HOPS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1190, 6 September 1867, Page 4

HOPS.

The consumption of ale is evidently on the increase ; we are assured of this on all sides, and every week brings us inquiries for information respecting tlio various ingredients used in tho manufacture of colonial ale, more particularly as to tlie cultivation of ; and that tliis plant is being more patronised is evident, not only from the annually increasing number of exhibits at

the various local grain shows hold during tho i autumn months, but the very price per 1,000 sets i is now beginning to be quoted in tho daily i papers. At our iate Intercolonial Exhibition, also, we could have borne testimony to tho great and excellent variety of porters which our own brews and those from tho adjacent colonies temptingly displayed in that doliciously cool collar. Amongst thoso productions bad alo was the exception, and we believe that tho judges of that section 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 ale, 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 tho Exhibition just named. Many of our readers have frequently seen either solitary poles or small plots of " bills" growing in gardens as they passed by grown cither from curiosity or for home use, and if they will tax their memories so far, they 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 cercal or root more or less we havo never heard of the hop plantations suffering from any visitation, excepting, perhaps, severe drought. In New South Wales it was the samo; the caterpillars which destroyed acres of barley in 1846, passed harmlessly through the hop grounds, and in tho following summer, when hot winds were more than usually prevalent, no signs of fire-blast were discernable there. From what wo have seen and heard, there arc many localities in this colony in which hops can bo 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. Tho first season in England, when " naked sets " are planted, nothing is expected; the owner endeavours to throw all tho strength of the plant into the root, and in many places the system prevails of just twisting the bine into a knot, and laying a clod on tho top; in tho second year, poles of perhaps eight feet high aro driven by the hills, and in a favourable season tbo 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 wo have had in Now South Walcs liopgrowing, the speed of growth of the plant is far greater, for in IS'l4. certainly a very favorable season, tho plants from naked sots put in in the end of August, required and actually topped poles sixteen feet high, and also produced 5 cwt. of beautiful mercantile hops. This growth was most 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. Tho preparation of the ground must be thorough. Hops require a good rich bottom (not a steep sideling, such as thoy aro 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 somo soils, and much cheaper, although trenching is tho safest in the end, and profitably productive much longer. Trenching is cxpensivo work either for vines or hops; but thero 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, wo consider that deep trenching for hops will usually be a sufficient preventative from tho effects of drought, without irrigating, unless the drought bo extraordinarily severe and continuous over one season. Hop plantations aro much more self-protccting than vines, and aro in their greatest glory during our hottest months. Let anyone cxamino tho soil of a well-chosen site, occupied by a plantation full of strong diverging plarfts, 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 tho plough must be used during tho summer months between the rows ; tho latter lets in the dry air too much. That little implement the " nldgett," although not in the colony, is well represented by the handy horse hoes and cultivators obtainablo from the Melbourne manufacturers at a very low figure. They aro convenient in size, effective in their work, and require but little power. Whenever surface weeds appear tho horse-hoe ought to bo set in and even without their appearanco, if time allows; simply stirring tho ground will benefit the plantation. The position to chooso for a hop ground is not so difficult wo think as that for a vineyard; as we have 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 tho plants ; but at timo of gathering or picking it would be well to guard against the influence of our strong March winds, the force of a strong breezo is much increased when it acts upon a thick mass of foliago at such a height from tho ground, and L at the time of picking, the poles are very apt to givo way between " wind and water," and the

" flower" of tho vine, if in a forward state, and after having been under tho 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 thero is not much loss to be apprehended from this source. If exposed to one of our stiff breezes the poles aro sure to suffer most. For this reason especially it is necessary for judgment to bo exercised in choosing tho locality for the plantation, obtaining a knowledge of the prevailing winds in tho district, especially during tho 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 bo open to these objectionable high winds, the best course to take in such a case is to chooso the strongest poles and use them on the windward side of the plantation; if these stand thoy will act as a capital breakwind for the other part. A good natural breakwind may also bo established in a double or oven treble row of tall-growing trees on tho windward side of your ground. Another point must occupy tho attention of an intended hop-grower, and one which tho English grower has no occasion to consider; and that is, at timo of picking, or harvest time, a supply of hands 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 cither tho garden must bo 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 nico employment for families, and tho nimble fingers of a young girl will fi 11 a crib much quicker than thoso of her father. In England tho hop-picking season is looked forward to for months by many hundred families in tho hop-growing counties, and even there the local labor is strongly supplemented by gangs of Irish who visit England and issue from London on purpose for this employment.

Amomg tlio first expenses of a hop ground, besides trenching or subsoiling, is drainngc, good deep drainage; the lower down tlio roots reach the safer will be the. plant, and drainage tends very much to encourage this. It is quite usual in England to hare, 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, after-treatment, &c. As this is the season for dressing the roots and for obtaining cuttings, thoso 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-bino hop. All these are good sorts, especially tho two first. About 40s. per 1,000 is tho price of cuttings, and about 2,500 will plant an acre.—Australasian.