HOP 
HOPEAj in botany, so named in honour 
of Dr. Hope, professor of botany at Edin- 
burgh, a genus of the Polyadelphia Polyan- 
dria class and order. Natural order of 
Guaiacanas, Jussieu. Essential character: 
calyx five-cleft, superior ; corolla five-pe- 
talled ; stamens many, connected in five 
bodies; style one; drupe with a three- 
celled nut. There is only one species, viz. 
H. tinctoria, a native of Carolina. 
HOP, in botany. See Humulus. Hops 
are said to have been first brought into 
England from the Netherlands, in the year 
1524. They are first mentioned in the 
English statute-book in the year 1552, viz. 
in the 5th and 6th Edw. VI. cap. 5, and 
by an act of parliament of the first year of 
King James I. anno 1603, cap. 18, it ap- 
pears that hops were then produced in 
abundance in England. The hop being a 
plant of great importance in this country, 
we shall briefly consider what relates to 
the culture and management of it under 
distinct heads. As for the choice of soil, 
the hop-planters esteem the richest and 
strongest ground the most proper ; and if it 
is rocky within two or three feet of the 
surface, the hops will prosper well ; but they 
will by no means thrive on a stiff clay or 
spongy wet land. Hops require to be 
planted in a situation so open as that the air 
may freely pass round and between them, to 
dry up and dissipate the moisture, whereby 
they will not be so subject to fire-blasts, 
which often destroy the middle of large 
plantations, while the outsides remain un- 
hurt. The hills should be eight or nine 
feet asunder, that the air may freely pass 
between them. If the ground is intended 
to be ploughed with horses between the 
hills, it will be best to plant them in squares, 
chequerwise ; but if the ground is so small 
that it may be done with the breast-plough 
or spade, the holes should be ranged in a 
quincunx form. Which way soever you 
make use of, a stake should be stuck down 
at all the places where the hills are to be 
made. Persons ought to be very curious 
in the choice of the plants as to the kind of 
bop ; for if the hop-garden is planted with a 
mixture of several sorts of hops that ripen 
at several times, it will cause a great deal 
of trouble, and be a great detriment to the 
owner. 
The two best sorts are the white and the 
grey bind ; the latter is a large square hop, 
more hardy, and is the more plentiful 
bearer, and ripens later than the former. 
There is another sort of the white bind, which 
HOP 
ripens a week or ten days before the com- 
mon ; but this is tenderer and a less plenti- 
ful bearer, but it has this advantage, that 
it comes first to market. If there is a sort 
of hop you value, and would increase plants 
and sets from, the superfluous binds may be 
laid down when the hops are tied, cutting 
off the tops, and burying them in the hill ; 
or when the hops are dressed, all the cut- 
tings may be saved, for almost every part 
will grow and become a good set the next 
spring. As to the manner of planting the 
sets, there should be five good sets planted 
in every hill, one in the middle, and the 
rest round about, sloping. Let them be 
pressed close with the hand, and covered 
with fine earth, and the stick should be 
placed on each side the hill to secure it. 
When the hop ground is dug in January or 
February, tire earth about the hills, and 
very near them, ought to be taken away 
with a spade, that you may come the more 
conveniently at the stock to cut it. About 
the end of February, if the hops were 
planted the spring before, or if the ground 
is weak, they ought to be dressed in dry 
weather; but else, if the ground is strong 
and in perfection, the middle of March will 
be a good time ; and the latter end of 
March, if it is apt to produce over rank 
binds, or the beginning of April, may be 
soon enough. Then having, with an iron' 
picker, cleared away all the earth out of the 
hills, so as to clear the stock to the princi- 
pal roots, with a sharp knife you must cut 
off all the ihoots which grow up with the 
binds the last year; and also all the young 
suckers, that none be left to run in the 
alley, and weaken the hill. It will be pro- 
per to cut one part of the stock lower than 
the other, and also to cut that part low 
that was left highest the preceding year. 
In dressing those hops that have been 
planted the year before, you ought to cut 
off both the dead tops and the young suck- 
ers which have sprung up from the sets, 
and also to cover the stocks with fine earth, 
a finger’s length in thickness. About the 
middle of April the hops are to be poled, 
when the shoots begin to sprout up ; the 
poles must be set to the hills deep into the 
ground, with a square iron picker or crow, 
that they may the better endure the winds : 
three poles are sufficient for one hill. These 
should be, placed as near the hill as may be, 
with their bending tops turned outwards 
from the hill to prevent the binds from en- 
tangling ; and a space between two poles 
ought to be left open to the south to admit 
