The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-04-14
THE HOP GROWERS.
This State the Leading Hop
Producer Of the World.
PLANTING CROPS At PuyALluP.


frYAlfFP, ApzH i---Asa the mop grow
ers OF the valley are now busy in their
fields grabbing. plowing and setting poles
So far this is late season bat there seems
10 be general feeling that the coming
crop viii be a good one. There are only .
few scattered lots of last season left and
holders are very uncertain about selling.
The New York market remains quiet
and but few transactions are taking place.
There has been few. IL any. contracts
made in the valley this year. and il is evil
dent that the growers will look for higher
price this wear in anticipation OF good
market in the fall
LoxDox MARKET.
A quiet tore still pervades the market,
but although quotations are nominalIy un-
changed there is more business passing
and no pressure whatever on the part OF
holders 10 sell. as it is many years since
stocks Of new hops were so low at the end
OF March. Even spectators in 1855 and
1865 are now hoping to realize profit
Foreign hops of oil kinds maintain their
The following statistics relative to the hop
board OF agriculture.
Amount OF hops growu4m 1850 ... a. si1
Amount OF hops grown In isss ... ~. ri
Estimated average pc acre, iss9 .ss2 cwts.
Estimated ordinary average -7.sa cwts.
On account OF the very unsatisfactory
condition Of the hop industry in England
the government is making inquiries into the
whole matter, and the following evidence
submitted TO the commission by repre-
sentative English grower will give Wash
ington growers some idea of how vastly
more favorable Is the condition OF the hop
grower here TO that OF his brethren beyond
the Atlantic
Mr.. James Selmes OF Rosenham Farm,
Kent, in giving his evidence. said that he
and his family had for long period been
connected with the hop growing industry
He adduced figures showing that the cost
of planting and polling hops was about Is
per acre tabout $2a5) and OF cuitivating
them about Go. There was large amount
OF manual labor involved. For horse and
manual labor they must reckon about Ell
out Of the Lilo per acre. The ground had
to be dug with the spade. No other branch
Of agriculture gave anything like the same
amount OF employment in proportion.
The recent depression in the hop growing
his own parish and in adjoining ones there
were now many empty cottages. owing to
the displacement OF labor. In former
times If the price of hops was low one year
1t was high another year. so that the grow
ers made the cultivation pay on an aver
age. He used to cultivate 30 acres.
but now had only 49, He had grubbed the
other II acres because. as q man of bust
ness. he had found that the growing of
hops was not remunerative. In his own
parish there was now under hop Gull
tivation only liz acres against 81 in 1875
That meant loss of wages to the laborers
Of the parish of ESQ per annum In the
adjoining parish Of Sandhurst there were
Is empty cottages. He attributed this fact
70 the falling of OF the bop growing indus
try. There are under hop cultivation now
only 3i4 acres as against 4i6 in 1875. That
decrease meant . loss OF Elisa per annum
to the laborers of the district In the ada
cent district of Rolvenden 150 out of $50
acres had been grubbed. This involved a
reduction OF f2,050 per annum in wages
and there were y empty cottages in the
parish. Every three acres grubbed meant
the discharge of one laborer.
The changed condition of affairs was
due. in the witnesses opinion, to various
causes. but principally TO foreign competi-
ton. the effect of which had been to bring
down very materially. the price of home
grown hops. The foreign grower disposed
of all he could in his own market and then
shipped the surplus TO England, selling
them for what they would fetch, and un-
derselling the English grower.
In reply to questions, Mr.. Selmes stated
that America was certainly the most for
midable foreign competitor.
From the evidence Of various growers. il
seems that the decline OF the English hop
industry commenced in 1878.
Various remedies are suggested for the
betterment Of the English growers, among
them being tax on imported hops. which
would tell heavily against our growth here.
but II does not seem evident that the En-.
glish government would favor such step.
Anyway the evidence, statistics aud con.
illusions which this commission will call
forth cannot fail to be of great importance
to this, the coming center OF the hop in
dustry Of the world. For the past six wears
the hops OF Washington have outstripped
many OF their competitors in the race for
superiority, and II growers will exercise
care and proper management in the cult
walton OF their crop. and follow the most
approved methods of drying and baling,
the Washington hop viii eventually take
its place as the leading article in all the
markets of the world