558 
Management of Hops. 
to the time of the burr coming into hop, doing it shallower as you 
approach nearer that time; for after Midsummer the young root- 
lets and fibres will be spreading themselves all over the ground : 
it would be doing an injury, then, to go very deep. It is never- 
theless essential to the benefit of the plant, that whenever the 
ground becomes bound down and crusted over from wet it should 
be moved, to admit air and warmth more freely to the fibres and 
roots, which, when done at moderate depth, does not injure the 
fibres but benefits them ; for, if it breaks and tears a few of them 
up, they shoot out again more numerous all over the ground, taking 
in food to benefit the plant and to cause it to throw out the burr 
and the hop. At the latter end of the summer it would be better 
to have tines instead of hoes in the nidget, or what is called a 
hop-harrow, having tines more numerous than the hoes in a nidget 
— it then moves the ground equally well without injuring the 
fibres. There are some soils of such a tenacious sticking nature 
as rarely to allow a horse to walk on it without injury in treading 
and closing the ground. There are several hop-grounds of this 
description on the gault-clay at the foot of the chalk hills in 
Kent. On this soil, and others of a somewhat similar description 
in other parts, it is very rare that a horse can be used for cultivat- 
ing the ground without treading and closing it so as to be in- 
jurious, except in dry weather, in very dry summers ; but when it 
can be done it is right to do it. But there are some planters who 
prefer hand to horse cultivation even where the ground is well 
adapted for the latter ; and on deep, rich, friable soils, where it 
all falls to pieces when digging, it is attended with success ; but I 
never saw an instance of it being more successful than horse-cul- 
tivation : it is attended with more expense, and it is only on such 
soils as I have just described but what it would be attended some- 
times with bad results. For summer digging, when it breaks up 
a little nobby at the bottom, in a dry time it lets in the drought, 
turns the bine yellow, and seriously lessens the crop ; but on 
such stiff, wet, sticky soils, as I have before described, the drought 
seldom hurts, particularly if care is taken to dig when the ground 
is not too wet ; for it is the nature of these soils, when dug up and 
become dry with sun and wind, to run like lime with the first 
little shower ; on such soils it must generally be cultivated by 
hand from necessity, although attended with greater expense. 
When cultivated entirely by hand-labour the ground will require 
at least two extra diggings, and from two to four (as the summer 
may be more or less productive of annual weeds) of extra hoeings 
— say, twice digging, at \&s. per acre each time, 1/. 125.; and 
three times hoeing, at bs. each time, 15.y. ; together, 2/. 7s. per 
acre In nidgeting, a horse will go once over 6 acres per day, 
and continue to do so day after day ; and as in triangular plant to 
