HOP CULTIVATION.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 79, 31 October 1872, Page 2

HOP CULTIVATION.

A Worcester Prize Essay by John P. Smith. (From the Journal of the Boyal Agricultural Society of England, Vol. 25, Part 1, No. 52, 1864.) These should, on no account, be put up the poles, since they have a tendency to grow an extravagant quantity of vine, without bearing a proportionate quantity of fruit —and the most vigorous vines are far more fruitful. Some planters put three vines up each pole ; if four poles are put to the hill, which is the custom at seven feet square, two vines will be found sufficient; if three poles, put two two's and a three. Tiio writer has often seen a heavy produce from a single vine. The fcyers are paid by the acre and go over Cue hills three or four times" until the poles are finished, when all superfluous weeds and vines are pulled out. This completes the tying, except by ladder, which is done for extra. The men now follow, dig round the hills, and put a shovelful of soil into each hill —this prevents new vines from springing; up. Different varieties require different sized poles. On no account overpole, as much injury has resulted from it; fourteen feet poled are long enough for any variety except Golding's; and for them I would not, as a ruel, exceed 15 feet. Jones's will do well at eight feet; Grapes, with ten to twelve; Cooper's twelve ; and Mathon's w ; th twelve to fourteen feel-, according to cultivation and qua]itv of land. When your hops are t : ed no time , should be lost in working them with the nidget or 3cuffle, followed by the harrow. This should be done both ways. All working should be finished by the Ist July, certainly by the 10th, as considerable mischief is often done by working too late, unless in years of bl : ght. When you have vermin on your vine 3 do nothing to your land ; leave it until the vermin disappear, then go in with all your strength. N ; drret both ways and do all you can to put fresh vigor into the plant. Some planters manure in winter and some both in winter and summer ; but this may be carried too far for quality and produce mould. The plan adopted in summer is to wheel in good dun? or compost, take the sod from round the hills, put in the manure, and 'Ha: 't in ; or, spread the compost (which method I prefer) round the hills on the surface, and dig in. All that is necessary after is to u-e your nidget, and harrow both ways, taking care not "to pull out the dung. This should complete the work unless hoeing is required to keep down weeds. P : cking begins in early seasons from the first to the eighth of September ; in late ones from the 15th to the 20th. Before it begins due provision should be made, and everything got iir readiness; cokes maybe sent for in July and Augtist, and a sufficient number of pickers engaged to keep your kilns or oasts properly at work. In this you must be governed by the size of the hops.. Different plans are adopted in picking and measuring; some measure by tally,-oihere by book and cards representing: the number of each crib or bin. I have found it best to put two cribs into the centre of 100 hills; this is called a house, and the cribs remain until the work is finished. The poles will be in twoheaps at either end of the cribs, and in the proper place for stripping and piling. If this is strictly carried out much trouble is saved in piling the poles. When a sufficient number of sacks are picked to load one kiln (and this should be done before breakfast) they should be taken and put on the oast', and so om

