MJH f. 
/CQltURE>S£ 
*URAL 
EXCELSIOR 
^„_____. < 41 I’arli How, IVew York, 
OFFICES. ■{ na HulTnlo 8t., Rochester, 
) Ji.I.OO PER YEAR, 
t Siiutle No.* Eight Cents 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, SEPT, 10,1870 
to Act of Congress, in the year 1370, t>y I). D. T. Mooun, in the ollieo of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.] 
| Entered accord!n 
reputation. I planted nearly a bushel and 
a half quite early. The ground was so cold 
that they were very slow in sprouting and 
dlscouragingly long in coming up. But 
when they did come, those that were first 
planted were the first to appear, and kept 
up their ahent/u/imnexx throughout. I was 
the first to get into the market, and sold 
quantities at from t wenty-five t<> forty-five 
cents per gallon. I began to “grabble” 
them from the bill as soon as they were 
large enough to eat, and when I got through 
the patch and went back to the place where 
I began, T found them largo in size again. 
Time after time I went over my earliest and 
best little piece, row by row, and still as I 
dig them (now that the vines are dead) I 
find a good many yet. In size the largest 
are not extra large, but very respectable. 
In quality mine appeared rather soft and 
inferior when we first began to use them, 
but now arc firm and good. However, we 
NVe would particularly urge upon growers 
and forwarders of hops, the necessity of plain 
marking. No grower should be without, a 
stencil plate, bearing the initials of liis name. 
The full name, if not a long one, would be 
better. These plates can be gotten up at a 
small cost, cut from sheet brass, and of suffi¬ 
cient durability to last a grower a lifetime. 
The letters should not be over three inches 
square. The best material for marking i3 
turpentine and lamb black. A large amount 
of American bops have been rejected on the 
London market, on account of the use of ker¬ 
osene oil with lamb black as a marking ma¬ 
terial, Ibe unpleasant, odor of the oil striking 
through the hops depriving them of the nat¬ 
ural flavor. No marks or shipping directions 
should be put upon the end of the bale, for 
the reason that when stood on cud on muddy 
wharfs, the marks are liable to become de¬ 
faced. The proper place to mark is on the 
narrow side near the top of the bale. On day 
of shipment consignors should send invoice 
by mail, stating how and by what line ship¬ 
ped. If the shipment consists of more than 
one growth, it,should bo bo specified, with the 
number of bales each, marks of each, &c. 
Growers and dealers, in forwarding small 
samples by mail or express, and communicat¬ 
ing by telegraph, arc expected in all cases to 
prepay charges,” 
not drying enough. The hops, by being high 
dried and scorched, lose their natural rich 
flavor and aroma, while those not sufficiently 
dried arc liable to heat in the bale and be¬ 
come worthless. 
The best time to bale is on a rainy day, as 
the hops are more pliable and pack better. 
It is important that hops be put up in the 
best possible shape. Shaggy,' loose-packed, 
irregular-shaped bales are almost invariably 
thrown out and rejected by the inspector. 
Many growers rely too much on their own 
ingenuity in the construction of hop-presses, 
paying too little regard to the dimensions and 
shape of the bale produced. There would be 
no objections to growers exercising their in¬ 
ventive powers in the construction of bop- 
presses, were more regard to good shaped 
bales taken into consideration. Several pat¬ 
ent presses, ou the lever plan, are in use, the 
cost of which range from §40 to §50. Every 
grower who can afford It, should have one of 
these presses. In districts where but few 
hops are grown, it, would be a good plan for 
growers to club together and share the ex¬ 
pense ofa patent press. The several varieties 
of patents in use, all turn out about Ibe same 
sized bales, viz.: Four and-a-lialf feet, in 
length, two and-a-lialf feet wide, and eighteen 
inches thick. 
Hops should be put weigh as near 
two hundred pounds to the bale as possible. 
Slack pressed, or ligh-bales, do not sample 
or sell ns well as those properly put up. When 
compressed so much as to exclude the air 
hops are quite liable to beat in the bale. In 
baling, nouc but the best three-ply twine 
should be used. 
corresponding week last season, 1,151 do. 
Total receipts of the season, 102,027 bales. 
Export clearances last week, none; exports 
corresponding week last season, 992 bales. 
Total exports of the season from the port of 
New York, 56,458 bales.” 
Picking mid Pnckinsr Hop*. 
