The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1893-01-12
Extracts From Z. Reeker & Co.'s Hop
annual and Hand Book.
The Industry Treated From start
To Einish-Iaow to Produce N
Choice Grade OF Hep
Interesting Facts.

| duCeu IN these states III lSJZ. Ibis rep
resents fifteen thousand acres of land /;
also permanent investment OF So, 900, 900
and an annual outlay of half that much
lis the cost Of production and harvesting.
The acreage now. with the usual crop, is
sufficient TO produce 100000 bales in
stead Of 80 600; in fact the districts on
the west side Of the mountains were short
| 2J,O0J bales. The season OF 1898 will
show large decrease in acreage all along
the coast--so large that it is safe to pre-
diet thst fully one-half the hops grown in
the United States will be produced on the
Pacific slope.
Hops will grow on great variety OF
soil The deep allnvial river bottom
land mixed with clay, Meeker claims to
be best, but it ia generally understood
that the quantity and quality of the sage
brush lands of Yakima cannot be sur
passed. While hsp root must have
moisture, yet wet lands are unsuitable.
Hop roots in kindly soil will GO down
four or five feet and draw moisture.
The first years crop is half cultivated
II the ground is properly prepared. After
marking out the rows each way, six or
seven feet apart, and setting the poles.
then the planting begins. Not less than
two, but rather three roots should be
planted in each hill. This will insure s
good stand, and if the roots are good and
other conditions are favorable, the first
crop is well assured. Cultivation should
be deep where practicable, on every yard,
new or old, early in the season-and
thorough. When the bloom appears it is
best, for several reasons, to let the yard
alone. Later cultivation, If judiciously
done, will bring heavier crops, but the
hops will be latcr in ripening, more
"chafy" in spots, from excess of foliage
and off color from what the crop would
otherwise be. Hops are not ''hilled-up,"
as done in years gone by. The double
shovel or cultivator, with occasional re-
verse blowing with the side pillow, does
the work. Weeds and grass must Of
course be kept out of the hills.
The first move toward cultivating a
crop is the pruning. This should be
done early. All runners" should be re-
moved and the crown cut back where
growing up above the surface. 1t is we'll
to cut these, even to under the surface OF
the ground, exercising great care not to
cut the last or lowest buds. Heavy prun-
ing is not desirable, especially on light
soils neither is it well to omit pruning
altogether in any year. In pruning, all
weeds and grass should be cleaned from
the hill and the ground stirred up with o
four-pronged hoe for distance of at least
| fifteen inches from the center of the hill ;
| be careful not to "cut and cover" in the
centers, but see to it that every inch OF
ground is thoroughly plowed between
the rows and as close up to the hill as
possible.
The mistake is made of training toe
many vines to a pole. This depends
somewhat on the richness of the ground
Three, two, and even one vine on the
strongest land has been known to raise q
ton and half 10 the acre says Mr..
Meeker. Two vines, if judiciously Sc
lected, or at most three vines is enough
for any soil. 1t is all plain sailing until
the vines reach the top of the poles,
when, in the Irvine yards the fun begins.
In bright weather the vine will ''follow
the sun" and climb the poles almost I'M
aided, but when it comes to go "cross
lots" in horizontal direction, the fight
begins. Because Of this, it is very i'm
portant that the twine should not be go
high as to he out OF reach-not more than
seven feet from the ground. Great care
should be taken to stock the twine in
every direction, else there is sure to be
"bunched" vines, producing trashy,
bleached, immature, worthless stuff, re-
sulting in a very inferior quality to mar
the sample.
No matter how well the crep has been
cultivated and trained, the work and care
all goes for nothing through picking too
early. There is less danger of this in
Yakima, but it was done to large ex-
tent on the west side last year, on ac-
count of the vermin, and the result was
an inferior, immature grade of hops that
goes a-begging at less than half the price
of the best qualities. This early picking
not only results in loss of quality, but the
loss is carried into another season by the
weakening of the vine from bleeding
when the pole is taken down and cut,
and hops picked ten days too early will
lose fully 80 per cent. of weight which
would otherwise DO realized at maturity.
Growers almost universally deceive
themselves IN determining when their
crop is ripe, by examining individual
specimens here and there through the
yard, readily finding some apparently
ripe. 1t is the mass Of hops that should
show ripeness, not selections alone, here
and there. There is more real intrinsic
value developed in the last few days In