[No. 6.]

New Zealander, Volume XVII, Issue 1548, 16 February 1861, Page 3

[No. 6.]

CCLTURB OF HOPS. (Part 1.) In a former' paper we> endeavoured to lay before our readers sOnfe' remarks Upon the cultivation of the hop while growing, as well as directions foT forming a permanent hop-ground,, 'We have rtoW to offer a few remarks ott the after-work of picking and harvesting the crop, and preparing it for markot. The ripeness of the crop is denoted by the flower becoming close and firm, fend 'by the hardness and brownncss of the seed; though to an experienced eye the general appearance of ripeness will be a sufficient indication. At the commencement then of picking, the bines are cut over at a height of 3 feet from the ground, and the polls raised from the sail, and laid over on some support for the convenience of the hop-pickers. Of course that portion of the field where the hops arc ripest will be the first Commenced upon. This will always be found to be that part, around which the male plants grew. Tiic hops in these places, too, will always bo

found to be the most valuable, for they.will .Contain the most seed, will retain their weight the longest,ana be the best for keeping. As stated before, varieties of an earlier growth should be planted in some portion of the hop ground, while a later variety may be planted in another, by this means part of the harvest will bo over before the other part is ready to be commenced upon—an arrangement which every farmer well knows the value of.

As many hands, of course, as can be gathered together, in proportion to the extent of the hop-ground, should be engaged. The hopping at home is usually finished bv the end of three weeks or a month. In

picking, all the leaves should be gathered and the inferior hops sejiarated from those of a better quality At home it is reckoned that a family of five will, when the crop is an average good one, pick as many as 65 bushels per day,, Which at 2lbs weight to the bushel, when dried, vhli arhouiii to ioOlb; The yield of an acre of hops varies according to the season. Tho same hop ground of ten acres which has in ovie year produced 9 tons of hops has in another produced no more than cwt. The causes of these fluctuations in the weight of the crop arise from the attacks of disease, to which this plant is subject— mould-blight — and the ravages of insects above and below the soil. Foremost amongst these is the wireworm. We have j tried numerous experiments to destroy this pest, salt, lime, &c , but the only reai cafe on a large scale, in which we have so'ccee'iled. has been in the use ft soda ash sown broadcast at the rate of 2' cwt. per acre. This is at the same time a powerful manure, but the party Sowing it must use the precaution of wearing a strong pair of gloves when doing so, otherwise the hands will become cxcoria'ted by.tjtd handling it. On a small scale, (and, this plan would be suitable for a small hop ground), we have placed traps, composed of slices of potatoes, underneath the soli and around the, roots of the plants. The wire worm will commence its attack upon these, which can be taken up and examined once or twice a day, and the grubs which will be found in them destroyed. The most formidable foe to this the bop Aphis, which begins its ravages in the Jurt of the summer at a time when the bines have reached a licig'ht of /oar or five feet up tho poles. The attack is made on the under side of' those small leaves, which arc near the head or compr.s* tho leading shoot of the bine. The hop in three cases out of four, however, recovers from the effect of the Aphis, whilo an attack from this pest on the same hop ground has never been experienced in two consecutive vears.

The "mould" is the attack of a parasitic fungus, and is prevalent only in moist and warm summers, it is, however, partial iti its attacks, confining itself to damp lowlying situations. It is to be expected that with the exception of the wire worm, the hop in this country would say good-bye to most of its old enemies. R. tang .dry summer would be at once destructive to its worst enemy, mould, tho. most disastrous of all in its effects, as it deprives the plant of its power of forming the flower. And if, in its cultivation in this Province, to an unwonted luxuriance of growth and power of production, which experiments have already satisfactorily demonstrated, we can add freedom from the attacks of blight, mildew, and mould, we may fairly expect it to become one of the most profitable crops which wo can grow, either for home consumption or exportation. The present duty on hops imported into Great Brittain is, we believe, 455. per cwt. As soon as the hops are picked into large bags, they are taken home and artificially dried If this were not done they would not keep and would mould. When grown on a small scale a contrivance is usually fitted up in a lar£o chimney, consisting of a large plate of tin or iron fitted at some little height above the fire. At home in 'large hop-grounds, they are dried in circular kilns, 10 or 18 feet in diameter, on haircloth, and heated by coal or charcoal. About 13 cwt. of coal is used in drying one ton of hops. The kiln floor is situated some ten feet above the fire, and the height of the kiln is some 18 feet above the kiln floor. A cooling room is attacked to tho kiln on a level with the kiln floor. These arc arrangements on a large scale, there arc of course degrees of accommodation proportioned to to the extent of the undertaking. Care must be taken not to dry the hops so much, but that, when removed from the kilns and laid out in heaps on the cooling floor, they will acquire a state of adhesiveness, which will cause them to lump together when squeezed in tho hand, and yet not so much as to lose their elasticity. Caution, too, is required to regulate the fires of "the kilns, for if too strong at first when tho hops are naturally moist, they will partake of the smell of the fire and be much deteriorated in

quality. The fire may be gradually increased as the drying goes on, and be pretty brisk towards the last; but the heat should not exceed 212 ° Fahrenheit —that

of boiling water. Sulphur is used to give the hops a colour. This practice, as far as effecting any useful purpose, is utter nonsense—indeed, harm may result from its use. Damp ruins hops, and those which absorb most sulphur in drying we may naturally expect to keep the worst. The use of sulphur, too, is attended with some risk, for if too much is thrown u]K)n the fire at first too fierce a heat will be excited. From 28lb. to 1 cwt. of sulphur is used in drying a ton of hops. The object is to give the hop a delicate, light coloured greenish hue. ' It is, however, a mere matter of trade trickery. The hops after having been removed from the kiln to the cooling room are, after a short time, stowed through an opening in the floor to which the mouth of the bag is fastned into bags or pockets. The mouth of the bag is secured on a level with the floor, and the hops arc tramped into the bag by a man standing in the bag while a boy supplies him with hops from a basket. They cannot be too closely and firmly tramped, for if the air is not excluded, they will not only shrink in weight, but deteriorate in value. Those containing the most seed will retain their weight the longest, and therefore the plants which grow nearest the males produce the best hops for keeping. We do not see why the culture of this plant should not enter into the ordinary routine of farming in this Province. We should have a fine climate, a rich soil, freedom from disease, and against us only an import dutv of something under 6d. per lb. in disposing of our produce in the home market. Hops sometimes fetch

ns high a price as 3s. or 4s. per lb. Add to this the fact that the quality of New Zealand hops far exceeds that of those grown in other countries, and wo have a still stronger reason for advocating its further growth amongst us. „____ m _^^____^