i9ia] 



Hop Cultivation. 



903 



washing hops, but owing to the manual labour it requires, 

 and to the fact that more wash is required per acre than in 

 horse washing, the cost is considerably greater. 



Sulphuring. — -The life-history of the hop mould will be 

 described in a later article, but it may be said now that it 

 exists through the winter in the soil and that it first reappears 

 in the spring upon the lower leaves where, if unchecked, 

 it rapidly spreads to the upper leaves and eventually to the 

 hops themselves. 



In dealing with hop mould, although the necessity is 

 not at first sight obvious, it is even more important than in 

 the case of washing for aphis to begin early. 



The period at which the mould does its greatest damage 

 is when the hops are in "burr"; firstly, because the delicate 

 structure of the "brush " forms an ideal position for the mould 

 to commence to grow, and secondly, because when once 

 established upon the burr the mould prevents it from 

 developing into hops, in which case hard white knobs are 

 formed. The grower should therefore aim at keeping the 

 hops absolutely free from mould until the burr has turned 

 into hop ; by this means he will get none of the mouldy knobs 

 in the ripe hops because, after the hops are once formed, 

 they are far more resistant to the mould than is the burr. 



Sulphuring should be started as soon as the hops have 

 been put to the string when they are about 3 or 4 ft. 

 high; at this stage the sulphuring is best performed by a 

 knapsack sulphu rator. 



With this machine a stream of sulphur is directed upon the 

 under surface of the leaves so that some sulphur is deposited 

 upon both sides of the leaves. 



It is important that the sulphur be thus directed because the 

 mould so frequently commences to grow upon the under- 

 surface of the leaves, where it is liable to escape detection. 



By the use of this apparatus 7 lb. of sulphur is sufficient 

 for one acre of hops, so that the cost is trifling. This opera- 

 tion should be repeated once a fortnight until the bines have 

 nearly reached the top wire. At this stage sulphuring by 

 hand may be discontinued because the lower leaves will now 

 be stripped off. 



Should mould be present upon the upper leaves the garden 



