Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1873-04-17
AarifnItaral.

Hop CuLTuRE.-First 10 SURF u secure a
good quality Of the right kind Of plants. The
English Cluster stands Car In advance Of al, or
any other variety, both for productivcness and
quality Of bop. We should be Is cautious In
selecting the variety Of hops a. we wou'd
be Of fruitrtrses, seeds. &c. The English clus-
ter hop can be probably grown In any climate
or soil that will produce any kind Of grain or
potatoes.
As rseards proft to The grower, say
first, at low average Of 1900 pounds per acre,
and at low average price u 40 cents per pound,
the crop " ould bring $500 per acre. The en-
penses Of cultivation and harvestiue are to be
deducted therefrom. Some fix the production
as high az 10 cents per pound others a. low
ss cents. The variation depends upon the
number Of pounds produced per acre, as ligh,
crop costs nearly As much labor as heavy yield
My experisnce teaches me that an average
yield OF hops can be grown at an expense not
exceeding seven cents per pound, making an
expense of sos per acre; deduct this from the
$500 and the grower Is left In possession of a
net profit Of t495 per acre.
To start with, the plants will cost about So
per acre. The next year the vines need polling,
which can be done at an expense Of about $50
per acre. Many farmers have plenty of poles
upon their own land which will cost them moth
ing but the time and labor Of cutting and haul
ing them. After the plants and poles are once
secured, there will be no additional expense in
that direction for twenty years or more. The
first crop will, should, pay all those expenses
and leave profit OF $423 per acre, and paid
up investment for twenty years or more. Last
year, 1872, good hops sold readily at the grow.
ers door for fifty and fifly-six cents per pound,
many Of them realizing from $4,000 to SIS ,OO0
for theirhop crop. No wonder they are the most
jovial and happy lot Of creatures IN earth.-E.
r., IN Rural Nelr- TOrk,T,
~
SEEDS HEMP AND CoRS.-We have re.en,-
iy been asked by several of our farms, the o,,es-
iion win old hemp-seed do to slw?" We
answer, yes, If it has been properly kept. We
mean by this that the seed shall have been
thoroughly cured before tulking, and then kept
entirely dry. Our rule has been to spread this
seed upon tight, dry floor, where 1t has re-
manned until next sowing season. any left over
from seeding was then generally put in barrels
until next year. We have often sown such
seed with entire satisfaction. We have, how
ever, thought that ii was little slower In ger
minatng than seed Of the last crop; this, how
ever, might be remedied by wettlng 1t twenty
hours before sowing. Any farmer having old
seed, about which he has any doubts. can easily
test 1t at once and ascertain whether or not 1t IS
good. II 1t is IN either barrel, tub, or bin, pass
the hand down to the centre Of the bulk, take
from this point, say pint Of seed, put 1t in an
Old sock pour OH it warm water; set near the
hre; lot 1t remain in the water an hour, keeping
1t warm, then take out, drain, and wrap in a
woolen cloth and keep near the fire. In from
iony,elsht to sixty hours IL will show whether
it will vegetate or not.
Ii The farmer has not yet selected his seed
corn, he should do so at once and have it shelled
ready for planting The Winter has been so
cold that any corn which was not thoroughly
dry, when the cold commenced in November,
VIII not be reliable for seed test 1t, as we have
recommended in another article in this number
IN relation TO hemP-seed. In making the test
these all sprout the seed is reliable. Do not
leave this undone until you are ready 10 plant
and then in the hurry make poor selection /;
good seed Is important in making good crop.
-Reltucky Hons ,Jom nal.