THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
JUNE,  1875. 
HOP  CULTURE  IN  WISCONSIN. 
BY  WILLIAM  HARVEIT  RAMSEY,  PH.  G. 
[From  an  Inaugural  Essay.) 
The  plant  is  propagated  by  cuttings  c)f  the  rhizome,  which  are  sent 
out  from  the  main  root  annually,  and  have  to  be  removed  each  year, 
which  constitutes  what  is  termed  grubbing.  This  is  performed  in  the 
spring,  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground  sufficiently  to  permit, 
that  the  young  shoot  or  vine,  after  it  starts,  may  not  be  broken  off 
during  the  process. 
The  kind  of  soil  best  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  plant,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Reedsburg,  Sauk  county,  Wisconsin,  is  a  rich,  black  sandy 
loam,  with  a  subsoil  that  will  hold  water  well,  enabling  the  vine  to 
withstand  drought.  The  locations  found  to  be  best  adapted  are  elevated 
tables,  where  there  is  a  free  circulation  of  air,  but  shielded  from  heavy 
winds,  which  are  very  injurious  to  the  fruit  at  the  time  of  ripening, 
because  they  whip  the  branches  against  each  other,  breaking  off  some 
and  causing  the  outer  surface  of  the  bracts  to  turn  reddish-brown, 
which  greatly  injures  the  appearance. 
In  starting  hop-yards,  the  rhizomes  removed  by  grubbing  are  cut  into 
pieces  six  to  eight  inches  long,  each  piece  containing  two  or  three  pairs 
of  eyes,  and  planted  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  weather  will  permit, 
usually  in  April,  four  or  five  pieces  being  placed  in  a  hill.  The  hills 
are  usually  set  eight  feet  apart  in  each  direction,  and  in  straight  rows. 
When  the  plants  come  up  they  should  be  cultivated  the  same  as  corn. 
The  hop-plant  does  not  yield  the  first  year,  not  until  the  second  year, 
when  the  vine  is  trained  on  poles  prepared  for  the  purpose,  fifteen  to 
sixteen  feet  in  length,  and  two  or  three  poles  are  set  to  a  hill,  and  two 
or  three  vines  are  run  up  each  pole.  When  three  poles  are  used,  gen- 
erally two  vines  are  run  up  each. 
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