fill nil your kilns are loaded; and it should be ho managed Lliut hops enough bo picked to reload the kilns at, night. Ifop drying r-quires great altontion, ancl the Blower they are dried the better. They nhould bo dried by »• current of hot, air being continuously pasund through them, and not by combustion. Many Hay they can dry hops in seven or eight hours ; rely on it, it is better to take twelve, and let; your heal not exceed 112 to 115 decree*. When the hope uro »ufnc.icnf ly dried the /ire should bo raked or allowed to \{o down, the hops remaining on the kiln until they bot'ouio soft, which will prevent their breaking on being removed to the cooling room. Theae hops will In fit to b<: Imaged the next day, and with a proper ntatf h}iim should bo carried out through the picking. J J oliM are »t heavy item in the cost of ;iop enltiv'arion, and Hliould be carefully husbanded. Theirwearing value may be doubled by picking (wo and a-half feet, at the sharpened end with creosote. A tank for the purpose must be erected of size in proportion to the pbtnta! i <n. By the application of creoHote, soft wood, Hueh n.i that of the willow, &c., becomes hardened, und equal toa.ih and ollrr more durable kinds. The writer lun a plantation of 7-j acres, and a tank 12 feet Jong by 5 wide, and .'3j feet deep. Thin tank will hold 1000 best poles put to stand up. The tank must he filled with eroosoto within eight inches of the top when the pole* are in, when water fully two inches deep must, be added to prevent evaporation. The , tank rshonld boil slowly for twenty-four hours, when the poles rn'iy be removed and the tank refill 'd. Care must be taken that the tank does n >b boil over, a-* cnsOHoLo is most inflammable, and may take fire. I urn ho Hatis'led as to the value of creosting poles that f never intend to put. a new pole into my ground without its aid. If poles were picked one year under nnother and Hl.ored in a slack till dry, they would b:; found lo hist far longer thin in a green stale. The hop plant lijih a variety of mem es : on the first appearance of the vine il in frequently attacked by Ilea, which clicks its growth, nnd makes it look scrubby and unhealthy, hut never destroys the eroj). W rcworrris an; a great, pest ; the best plan to get rid of them is to cut a potato in halves and place thorn close on either side the root an inch below the surface. The potato lures the worm, and'if taken up every other morning for a fortnight, enables you to take a> great, quantity-. I have known of a dozen being taken from one root. The greatest en 'my : s the aphis, an 1 I r gr'l t> way that, on the in w( 'm • >r1 it, -mbjecf- f its hi.slorv we a'"e at 'i^no'-M , !* ns on fore'at'ier-'. We g> to bed lenv n-j our wrd n IV. ■<■, nnd n-"ct trioniin.' w '. find nphis, from one to ion ov twenty, on a smul! leaf, which in tin , cou:-se of a week have increased *"o foiiniless myriads, These pests are follow. , d bv m t-; and lief , , which in some sens >ns multiplv so raoidlv as to destroy the vine and the p'anter's prosnccti. I would h'-re repeat, ther recommendation which I have, ii I ready given to the, planter, not to work his hops when in a state of blight. When closely watching the blights of .1800, 18(51, nnd 18R2, I have observed (hat. in all enses where the laud was host tilled, manured, and eared for, the blight remained until too late in the season for the chance of a crop; on the other hand, whero nothing was done, but weeds were suffered to grow nearly half way up the poles, the. vine been me yellow and clean, and the. result was it fair sprinkling of hops; in such ground the vermin had left the hop for want of sap, and taken to the weeds. Of lute years a machine has been usod to pack the hops, which is very useful when there is a large crop, as if, enables you to pack your hops much j h.!.'ii.T. Treading up is preferable, if care be taken to limvo the hops in n lit slate not to break under the foot.; if iillowed to become too cool they are hard and luiiipv in the sample and are termed cold. A master's Mil rntion to the utiil.e of his hops before bagging is most, necesanrv to good management. Hops arc picked in WWeeslershm) nnd .Herefordshire far more free from leave-" than in Kent and Sussex. They should he sent, if possible, to the onst without a leaf, dried nl'-'wly, taken oil'the kiln in a soft, not, a brittle state, and trod into the pocket as soon as sufficiently cool; they do not then break under the foot. In Kent nnd M'issex hops are dried in a variety of ways, and with several kinds of fuel. In oasts on the Cockle principle jmythim; may be used, and a considerable ♦jU'Uititv of sulphur is required ; hut on the openfire principle Wel-ih coal nnd coke is used, and a small quantity of sulphur. The cokes we get from Abbrrley and IVnsax, in Worcestershire, are highly charged with sulphur, which will account for so little being added in these counties. Its only value is to give brilliancy to the snmple, and if used in excess brewers object to it. as afFeetinu the fermentation of their worts. It has long been the practice in Worcestershire and Here ford shire to make eight sacks out, of one piece of cloth of 3(5 yards, and the weight of the pockets when filled runs from lewt. to lewt. 2qrs. It is niv practice to make seven sacks from a piece, and I am hereby enab'ed to get 1 ewt. 2qrs. to lewt. 3qrs. into a pocket, and I would respectfully commend my brother planters to do the s-me. A heavv ]?ocket has many advantages over a light one. You pav less for weighing, porterage, and warehouse rent, and vou get your hops more qircklv into consumption.' It was formerlv the practice to roll, riddle, and otherwise break and spoil good hops ; this silly practice is in a great measure explode;!. Plant the best sorts, such as Cooper's, Mathon's, and Golding's, pick them clean, dry them properly, and put them into pockets as whole as possible. By breaking the hop you lose a large quantity of pollen, which contains the most valuable brewing properties.

Tlie cost, of hop cultivation per aero may be estimated as follows:—Yearly charge for pole?, £5; ploughing down, 10s; digging slips (a portion not ploughed , ), ss; cutting, picking up, and burving roots, 4s; spreading polos, 2s; pisching or setting polos, 12-s; (vine;, 8s; nidgetting or scuffling, four times, £1; harrowing, four times, 6s; forking round hills and hilling up, sa; stripping and piling poles, 8s; resluirpening broken poles, 3->; ploughing up before winter. 10s; manuring, if with dung, 20 loads per acre, at Bs, £S; if manured in summer, £4; lad.lor tying, 2s; total, £21 15s. If yovi dig instead of plough, 15s per acre extra.

