HOPS. (FROM THE "AUSTRALASIAN")

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3354, 16 April 1868, Page 4

HOPS. (FROM THE " AUSTRALASIAN")

The consumption of ale is endently on the increase; we are assured of this on all sides, and every week brings us inquiries for information respecting the various ingredients used in the manufacture of colonial ale, more particularly as to the oultiration of hops ; and that this plant is being more patronised is evident, not only from the annually increasing number of exhibits at the various local grain shows held during the autumn months* but the very price per 1,000 sets is now beginning to be quoted in the daily papers. At our late Intercolonial Exhibition, also, we could have borne testimony to the great and excellent variety of ales and porters whioh our own brewera and those from the adjacent colonies temptingly displayed in that deliciously cool cellar. AmongaC those productions bad ale was the exception, and we believe that the judges of that seofcion had as great difficulty in awarding the medals and certificates as any class of judges in the building. In conversing with the brewers at different times upon the subject of »le, they invariably laid great stress upon the quality of the hops used— good hops are as important as good malt — and all thought that hops could be produced as well in Victoria as in Tasmania or New Zealand, which two colonies forwarded such superior samples of hops to the Exhibition just named. Many of our readers have frequently seen either small poles or small plots of "hills" growing in gardenß as they passed by, grown either from curiosity or for home use ; and if they will tax their memories so far, they will find that, almost without exception, the hills of hops looked healthy and strong. It is very remarkable that although our farmers have diseases and pests in the shape of vermin attacking every cereal or root more or less, we have never heard of the hop plantations suffering from any visitation, excepting, perhaps, severe drought. In New South Wales i* was the same ; the caterpillars which destroyed j acres of barley in 1846, passed harmlessly through the hop grounds ; and in the following summer, when hot winds' were more than usually prevalent, no signs of fire-blast were discernible there. Prom what we have seen and heard there are many localities in this colony in which hops can be produced with ease and profit. Hop- growing, like many other pursuits, requires capital if gone into as a regular business, but a quicker return is receivable here than in England. The first season in England, when "naked sets" are planted, nothing is expectsd ; the owner endeavours to throw all the strength of the plant into the root, and in many places the system prevails of juBt twisting the bine into a knot, and laying a clod on the top ; in the second year, poles of perhaps eight feet high are driven by the hills, and in a favourable season the produce this year may be worth picking, but the crop of the third year is the one depended on for the first payable return. Now, from the experience we have had in New South Wales hop-growing, the speed of growth of the plant is far greater, for in 1844— oerfcainly a very favourable season — the plants from naked sets put in in the end of August required and actually toppled poles sixteen feet high, and also produced scwt. of beautiful mercantile hop 3. This growth was remarkable, and has never been exceeded, we should imagine, in any of the colonies ; but the growth of that season with every crop was most rapid and strong, and the plantation alluded to was formed upon a very rich alluvial flat, trenched two feet deep. The first expenses of a hop garden, as with vines or an orchard, are the heaviest. The preparation of the ground must be thorough. Hops require a good rich bottom (not a steep sideling, such as they are planted on at the Botanical Gardens), well trenched and pulverised, and if in a locality where a tea- tree scrub full of stout tall saplings is growing, so much less the expense of carting poles will be ; as every acre will need about 2,500 poles, a good idea may be formed of this part of the cost. If your intended plantation be formed upon a naturally rich flat, but little manure will be necessary the first year. A deep ploughing with the subsoil plough will be perhaps sufficient upon some soils, and much cheaper, although trenching is the safest in the end, and profitably productive much longer. Trenching is expensive work either for vines or hops ; but there is always a satisfactory feeling after it is done, and there is no doubt but that it pays eventually. Whatever some growers may say upon the subject, we consider that deep trenching for hops will usually be a sufficient preventive from the effects oi drought, without irrigating, unless the drought be extraordinarily severe and continuous over one season. Hop plantations are much more self-protecting than vines, and are in their greatest glory during our hottest months. Let anyone examine the soil of awellchosen site, occupied by a plantation full of strong diverging plants nearly touching each other at a distance of twelve or fourteen feet from the ground, and he will find it moist as compared with that of a vineyard either under the "spur" or "long succession" system of pruning. The cultivator and not the plough must be used during the summer months between the rows ; the latter lets in the dry air too much. That little implement the "nidgett," although not in the colony, is well represented by the handy horse-hoes and cultivators obtainable from the Melbourne manufacturers at_ a very low figure. They are convenient in size, effective in their work, and require but little power. Whenever surface weeds appear, the horse-hoe ought to be set in, and even without their appearance, if time allows ; simply stirring the ground will benefit the plantation. The position to choose for a hop ground is not so difficult, we think, as that for a vineyard; as we hare before remarked, with a moderate degree of shelter the hop appears to be able to withstand the effects of a strong hot wind during the growth of the plants ; but at the time of gathering or picking it would be well to guard against the influence of our strong March winds ; the force of a strong breeze is much increased when it acts upon a thick mass of foliage at such a height from the ground and, at the time of picking, the poles are very apt te give way between '• wind and water," and the flowei of the vine, if in a forward state, and after having been under the influence of hot weather for a few days, will likely suffer to an extent from being blown off; but unless the picking is very late and the burr very forward there is not much loss to be apprehended from this source. If exposed to one of our Btiff breezes the poles are sure to suffer most. For this reason, especially, it is necessary for judgment to be exercised in choosing the locality for the plantation, obtaining a knowledge of the prevailing winds in the district, especially during the months of January, February, and March. If you have already purchased land, and are obliged to plant where you possess it, and if your ground be open to these objectionable high winds, the best course to take in such a case is to choose the strongest poles and use them on the windward side of the plantation ; if these stand they will act as a capital breakwind for the othet part. A good natural breakwind may also be established in a double or even treble row of tall-growing trees on the windward side of your ground. Another point must occupy the attention of an intended bopgrower, and one which the English grower had nc occasion to consider ; and that is, at time of picking or harvest time, a supply of bands and busy fingers will be essential. It will be useless to be a successful grower of hops if you cannot make a good use of them when grown. For this reason either the garden must be established in a district pretty well populated, or a great expense will have to be incurred in conveying labour to the garden. This is a nice employment for families, and the nimble fingers of young girls will fill a crib much quicker than those of bei father. In England the|hop-picking season is looked forward to for months by many hundred families in the hop-growing counties, and even there the local labour is strongly supplemented by gangs of Irish who visit England and issue from London on purpose for his employment. Among the first expenses of a hop ground, besides trenching or subsoiling, is drainage, good deep drainage ; the lower down the roots reach the safer will be the plant, and drainage tends very much to encourage this. It is quite usual in England to have, besides underground covered pipe drains, large open ditches round the plantations, and frequently through the centre. The growing importance of this plant, and the position it is likely to hold as one of our future products, demands more than a passing remark. We shall, therefore, in a future article, speak more fully upon the different operations connected with its planting, affcer-treatmeat, &c. As this is the season for dressing the roots and forjobtaining cuttings those who purpose planting ought to look out, and bespeak sufficient for their purpose. We believe we have the •'Grape" and "Goulding" and "Jones" in the colony, the last a red-bine hop. All these are good sorts, especially the two first. About 40s. per 1,000 is the price of cuttings, and about 2,500 will plant an acre.