant that the hops be picked reasonably clean, i. e., 



