Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1868-01-21
THE HERALD.
1Continued nom tirst nnne )

III WOulu DC auNlsable Tor new hOp-
growers, one season before their
yards come into bearing, to visit some
of the old hop districts, and make
themselves acquainted with the pro,
cess of curing.
BALING.
The hops should not be baled un-
der four or FIVE days, and not then
unless absolutely necessary; but they
should not be allowed to remain I'M
bailed longer than two weeks. They
should be put up in bales weighing
200 pounds, and the bales should be
about AZ feet high, Is inches thick,
and some u inches wide. Care
should be exercised not to tramp
them too much when put into the
press, as they are liable to become
broken, and do not sell so readily
A kind of cloth called hop sacking is
made especially for this purpose, and
should be ordered in advance in order
to be sure of it. The process of bal
ing, | presume, it is unnecessary to
describe, as tho parties from whom
presses are procured will likely furn<
ish all this information When the
bales are finished, they should be
stood on end, care being taken to
leave few inches between them for
the air to circulate.
TO RETURN TO THE FIELD.
As soon as the hop picking is over,
tlta .,nJac chnnlI hn ot.,f.I, II Al
but ends down, to preserve them as
much US possible from decay. For
this purpose the tops of few poles
are fastened stoutIy together, and
the Others are leaned against them
care being taken to leave plenty of
room for the circulation Of the air
and the penetration of the sunshine
Stacks are made at convenient dis
tances all over the yard, The vines
which We're cut off as high as "a man
could reach, as soon as they die down
are cut off within an inch or two of
the ground, and, when they have
been provided with mulching of
straw or "long' manure, are ready for
the winter
GBUBBING THE ROOTS.
The hop throws out two kinds of
roots,-the bed-roots, which run
deep and nourish the plant; and
another set of aoots, which run to a
considerable distance close to the
surface of the ground. This last
class of roots are really suckers, or
runners, and are provided, every few
inches with pair OF eyes (the bed
roots have no eyes), similar to po-
tato; and if these roots are not re-
moved, each one Of these eyes will
sprout and throw up new vine, and
the whole surface Of the ground
would be covered with such a mass
of them, that none would be fruitful.
Every spring therefore, after The first
full crop, the entire yard must be
gone over, and these roots, or sucks
ers. grubbed up. With three tined
instrument, made in the shape OF a
hoe, the dirt first carefully removed
from near the hill, to prevent any of
the bed>ro from being injured
A hook is then placed under the suck,
ers, which are readily distinguishable
on account of their eyes, and they
are pulled up carefully, to prevent
leaving a portion in the ground, and
thrown into heaps for removal from
the yard. 1t is likely that the pre-
vious seasons Gu tivation has raised
the crown of the hill, and, while the
grabbing is being done, it is cut down
to its proper level. The stock Of the
old vine viii be found in the hill,
covered with these eyes, and it must
be cut off as low down as possible,
and yet leave couple of pair of eyes
to throw up new vines. The hill is
then carefully covered and leveled off.
The roots that are grubbed up are
removed from the yard, and if no
market exists for them for the pur.
pose of starting new yards, they are
thrown away. If they are wanted
for this purpose, however, they are
cut into pieces a few inches long,
each piece having two pair of eyes.
The grubbing should be done as ear
ly in the spring as possible, and it
resent les hard work about as near
as anything in this world but it
must be attended to, or there will be
such a wilderness of vines that the
ground cannot sustain them.
THE ENEMIES OF THE HOP
The principal enemy of the hop
plant is the hop louise, a most re
markable insect. The eggs from
which they are Matched are laid in
the autumn, and the next spring the
insect appears From the very first
day of their existence, the young
lice commence to draw upon the
juices of the plant, and in q short
time, fully matured; the whole brood,
without single exception, are fe~
males, and wingless (ride Harris),
but are in condition Immediately
to continue their kind Their young,
however, are not Matched from eggs,
but are propduced alive, and each fe
male may be the mother of fifteen or
twenty lice in the course Of single
day. The second generation are al
so wingless females, which grow up
and have their young in due time
and thu. brood after brood is pro-
duced, without the appearance or in>
termixture, through the whole sea,
son, of single male. This eX~
traord mary propagation ends in the
autumn with the birth of u brood of
males and females, which acquire
wings and pair; eggs are then laid
by the females, which secure the
succession of the species. tits some
qualification TO know that circum-
stances are not always favorable 10
the propagation of these insects, else
it would be impossible to make hopf
growing success. Several com.
pounds have been invented for des
troying them but they exist in such
myriads that it is scarcely worth
while to resist them. Their multi
pication is so rapid under favorable
circumstances that the leaves become
so thickly covered as scarcely to al
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