340 
Cultivation and Management of Hops. 
most true and strong-, to have their nursery well manured and 
cultivated. Until lately they were put into any corner of the 
farm all tojjether, "Colegates" and " Goldings," " Grapes" and 
"Jones'," forgotten probably until they were required. More- 
over, some planters actually used to plant up the dead hills in 
their grounds with any sorts they happened to have ; thus 
Goldings — the best sort — were filled up with Colegates, the 
worst sort ; and Grapes were jumbled up with Jones' in 
the most haphazard manner. From time immemorial certain 
plantations were filled up or renewed with scions, taken solely 
from their own stock — cut from the hill and put directly in— to 
preserve the supposed superiority of quality, and to hand it 
down in unsullied line. The cuttings from traditionally cele- 
brated grounds were hoarded as carefully as Dutch tulip bulbs, 
and planters had jealous fears lest their neighbours should obtain 
even a rootlet from their " old ground." The consequences of this 
are plainly evidenced by the greatly diminished productiveness 
of these grounds, their greater tendency to decay at the root, and 
their predisposition to blight and mould. It is admitted readily 
that the quality of their fruit is very fine, but this does not by 
any means counterbalance the disadvantages above mentioned. 
It is as wrong to propagate plants from the same stocks per- 
petually, as to breed animals " in and in," without a change of 
blood. Great delicacy of constitution and diminished fertility 
are the known results of the inbreeding of animals of all kinds. 
In each successive generation the evil consequences are increased, 
in the case of animals as well as of plants, and there is a natural 
process of selection to degeneracy, as well as for the development 
of desired and useful qualities. 
With regard to new hop-grounds, planters in the Mid and East 
Kent, and the Farnham districts, are now, as a rule, planting 
only the verv best sorts, such as Goldings and Golding Grapes, 
Whitebine Grapes, or noted varieties of these kinds. In the 
Weald of Kent, in Sussex, Worcester, and Hereford, Grapes, 
Jones', and Mathons, are usually planted. Colegates are not now 
esteemed : for though they are heavy croppers, and not so liable 
to blight or mould as the more choice sorts, they are coarse, and 
have a rank smell resembling somewhat that of new inferior 
Americans. In some parts of Kent and Sussex, Colegates 
produce as much as from 20 to 30 cwt. per acre in a kindly 
year ; but in spite of this they are not planted to any great 
extent. 
It is almost the general practice to obtain sets for planting 
new ground and for filling up, from a distance, — from some 
planter who has a good growth, and a reputation for being careful 
in selecting and managing his sets. A change of sets is thought 
