140 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[May, 
Sundry Notes on the Cultivation of Hops. 
The staminate or barren flowers, and the 
pistillate or fertile flowers of the hop are 
borne upon distinct plants, and cultivators dis¬ 
tinguish them by the terms male and female. 
The two plants are only to be recognized with 
certainty when in flower. The staminate or male 
flowers, are in loose clusters springing from the 
axils of the leaves, as in fig. 2, which represents 
the upper portion of a flowering branch. A 
separate flower, consisting of a calyx of 5 sepals 
and as many erect stamens, is also shown. The 
pistillate flowers, which are borne in little cone¬ 
like clusters, are very simple in structure, and 
consist of a scale-like calyx, with the pistil at 
its base. After fertilization, the clusters of the 
pistillate flowers increase very much in size and 
'become .hops (fig. 3), which consist mainly of 
the enlarged scales of the calyx, each with a 
little nut at the base. Near the lower part of 
the scales are numerous oblong, resinous grains, 
called lupulin. One of these, very much magni¬ 
fied, is shown at the lower right hand corner of 
fig. 3. It is upon the lupulin that the valuable 
properties of hops mainly depend; hence in the 
collection and management of them, care should 
be taken to lose as little as possible of this. 
Lupulin is often incorrectly spoken of as the 
pollen of the hops. This is a great mistake, as 
it appears only in the pistillate, or female flow¬ 
ers, and long after they have been fertilized by 
the po.len of the staminate or male plants. 
The hop growers of the central counties of 
New-York, though recognizing several varieties 
of the plant, some of which are indigenous, and 
others, as the “English cluster” and the “grape” 
are imported, have very indefinite preferences, 
and in most yards two or three kinds are found. 
Hops, like corn, grow on all varieties of soil, from 
swamp muck to gravel knolls, and any good 
corn land is suitable for them. On bottom lands 
near swamps or creeks, rust often injures the 
plant, but this is seldom damaging on the flats 
above the secondaiy banks, or at a distance 
from bodies of water or wet land. The Hop- 
yard should not be exposed to high winds, and 
so the proximity of forests or hills in the direc¬ 
tion of the prevailing storms is favorable, but 
not essential. In preparing the ground, put it in 
good condition and plant corn, potatoes, beans 
or some similar hoed crop. Leave places for 
the hop hills 8 feet apart each way in the rows. 
It may be best to mark out the field for hops 
accurately, and plant the corn between, being 
guided by the marking. Set out the hops soon 
after planting the corn. According to the usu¬ 
al practice, the hop poles are not placed until the 
second year; but if the horizontal plan be used, 
it is best to set the poles or stakes the first year. 
The hop has underground stems which start 
from the crown of the root, run horizontally a few 
feet, and coming to the surface form new plants. 
The hop yard is dressed in the spring, but 
not until after a growth of some inches has 
been made; the earth is then drawn away from 
about the crown, and these underground stems 
are removed. These are laid in heaps under cov¬ 
er, occasionally sprinkled, and will keep some 
weeks. All the growth which has been made 
is then cut back to prevent frost injuring it, and 
the second starting is considered more vigorous 
and fruitful. The sets are the underground 
stems cut in pieces 6 or 8 inches long, having at 
least two pairs of eyes. Four are set in each 
hill. A dibble is used to make the holes, if the 
ground be mellow, and the sets are buried with 
the tips about 2 inches below the surface. In 
hard stony ground they are planted much like 
potatoes, with a hoe. The sets from male and 
female plants are carefully kept separate as they 
can not be distinguished. Six hills of males to 
the acre are sufficient. In hop yards on the 
plan described below, the male hops are trained 
upon poles of the usual length which makes the 
■ distribution of the pollen sure and uniform. 
The plants are treated like corn or potatoes. If 
stakes are set, the hills are better protected and 
the extra fruit which will be produced upon 
them will pay for the trouble. Even that gath¬ 
ered the first year from the tops of the corn, 
if no stakes are used, is considerable. 
At the first hoeing a one horse plow is used, 
subsequently a cultivator. In autumn, and when 
the vines wither, cut them up, house the stakes, 
and throw upon each hill a good forkful of 
dung, which answers both as mulch and manure. 
When the usual hop poles are used, they are 
provided before the next spring. The supply 
comes from Canada, and they are worth 15 to 
20 cents each. They are usually 18 to 24 feet 
long, straight and sound, and are set deeply and 
firmly in the ground, two to a hill, and inclined 
towards the south. This is a very heavy ex¬ 
pense as there are 700 or more hills to an acre. 
Besides, in high winds many are often prostrat¬ 
ed, to the no small damage of the crop, the 
poles, and the profits. The vines will climb to 
the tops of the poles, and the side shoots, where¬ 
on the hops are produced, swathe the poles and 
vines, crowding and pressing one another; they 
are much blown and whipped about in the 
winds, and are often broken off. To obviate these 
difficulties and to save expense, a system of high 
horizontal wires was introduced—the wires be¬ 
ing supported at the ends of the field and by 
stays at intermediate points. The hops were 
trained upon strings pendent from the wires. 
Both these methods require the cutting up of 
the vine near the ground for gathering the fruit, 
and these wire yards are not unfrequently great¬ 
ly injured by lightning striking them. 
A plan has been invented and patented by 
Mr. F. W. Collins, of Morris, Otsego Co., N. Y, 
which obviates many difficulties heretofore en¬ 
countered, and saves 75 per cent, of the expense 
of poles, etc. This is shown in the engraving, 
fig. 1. The poles or stakes are 9 feet long, 
about as large as bean poles, and are set 
1 foot in the ground. The outside stakes are 
larger and set deeper to avoid the necessity of 
bracing them. Common “wool twine” is tied to 
the tops of the encl poles, and looped about the 
tops of the others by a “ lialf-hitch.” This is 
done on horseback very easily and quickly. The 
cords run in four directions from each interior 
stake, at a hight of 8 feet. The spring treat¬ 
ment has been already described. When the 
vines begin to run, four strong shoots, one from 
each root, are trained upon the stake and tied 
with woolen ravelings, wet straw, or other soft 
string. The hop winds about perpendicular poles 
with the sun—that is, from left to right. At each 
hoeing all the other shoots are gathered in the 
hand, rolled into a mass without breaking them, 
laid upon the ground and covered with a clod or 
stone. They soon wither. If cut off, the plant 
would bleed. The four vines reach the top ot 
