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American Agriculturist 
FARM—DAIRY—MARKET—GARDEN—HOME 
“Agriculture is the Most Healthful, Most Useful and Most Noble Employment of Man ”—Washington 
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Established 1842 
Volume 111 
For the Week Ending April 14, 1923 
Number 15 
The Passing of A Great Farm Industry 
Hops Combined Speculation and Romance—Growers Glad To See Them Go 
H OPS are on their last legs, or 
rather, on their last poles. In 1899 
and 1909, Schoharie County had 
more acres of hops per square mile 
than any other county in New York State. 
Daily I now see deserted hop houses, stacks 
idle poles, and hear stories in hop vernacu¬ 
lar of the good old days. This county stuck 
to hops to the last and is still staying with 
100 acres or less. Our German and Dutch 
blood makes us so perverse that we stayed 
strong in hops when 
nearly every other county 
in New York State saw 
the storm of competition, 
disease and prohibition 
coming and got out from 
under. 
The First Planting 
History records that 
the first yard was set by 
J. D. Coolidge at Madison, 
N. Y. in 1808. Growth 
was slow, however, and 
by 1840 there were hardly 
more than 2,000 acres of 
hops in the United States, 
of which two-thirds were 
in pious New England and 
the rest in New York 
State. By 1859 there 
were produced in the 
country 55,000 bales rep¬ 
resenting one-third as 
many acres, seven-eighths 
of them in New York 
State, with Vermont the 
only New England State to stay in the game. 
Hop growing was contagious in New York. 
Sooner or later practically every county was 
exposed and by 1879 there were 39,072 acres 
of this crop in the State. At this same date 
Wisconsin had 4,439 acres and California 
was a poor third with 1,119 acres. 
The Use of Hops 
It has been stated on good authority that 
the manufacture of beer and ale required 95 
per cent of the hop crop of the world. The 
same authority estimated that there were 
264,500 acres of hops raised annually at the 
close of the nineteenth century. Assuming 
the average yield to be 650 pounds per acre, 
we find a world production of 171,925,000 
pounds. Now take 95 per cent of this for 
the amount used in beer and ale, allow 
one and one-half pounds of hops to a bar¬ 
rel of beer, consider 250 “boot-legs” to the 
barrel, and we find that hops entered into 
27,221,458,333 drinks for a beer-thirsty 
world. 
There is no disputing the fact that hops 
and beer were two good cronies, neither 
happy or prosperous without the other. Other 
reasons besides the Volstead Act will be 
given for the fall of hops in New York State 
later in this article. 
The remaining five per cent of hops were 
used for medicine, for decoctions, in yeast 
iuaking, and even in the manufacture of 
By RAY F. POLLARD 
Bohemian glass. The roots were sometimes 
used as a substitute for sarsaparilla; the 
tender shoots were sometimes eaten like as¬ 
paragus; the vine was said to make good 
paper pulp and even cloth, and if pressed 
fresh into stacks. Would make ensilage. 
The peak of the world’s hop acreage is said 
to have been reached in 1894 when there 
were 272,865 acres and at the same time 
Hop picking time was something of a holiday in the heyday of the industry 
63,777 acres in the United States according 
to the best estimates. 
The peak of prices occurred in December, 
1882, when hops were quoted in New York 
at $1.13 per pound. That was the time when 
growers held for $1.25 and $2, and one man 
swore in half sincerity that he would get a 
cent apiece for his hops. Most of them got 
left. Last summer I visited the farm of a 
ruined hop grower, fields neglected and 
buildings falling down. He held 10,000 lbs. 
for $1.25; later he used them to bed his live¬ 
stock and fertilize the land. Another man 
was offered one dollar a pound and finally 
took ten cents. But the climax of foolish¬ 
ness was reached when a grower who 
couldn’t get $1.25 a pound, took his crop and 
scattered it on the public highway. 
A Problem of To-Day as Well 
Following high prices came an increased 
acreage with the result that the price was 
exceedingly low three years later in 1885. 
How many times have farmers had this les¬ 
son demonstrated with other crops like pota¬ 
toes, and how many centuries will it be be¬ 
fore a few 6f them commence to heed it? 
The lowest recorded price for new hops 
was six cents per pound in August of 1879. 
Some farmers have said that in the days 
when labor was 75 cents per day and brim¬ 
stone three-quarters of a cent a pound, they 
could produce hops for ten cents, but by no 
economy could they produce for six cents. 
New York’s decline started soon after 1879, 
and we must look back as far as that 
to find at least one cause. At that time Wis¬ 
consin had 4,439 acres and in the decade fol¬ 
lowing, California, Oregon, and Washington 
came rapidly in with their thousands of 
acres. It was this competition from the 
Pacific coast where climate, soil and condi¬ 
tions were exceedingly favorable that first 
sounded the doom of New York’s monopoly. 
Insects and disease in¬ 
vaded New York first and 
even after reaching Wash¬ 
ington and Oregon in 1888 
and 1889 were not so de¬ 
structive there as here. 
The “blue mold” or hop 
mildew, a fungous disease 
was probably the most de¬ 
structive agent. Dusting 
the vines repeatedly with 
powdered sulphur was 
found to be effective and 
thousands of barrels were 
used for the purpose. 
Insects Liked Hops 
Of the insects the plant 
louse, said to cause “black 
mold” was most dreaded. 
This horde of suckers 
were combated by the use 
of kerosene emulsion and 
in later years by nicotine 
sprays. The hop grub in¬ 
jured the roots and tender 
sprouts, caterpillars fed 
on the leaves, as did the thrips and flea 
beetles. The “hop merchants” were most in¬ 
teresting chrysalids of two common butter¬ 
flies. The superstition held among hop grow¬ 
ers to the effect that when the gold spotted 
ones were plentiful the crop would be good, 
while if the silver spotted ones were plenti¬ 
ful and the gold spotted ones were scarce, 
the price would be low. 
A Forerunner of the 18th Amendment 
Local option had considerable to do with 
hop growing. As soon as they were given 
the right by law to prohibit the public sale 
of intoxicating liquors, many towns did so 
and remained “dry” from that time to this. 
A whack on beer produced a sympathetic 
black eye on hops. 
Another cause of diminution in New York 
was the fact that there were hundreds of 
little growers with small “yards” on poor, 
hilly lands where comparative failure was 
rather quick and sure. 
But the final knock-out blow was given by 
the 18th Amendment. The referee has been 
counting for several years now and is likely 
to count until he wears himself out before 
the one-time champion “the hop industry” 
with “beer” for his backer, will show any 
signs of life. 
Hop picking time was the social event of 
the season in many localities. The old and 
{Continued on page 347) 
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