From the same source we have the follow¬ 
ing:—“Aside from the importance of curing 
bops properly, there is no branch of the 
culture in which the grower should exercise 
more care than in picking. All foreign sub¬ 
stances, such as leaves and stems,should be 
kept from the hops. Instead of stripping the 
hops from the vines and tendrils with the 
hands, as is too much the custom, each hop 
should be picked off separately—even when 
in clusters they should be separated. The 
advantages of clean picking were fully ex¬ 
perienced in the introduction and use of for¬ 
eign hops during the season of 1867. The 
quality and flavor of the American hop fully 
equaled that of the foreign; yet, by lack 
of clean picking, our hops did not bring as 
high price by five cents per pound as the 
foreign. The role applies to any season, and 
hops, in order to sell well should be cleanly 
picked. This year there threatens to lie a 
great many burrs and immature Imps on the 
vines at the time of harvest. Great care should 
Ixj ta.kcn to instruct pick cm to reject burrs 
and hops just, starting, for by mixing those 
with matured fruit the value of the stock 
will be much impaired. Nature may do her 
part well, and the grower may have secured 
a large crop of superior quality, yet, by liis 
inexperience in the art of curing, the hops 
may be ruined, either by over-drying or by 
HOPS —PAST AND PRESENT, 
Emmet Wells’ Hop Circular, dated Au¬ 
gust 26th, contains the following:—“Esti¬ 
mates of the growth of ’69 were made just 
before thiiL crop was harvested, varying in 
opinion from 85,000 to 180,000 bales. Our 
views were rather inclined toward the latter 
figures; but time has proven the incorrect¬ 
ness of l>nth extremes, as the yield proves to 
have been as near 105,000 bales as it is pos¬ 
sible to judge by facts and figures at hand. 
Early in September, 1809, the surplus growth 
of ’6*8 was believed to be only 80,000 bales ; 
it now proves to have been fully 70,000 bales, 
as the following figures will show:—Growth 
of 1868,240,000 bales; disposed of as follows: 
Consumption, 98,000 bales; exports, 77,- 
000 do.; surplus, 70,000 do. Total, 240,000 
bales. 
Growth of 1809, 105,000 bales; add sur¬ 
plus of ’68’s, 70,000 do. Total, 175,000 bales; 
disposed of as follows: 
Consumption of ’68’s and ’09’s, 100,000 
bales; exports of ’68’s and ’69’s, 57,000 do.; 
on hand to-day, ’08’s and ’69’s, 18,000 do. 
Total, 175,000 bales. 
Admitting that the above figures are near¬ 
ly or quite correct, it will be seen that the 
enormous growth of 1808 is what has bullied 
and upset the calculations of everybody in¬ 
terested in bops; however, as matters now 
stand, tin: producers and dealers can see 
their way clear for good prices, at least dur¬ 
ing the coming season. 
The incoming crop is r—-- 
estimated to be one-lialf I 
that of last season, or 
52,000 bales; to this we ^ §5: 
will add the present sur- s --T v 
plus of 1808 and ’09, 
which gives a total stock 
of 70,000 bales for our ? 
brewers to work upon pjHglg f 
the next year. If the 
new crop does not ex- |j|p|p|BgRj|A^ 
ceed our estimate, and Wh 
should the i.<» j i-ii1111■ ti<• 11 jo 
the coming season equal |ggjr_-/ ‘ T; \- ^ 
that of last year, we shall 
be short 30,000 hales. .'' 
That there is to-day a 43L*-i i^r, i 
single bale of bops on 
ers’ bauds, is explained 
by the fact that con sum- 
ers carried larger stocks 
of ’68’s than any one in fc* 
the hop trade had reason f" 1 
to suppose; and were * f, 
they now carrying the nPdfcLy d , w 
stock they usually do at 'Vjf Xwft) it-'v 
this season of the year, 
every town and conn- f ' 
try market would be i 
cleaned of hops. 
About 30 bales of tlic 
new growth have thus — * g;;;;-- •. 
far arrived, and been 
cents to 40 cents per 
State last Monday, but t 
it will not become gen- 
eral before next Mon- 
samples of new we have p 
thus far seen, show con- , 
rank, caused by imma* Blj |jl lll l E3 
Receipts of the week, 
351 bales; receipts of 
FIELD NOTES 
Early Itono in Not-tli Carolina. 
During the season this popular edible lias 
been very well tested in different parts of 
North Carolina. In every instance from 
which I have heard, it has now an enviable 
Vnluii of Corn Fodder. 
A. Hendrick says, in 
response to J. L. B. 
Washburn's inquiry, 
(s e o It u u a l N e w- 
Yorkkr, Aug. 13, page 
100:) — “I think corn, 
to cure f*r fodder, is 
worth more about the 
time it is in the milk; 
but men’s opinions are 
worth but little, and 
arc contrary to each 
other. Ask the cows; 
they know better what 
they like than the doc¬ 
tors, or the college pro- 
lessors; and they will 
analyze it and tell 
whether the fodder is 
good for butter.” 
Early Rose Potato Crop. 
John Bko wn, Blodget 
Mill, (no State given.) 
planted, Muy 15tli, an 
Early Rose potato 
weighing three ounces. 
It was cut in ten pieces, 
planted in ten bills on 
good soil. These hills 
were dug August 1st, 
producing twenty - one 
pounds—the largest tu¬ 
ber weighing sixteen 
and a-half ounces. 
BRANT " NY 
