882 



Hop Cultivation. 



[FEB., 



crop much more certain in years of blight ; and at the present 

 time, although the acreage under hops in England has been 

 reduced within the last 30 years by approximately one half, 

 the average total crop remains about the same. 



Selection of Site. — The first problem that confronts a 

 grower when contemplating the growth of hops,, is the selec- 

 tion of the position for his garden. The hop crop employs 

 a very much larger amount of manual labour than the majority 

 of farm crops — roughly it requires one man to about six 

 acres — and in order to be able to obtain suflicient manual 

 labour there must either be a large number of cottages upon the 

 farm or else the farm must lie near some town or village where 

 the labourers can live. Much of the work upon a hop farm, 

 moreover, requires more or less skilled labour, and in order 

 to obtain men skilled in this work the farm should be situated 

 in a hop-growing district. 



Large quantities of manures and other stores are required, 

 and the crop itself has to be marketed, consequently proximity 

 to a railway station or water carriage is a great consideration. 

 Further, large supplies of water are needed for hop washing, 

 and consequently the hop farm should be situated near a 

 good water supply. 



Climate. — The hop is a plant that flourishes best in a 

 medium climate ; extremes of heat and cold, as well as drought 

 and rain, are unfavourable. The hop grows only for a com- 

 paratively short period each year, but during this period pro- 

 duces a large amount of foliage, consequently its roots require 

 a large supply of water, and frequent showers during May, 

 June, and early July are necessary to promote a vigorous 

 growth. Sunny and warm weather during the end of July, 

 August, and September is very favourable to the growth and 

 production of the hops themselves, in the earlier part of the 

 time because it is favourable to pollination of the "burr" of 

 the hops, and during the latter because it enables the hops 

 to ripen a better colour, and possibly aids in the formation of 

 the resins in the cones. 



Winds which prevail whilst the hops are ripening, especially 

 if accompanied by rain, bruise the hops and turn them brown, 

 so that a sheltered spot should be selected; and it may be 

 noted that many of the principal hop areas are situated in 



