68 
CULTURE OF HOPS. 
manure or compost, spread broadcast between the 
rows, or incorporated in the hill as is thought most 
advisable. This last operation is performed by 
opening the ground a few inches near the roots, 
and mixing the soil with the dressing. After this 
the poling is performed as soon as possible, so as 
not to injure the vines which will soon start from 
the roots and show themselves above the earth. 
Poles. —It is important to have these of as du¬ 
rable a kind of wood as possible consistent with 
other requisites. Cedar would undoubtedly be 
the best if it had a thriftier growth. The staddles 
of chestnut, pine, tamerack, and several other of 
our forest-trees answer very well, but hemlock 
upon the whole is preferred when it can be had. 
They should be cut in the winter season, before 
there is the least danger of the bark peeling, and 
from thickets where they grow up smooth, slender, 
and tall; be about three inches in diameter at the 
butt, and 25 to 30 feet long. Immediately after 
cutting, take an instrument made for the purpose, 
something like the carpenter’s drawing-knife, only 
thicker and shorter, and make according to its 
size, from four to six slits from one half to an inch 
wide in the bark, on each pole down its sides the 
whole length. The object of this is to get rid of 
all knots, and make the pole smooth for handling 
and picking. The bark which is left on the pole 
is necessary in order to keep the hop-vines up; 
when grown on a perfectly smooth pole, they are 
apt to slip down about the hill. The poles ought 
to be cut one year previous to using them, and be 
placed under cover till they become dry; they 
are then much lighter to handle, and endure 
longer. As fast as they are cut, sharpen the end 
about one foot in length which goes into the 
ground. 
Sticking.— For the purpose of making holes for 
sticking the poles, a cast-iron bar is used one foot 
long, three inches in diameter at the top, and run¬ 
ning to a point at the lower end. This iron 
weighs about six pounds, and is cast with a sock¬ 
et in the top, into which a handle three feet long 
is inserted, and it is far superior to a common iron 
bar for the purpose designed. The hop rows 
should if possible always run north and south,' and 
two poles be stuck in each hill, two feet deep, and 
standing two feet apart on the south- /T v 
east andnorthwest sides of the hill thus. —f ■ j — 
The line here is the hop row running 
north and south; the circle is the hill; and the 
dots on each side the positions of the poles. 
Vines to be saved for Bearing. —Soon after 
ponng is performed, the vines make a rapid ap¬ 
pearance, but those which spring up first should 
not generally be saved for bearing. The reason 
is that they shoot out of that part of the root 
nearest to the top of the earth, and though their 
growth is at first very promising, they do not en¬ 
dure, but soon die; nor are they usually as good 
bearers as the others which subsequently follow ; 
these should therefore be cut away, or what is 
better, scrape the earth off slightly from the hilta, 
then break down these first rank vines and cover 
them with earth; by so doing, they rapidly de¬ 
compose and become food to the other vines which 
are left to grow. Another objection to cutting 
them off is, that they are rather apt to bleed and 
do the vines great injury. 
Tying Up. —Allow two vines to each pole, 
which would make four to each hill. When the 
vines get about two feet long, take all those as 
near the same size as possible, then turn them 
round the pole with the course of the sun, and tie 
up. The best material for this purpose is woollen 
yarn, as anything stronger is apt to injure them. 
The tyers take an old stocking leg, slip it over the 
left arm, and thus go through the field performing 
their work, unravelling the yarn as fast as wanted. 
The tie must not be a knot properly, but a twist 
together of the ends. This stays as effectually as 
tying, and the superiority of the twist is, that as 
the vine grows, it gradually gives way, and ac¬ 
commodates the thread to the growth of the vine. 
As the vine above the last joints at the end is 
very green and tender, and easily injured, it must 
be tied below these, say between the second and 
third joints. Every time that the wind blows 
with any strength it displaces more or less of the 
ends of the vines, one must therefore go over the 
field when these occur, and replace them around 
the poles, and add more ties if necessary. When 
the vine gets so high that it can not be reached 
from the ground, a step is used to get at them, or 
what is better, as the work is rapidly executed, 
mount a steady horse, and thus ride through the 
field tying up. 
After Culture. —Immediately after tying up 
the vines, start the plow, and give a sufficient 
number of furrows each way between the rows ; 
then follow with the hoes, cutting up all the 
weeds, and slightly hilling. Each hoer should 
have the stocking leg on his arm, prepared, after 
finishing hoeing, to tie up any vine which may 
need it. The second or third time hoeing, pre¬ 
cede with the cultivator, and finish off with the 
hoe, not hilling this time, but leaving the ground 
as nearly level as possible. Any poles falling 
