Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1868-02-26
Hop Growing.

know Of no remedy but to fork over
! the g sponaulsclsh in the way of pre-
pairing a hop yard.
In order to start my yard in the
best way, I shall beg the privilege
of appearing in your columns occa-
sionally for what information you or
any of your many readers may be dis
/ posed to impart to a new beginner !;
/ promising to cry in your or their fun
eral, especially if L should become
a successful hop grower. Oh by the
way do you or any of your readers
/ know if hop raising is agreeable to
my old friends the editors of the
/ Chicago Tribune, or are they general en-
mics of everything raised in this coun-
try as they are to that ol despisable
/ article, to wit, acool?
! We are not a constant reader of
| the Tribune, but if we understand the
! opinion of its conductors, they are
not enemies to the raising of wool or
anything else which can be proftably
raised in this country, but think that
| manufacturers in general are pulling
/ the . wool over the eyes of farmers
while they are picking their pockets
In other words. that while thcy put
a penny in the Golfers of agriculture
! they take shilling out.-ED FARM
ER.
| am as ignorant of hop raising and
| its connections with the commercial
interests of this country, as Mr. Wool
Grower pretended to be when | asked
| him how he became so successful in
wool growing. Said he, ''When
first came to Illinois from Granville,
Ohio, ] did not know any ything-did
not even know whether they planted
corn in February or May" Being so
complete an ignoramus / shall ask,
.lst IS the horizontal plan as good
as the long, selfsupporting poles? If
it Is, it will not cost one-fourth as
much to start yard with the long
poles.
ID. VIII it hurt the plants to pole
or string the first year and raise what
hops can, with plenty ofmanure APP
piled to the hill ?
Orange Judd, of the American Ag-
ricultujst, in his book on Hop Cul-
ture," expresses himself thus in re-
gard to the horizontal plan:
:. consider it as far superior to the
common plan, with long poles, as the
mower and horse rake are to the hay
ing implements used by the last gen
Grafton"
Sd. Is it prudent for man to
start hop yard now { next spring }
with the idea that present prices will
continue, or even 30 or 20 cents per
pound
4th Are we hop exporting or i'm
porting nation, and to what or from
what country? Are hops subject to
duty under our present tariff?
5th. Does the Chicago Tribune like
hop tea mixed with barley tea
w G.. RoBERrs.
RACINE, Dee 18th, 1867.
REMARKs.-We will proceed to an
swer our friends inquiries in their or
cr
lst. The horizontal plan has not
been extensively practised IN tins
country, but so far as it has beentried
we believe the results have been quite
satisfactory. We should-think this
plan would be less convenient for
picking than the polling plan, and as
the vines would occupy more space,
horizontally, they should be planted
further apart. We should think wire
would be cheaper in the long run,
than heavy twine The former would
last many wears. while the latter would
have to be renewed every year, and
would sag and sway about in the wind.
Tarred cordage would be better than
that which is not tarred, as respects
durability and stretching and shrink
ing.
I'd. This viii depend upon the
time of setting and the start they get.
1t is not considered good policy to en-
courage fruiting the first year unless
the vines are quite vigorous.
Sd. 1t Is not safe to calculate upon
a very long continuance of present
prices, though the large influx Of Ger
mans into this country and the readi-
ness with which Yankees acquire
sheir habit of using malt beverages,
may keep pace with the increased
production for some years yet. 1t IS
evident that the use of hops for brew
ing is destined to be largely and per
manently increased in this country.
But it is safe to calculate, with our
present volume of currency, that hops
will never again go below twenty-five
or thirty cents We have known
something of hop-growing for the fast
fifty years, having been raised in the
hop regions Of central New York
where the price of hops averaged
about fifteen cents, at which price
they paid better than wheat at one
dollar bushel. and it was then
pretty good wheat country. Assum-
ing that our inflated currency has
doubled general prices, which We think
Is about fair calculation, thirty cents
now Is not higher price than fifteen
was then-and we should remember
that gold prices have advanced con
siderablv since the discovery Of the
California and Australia mines and
that this advance viii be permanent
4th. In former wears we have some.
times imported and sometimes ex-
ported hops. Though the commerce
N this article has not been large.
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