Hop Cultivation. 
55 
plough is used, a slip from 12 to 15 inches wide is left Your 
men will commence digging these slips, cleaning the hills, and 
cutting the roots : this finished, your poles must be spread, and 
your pile rows ploughed, dug, and cut the same as the rest. 
In the course of a fortnight or three weeks the bines will begin 
to appear, when no time should be lost in pitching the poles, 
which should be set by line to ensure regularity : the poles for 
this season, if the roots are strong, may be from 10 to 12 feet. 
The next operation is tying, but the tyer should first go over and 
take out the rank hollow bines ; these should, on no account, be 
put up the poles, since they have a tendency to grow to an extra- 
vagant quantity of bine, without bearing a proportionate quantity 
of fruit — the next and less vigorous bines will be found far more 
fruitful. Some planters put three bines up each pole : if four 
poles are put to a hill, which is the custom at 7 feet square, two 
bines will be found sufficient ; if three poles, put two twos and 
a three. The writer has often seen a heavy produce from a 
single bine. The tyers are paid by the acre, and go over the 
hills three or four times until the poles are furnished, when all 
superfluous bines and weeds are pulled out. This completes the 
tying, except by ladder, which is paid for extra. The men now 
follow, dig round the hills, and put a shovelful of soil into each 
hill — this prevents new bines from springing up. 
Different varieties require different sized poles. On no account 
overpole, as much injury has resulted from it; 14-feet poles are 
long enough for any variety except Goldings, and for them 1 
would not, as a rule, exceed 15 feet. Jones's will do well 
with 8 feet; Grapes 10 to 12; Coopers 12, and Mathons 12 to 
14 feet, according to cultivation and quality of land. When 
your hops are tied, no time should be lost in working them with 
the nidget or scuffle, followed by the harrow — this should be 
done both ways. All working should be finished by the 1st of 
July, certainly by the 10th; considerable mischief is often 
done by working too late, unless in years of blight. When you 
have vermin on your bines, do nothing to your land — leave them 
until the vermin disappears — then go in with all your strength, 
nidgett both ways, and do all you can to put fresh vigour into the 
plant. Some planters manure in the winter, and some both winter 
and summer ; but this may be carried too far for quality, and 
produce mould. The plan adopted in summer is to wheel in 
good dung or compost, take the soil from round the hills, put 
in the manure, and dig it in ; or spread the compost (which I 
prefer) round the hills on the surface and dig in. All that is 
necessary after is to use your nidget, and harrow both ways, 
taking care not to pull up the dung. This should complete the 
work, unless hoeing is required to keep down annuals. 
