552 
Management of Hops. 
when the ground Is dry enough, but should it haj)pen that the 
weather does not permit, or from any other cause the hop-grounds 
are not all dug before the time for cutting, the hills must be 
thrown down and cut, and the digging done afterwards. The 
price for digging varies from Is. 'id. to 2s. 6c?. per 100 hills, ac- 
cordmg to the nature of the ground and distance of the hills from 
each other, so that from 15,9. to 25s. per acre is about the range, 
the most general being about I8s. or 20s. per acre. Cutting 
when done by piece is 6c?. per 100 for opening and cutting. 
After cutting, the next labour to be done in a hop-ground is 
Poliny. 
All such poles that were in use last year as were considered fit 
to put up in the same ground again being put up in stacks, and 
new ones brought to the stacks or laid around the outsides of the 
ground to supply those cast off" at stacking time the preceding 
year, it is best to commence putting them up as soon after cutting 
as the ground will do without closing it too much by treading, 
and not to wait to see how the bine comes, as is the practice with 
some planters ; for it is better to change some poles afterwards 
where they prove to be too large or too small for the bine than 
to be behind, and the bine running about the alleys, liable to be 
injured during poling and sustaining injury from not being tied 
to the j)oles ; and as the object in waiting is that the polers may 
place the poles to suit the apparent wants of the hills, it is not 
possible at this stage of the growth of the bine to ascertain which 
require the longest and largest, and where some accurate idea 
may be formed there will be a difficulty in getting the men to 
attend to it properly. Every planter knows what ])()les are suited 
to the ground, and has those he considers best adapted ; the 
better plan is to pole every hill (except fresh-planted ones or 
very weakly ones, which should be marked at the time of cutting 
and very small poles put) all alike, having one of the longest, 
middle size, and shortest poles to each hill, and then have them 
looked over, changed, and regulated after the poling is done, as 
it can then be better seen what is required : it is attended with a 
very little expense, and where the hills are kept repaired and 
marked to have small poles a very little changing of poles is 
required, but where it does require doing it will pay the planter 
well to do it. 
'lliree poles to a hill is the number most generally put, 
which should be placed in a triangular form, as before shown by 
the triangular diagram, and put in the ground to the depth of as 
many inches as the pole is feet long, or an inch or two more is 
perhaps better; but c:are should be taken that the pole goes to 
the bottom of the hole previously made by an iron bar, called a 