A house on a hill, with no trees around it, look? choerles* and unhomelike. Hare grounds around the dwelling. Tear away V\ y fences, they co*t money an 1 aiv useless —I mean the fences shut-t ; ns: the house up as if there was danger of its running away. Let there bo not less than an acre of door yard, ten will be better. Make arch lawn of th ; s and cut the <n\oss. It crtti bo no wa*te, but it will be a thing of beauty, and " a thins; of beauty is a joy for ever." There need not be any loss to be tasteful ; nature and beauty are synonvn*; sjo.id taste and economy can therefore we 1 ! be mtvle hand-naid* to eaMi otlier. S-.'t out 'r\v+ tree* in this enclosure, and dig around them wi'li aspale eao , ' year an 1 topdressthe w'lole ; and the trees will >rv>w ! : nelv. nnd the sri'nss will simw luxuriantly, and 'he hou e w : 'l γ-ow lvnutiful, the children wdl L r row cnl'Mife u the tatters and mothers as they srrow old vc'-W jrrow the neighbours will crow to emulate an \ to exeel. the township will grow attractive, and the youna men and the younir women wDI grow up te think and to feel, that there is no after all like home, "Sweet , Home."— American Paper. j Mr Holloway, of pill and ointment reputation, is j about, to erect at his own expense a middle-class | asylum at Virginia "Water. The asylum ■will eost I from £70,000 t(>.£lOO,OOO r and will accommodate 200 ! patients. It will be maintained for a year by Mr j FTolloway, after which it ia expected to be self-sup- j porting, and will be handed over to tlio management : )f truateosr i

QfJKK.v Kuzaheth's Lkaumno.—Amoderate-eized volume injght be written on the learning an i accomplishment* of Q teen Elizabeth, iler progress under tier first instructs was marvellous. At eleven y..-a..-> of age hie translated out of l-Vcnc.i verse into Enginu ! prose "T.'ie Mirror or Glass of tue S.nful Sju!." Tim she dedicated to Queeu Catherine i'arr in au epistle dated i'roin December 31, 1644 This dedication and epistle* hare twen printed by Thojnae Hearue. When she was but twelve years old she translated from the English into Latin, French, and Italian, " Prayers and Meditations collected out of certa n pious writers by the most noble and religious Catherine, Queen of England." Tim she dedicated to .her father, Henry VIII., in a Latin epiatle dated from ILufieM, December 30; 15 1-5. Tut M.S. is now in the British Museum. About the same tune she translated from the French " The Meditations of Margaret, Q teen of Xavarre, concerning the Love of the S;ul to C iri.st." This was published by Bale in 154-8, and has been reprinted. Cainden says, "Before she was seventeen years of age s.ie very well understood the Latin, French, and Italian tongue3,and the Greek indifferently." Upon the death of her lather and her tutor about the same time she was much encouraged by her brother Edward, who was exceedingly aflauiied to her, and called her his Lady- Temper. iS'ie now sent for Roger Ascham to supply the place of her tutor, and he left Cambridge for that purpose, and earnc to her at Cheshunt. iiar diligence in the study of the Greek and Latin classics was great, and Ascham writes from Greenwich to his friendSturinius " that, he enjoyed at court as agreeable a freedom and retirement for his studies as he had ever done in the university; and that he was then reading over with the Princess Elizabeth the orations of iEschines and Demosthenes de Corona in Greek, and that she understood at first eight not only the force and propriety of I lie language, and the meaning of tho orator, but the whole scheme of the cause, and the law's, customs, arid manners of the AXlieniane." Her studies were interrupted by the accession of Mary, but upon succeeding to the crown herself, after the settlement of the perplexed aflairs of the kingdom, she renewed them Witli great ardour. Ascham, in 1563, tells the young men of England that " it was their shame that one muil should go beyond them all in excellency of learning and knowledge of divers tongues. Yen, he believed that besides her perfect readiness in Latin, f'uban, Frcncji, and Spanish, she read there at W.nd.-sor more Greek every day than some prebeniarios of that church did read Latin in a whole week." She employed also Sir Henry Saville and Sir John Forlejcue to read to her. The latter (who was a most accomplished scholar) read Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, and the Greek tragedians to her. Uallard gi vfis a wonderful account of her own personal studies. ft would be tedious to recount her translations and other works. On August 5, 15(>i, her Majesty went t) Cambridge, and Bta.\el live days in King's College. oiie wascntoi-ta ncd with tragedies, comedies, orations, and other academical exercises, aud visited every college. Upon her departure she took leave of the university in a Latin oration, which has been preserved bv Ilolinshcd and Jfullcr. — Churchman's Shilling Magazine.

