464 Investigations upon the Growth of Hops. 



the difficulty of washing, must be added the weakening and 

 subsequent loss of crop due to the inevitable cutting of the 

 bine when the hops are picked. 



Systems of Stringing. 

 The greater part of the experimental garden at Wye is 

 given up to a test of the comparative value of the different 

 arrangements of wire and string, up which the hop bine is 

 trained. The plots are approximately half an acre each in 

 area, and the systems represented are those known as 

 Butcher's, which is general throughout East and common 

 in Mid-Kent ; the Umbrella, generally seen in Mid- Kent ; 

 and a modification of the system used in Worcester and 

 Hereford, which has also been somewhat taken up in the 

 Weald. 



In Butcher's system three strings start from the hill, up 

 each of which two bines are led; the strings rise vertically to 

 a breast wire 4 ft. 6 in. from the ground, then they are taken 

 on the slope to the top wire, which is above the next row of 

 hills at a height of 12 ft. 6 in. In the Wye garden the 

 upward slope is towards the north, so that the strong winds 

 from the south and south-west strike on the face of the 

 slope. Six of the plots in the Wye garden are planted in this 

 fashion, but with varying distances between the hills and the 

 alleys. The width of the alleys affects not only the number 

 of hills to the acre, but also the angle of the sloping 

 string, for, as the height of the top wire is invariable, the 

 broader the alley the flatter the slope of the string will 

 become. The hop plant grows most freely as the slope of 

 the string approaches the vertical ; the bine climbs with 

 difficulty when the angle is 45 degs., and must be trained by 

 hand for still lower angles. This means a considerable 

 expense for labour when the alleys are wide and the slope 

 flat. On the other hand, the flat slope induces a greater 

 fruitfulness, and causes the lower laterals to throw hops 

 more freely, so that the smaller number of hills per acre is 

 compensated by the greater yield per hill. When the 

 alleys are wider and the number of hills per acre are less 

 the cultivation is a little easier and not so expensive, because 

 many of the operations of the hop garden are paid for per 

 100 hills rather than per acre. 