An extraordinary assault case lias been heavd at Sydney. A. Catholic priest and a medical man had a dispute in the bed-room of a dying woman as to whether prayers should be permitted or not. The patient was a Mrs K-iehardson, of Waverley. Some days previously she had embraced Woman Catholicism and Father Garavel paid her several visits. On one particular day when he went to administer the sacrament of extreme unction, he for the first time met Dr Head. The patient was asked by the priest if they should have some prayer. Dr Eead said she replied in a tone of indifference. She had been under the influence of chloral hydrate, and was returning to consciousness, Dr Read, as a medical manwould not allow prayers, or anything else which might excite the patient. The next instant doctor and priest were struggling violently for the mastery, and they became so excited in their efforts to turn one another out they seemed scarcely to be aware that they were on the patient's bed. Father Garavel laid violent hands upon Dr Read's right whisker, and fetched it completely away. Dr Head's whiskers were long. Subsequently the left had to shaved off, in order that the doctor might go upon "an even keel." " Both of us," says the priest, " whirled out of the door. We went out spinning, or waltzing." As a matter of fact, they were put out by Mrs Head, who a short time before was sitting at the dying woman's bedside. The domestics, who sympathised with the priest, offered to turn the doctor out; but Mrs Eead silenced them. Ao further wrestling occurred, but the two gentlemen had a long argument in an outer room. Ultimately, Father Garavel asked forgiveness, and the two shook hands; but Dr Head only forgave his antagonist personally, not professionally; aud in his professional capacity he brought an action against Father Garavel, in the Sydney Water Police Court, for an assault. The justice found that Mr Garavel commenced tiie attack, and lined him 20s, with 5s 10d costs. The parties shook hands as they left the court. But the patient, in waose sick-room t'ie altercation took place, died.

According to the last census, London has a population of 3,883,092. This is more than the combined populations of New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, St Louis, Chichago, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Buii'alo and Allegliany City, Pa. To lodge this vast multitude 777,000 dwellings are required, and the people consume annually about 4,480,000 barrels of'flour, 120,000 bullocks," 2,075,000 sheep, 49,000 calves, 61,250 hoge, and one market alone supplies annually 7,043,750 head of game. This, together with 5,200,000 salmon besides other fish and flesh, is washed down by 76,600,000 gallons of ale and porter, 3,500,000 gallons of spirits, and 113,750 pipes of wine; 22,799 cows are required to supply the daily consumption of milk. The streets of the metropolis are about 2,900 in number and if put together would extend about. 4000 miles. They are lighted by 630,000 lamps, consuming every twenty-four hours 22,270,000 cubic feet of gas. The water system supplies 77,670,824 gallons daily, while the sewer system carries otl" 16.629,770 cubic feet of refuse matter.- A fleet of 1800 sail is employed, irrespective of railroads, in bringing annually 5,250,000 tons of coal. Bituminous coal is exclusively used, and the smoke arising from this immense quantity is said to be so dense that it can be seen thirty-iive miles from the city. To clothe the inhabitants requires 5160 tailors, 50.400 boot and shoemakers, and nearly 70,000 dressmakers and milliners. Berlin according to the recen census, has a population of 827,013; Paris, in 1867, the year of the Exposition Umversalle, 1,882,462; and Constantinople, in 1864, 1,075,000. In a loot ure recently delivered at Melbourne on the Pi-ess and the Pulpit, the Rot Mr Robinson made the fVilow.nj remarks :— '' No one can do without his >:i.:er. As '.ho D;;ke oi Argyie truly remaiks. ' jiost •..en wtuil.i a? sol-ii be waiiout tiieu - breakfast as their broad-sheet." What a blank it would create were our newspapers withdrawn —a blank- which would be frit by all classes. The flow of social talk would dwindle into puny rills of weary commonplace ; the sources of that varied information which imparts so much vivacity to our intercourse with each other being abruptly closed. We pronounce the Press therefore, to be the best friend and companion which I modern society has acquired ; the spreader of intelligence, the educator of the public inind, the benefactor of the whole civilized world." " Be moderate in all things/'" as the boy said to bis school uwster when whipping him*

A lady and gentleman were conversing on the science of grammar. '• Fray, njaJ&.n," e;t;d thegenticj .inn, " Waal ji'j.rt of 3ptve:i »» a ki*.? r" *' :lv, wuui :isii t" replied tint lady. " A -übstantive, I beleve, madam." "itis a uuun proper and common .' " mi terroguted the lady. " Uuiii proper aii.l common," v.'<i3 iho reply. A J.nk-bj_. a.-iked Dr. Burgess, the preacher, if he would Have a hgut. '" No eand," Kiul he, " I am one of tuts Lg .td oi l iiu world." "j wish, then," replied the boy, " you wore liung up at the end of our alley, for we lire in u devdish dark one." An lmLunan lately arriving m London, and pansing tnrough Broud-sireet, observed a glass globe, containing some line large goldlish, he exclaimed —' .And sure, t.ns is Liie iirst time in my hie mat. i have seen live red herrings. A Frenctnuan having a weakness in his chest, told tiie pysiciun ne felt a pain m ins portmanteau.