Morning journal and courier., 1893-10-21

months the hop garden has been dug to q
depth of eight inches with hst-tined forks.
Shortly after the opening of the "crowns"
and trimming Of the old bines polling" is
begun. This Is done by the acre, or by
the hundred poles. The lsborer's wife
and children lay ont the poles while he
makes the holes with an iron "hop pitch
er." Women are solely employed In the
next process, called hop-tying. The puny
shoots must be trimmed away, and two or
three of the hardy ones tied to the poles.
This is done by the acre, and Whatever
portion of the hop garden is thus attended
to by one woman is called o ''taking."
For securing the shoots to the poles with
out Injury rushes are exclusively used,
and these are harvested from marshes,
haughs beside streams or wet meadows,
and dried in q manner to render them
tough, by children. The women must 90
over their "takings" many times, cutting
out sickly or broken binss and tying In
newer and healthier ones until the work is
beyond their reach.
Then the men resume the work. They
60 over the "tskings" as the women have
done, standing upon short rough step-lsd-
ders until they reach the top of the poles.
Then "niggeting" season begins and only
ends when the hop-gardens are In full
bloom. The nigget is an implement with
iron tines, something like huge hoe slit
into several narrow divisions. With this
the "allsys" between the rows are kept as
clean of weeds as q newly ploughed field,
and the solid is constantly broken and
pulverized about the "erownsn that the
roots may derive all possible nutrition, air
and free moisture. These comprise all the
necessities of cultivation; but the alarms.
vexstions and anxieties of the hop grow
ers are only fairly begun az his heaviest
lsbors are ending.
No one ever knew of an American peach
! crop, good or bad, that was not a half
dozen times menaced by this or that, or
ruined by something else altogether. So
| 1t La with the hop-vines and hops in Kent.
For nearly two months before they are Sc
| cure from danger every true Briton who
| qusffs his -four ale" or bitter" Ia sub
| jected TO quslms and starts and pangs
through announcements of successive i'm
| pending calsmities to the Draw bantling of
Kent; and every hop district of that shire
| Ia In perturbation and turmoil indescriba-
| BILE. The 'mildew" has rotted the hop;
/ the wet weather has drowned Il; the
| drought has scorched II; the blight has
taken the very life out of 1t; the smut has
smothered 1t; the fies, from which 1t can
only be rescned by millions of mysterious
| ly arriving ''lsdy-birds," are eating Its
head off; innumarable insect. are preying
upon Its tendrils and body; and even the
| pestiferous fess have made deadly assaults
upon it's very stem and rootsl Bulletins
| are posted at every ale house In Kent.
| Nothing else is talked about in avery par
| ish of the shire. The London market is
"feverish" while the hop is in it's throes.
In fact all southern England is solemn and
| serious until the hop has passed from bine
to bud and bloom and is ready for the tens
| of thousands of hands that are tingling to
wiring Its neck for gain.
| Picking and curing are the final process.
es. Perhaps from eighty to one hundred
| Thousand souls could at one time be found
in the hop gardens of Kent. Half ot
| these are from London, and comprise the
most indescribsble lot of "human wari.
Gus" ever drawn together by a common in
terest in all the world. If q field of TWEEN.
| ty acres Ia to be picked there will be
from six to ten ''ssts" of pickers, with
i from half q dozen to q score of pickers
In each set. These, ranged along the en-.
tire length of the field, are each supplied
with 'bin." The bin is a rude, Low
framework of old poles, built after the
fashion of an American settlers log cabin,
about three feet wide and six feet long,
| with elevated cross-stakes ut each end
supporting stout pole above the pickers'
II
ioned "stake and-rider" American rail
i fence, against which the hop-poles and
their feathery, odorous burdens are rested
while the hops are being picked and fune
into the ssck depending from the bin'i
corners bslow.
The pickers are supplied with poles oi
| hops by "pole pullers," employed by tie
hop-rsiser. There will be one to q set,
If the set comprises large number of
| pickere, and often one man will supply
two or three. He is provided with an
| this he not only cuts the bines or vines
close above the ground, but also prizes
| C'prizss" he will call it) the pole out of
the ground, and carries 1t and its downy
fruitsge to the busy pickers near. Wo-
men follow the pnllers and stack the dis
| csrded vines for use by the compost-msk-
| ers or the mills where the cheaper grade Q
of paper are made, and stack the poles
into tidy piles against the next seasons
use. In this way hop garden Is cleaned
up as closely as If swept by an army OF
grasshoppers or an all consuming FIRE.
In the meantime huge four-wheeled carts
and wagons are gathering up the hops fol-
the Coasts" or kilns. The "master" usu
ally measures the hops from the bins
| Pickers are paid on the basis Of q certain
agreed upon number of bushels to tn,
shilling-four, Ave, SIX or even eight, &C
cording to the lesnness or fstness of thu
crops. Precedent old as hops In Kent de
msnds that he shall not have a "hesv,
hand" that is, that he shall not press to
gsther the hops taken from the bin; snC
an equally unimpeschsble custom will no
permit him to pack or heap the Almos
weightless stuff In the measures. Score
of keen and almost savage eyes are upoi
1 L.
hover" 10 the bushel, or be dropped In
|, as lightly as can be; aud were the bushel
! hesped an iots above their rims the maste
knows that instead of hops q series @
strikes and riots would instantly be on hi
hands. Following him Is always the tally
man who credits the measurement to sso
| .ssst" in the "tslly- -books;" and the cui
/ tenn is that the pickers may at any tim
, draw in cash to the amount of thre'
fourths of what Is due; the remainin
one-fourth to be forfeited should the picl
= ers leave the master before his crop
!, gathered.
" All sorts of signals are used to brir
the pickers together In tho morning az
afternoon. Some of the old farm hous'
Q hsve belfries and bells. At others hani
/. bells are wrung In and about the picker
l. quarters and camps. Tin horns are COZ
mon and the conch-shell horn is not mfr
'' quent Work begins shortly after dswl
/ The mid day rest as we'll as quitting tin
y at night are indicated by the master or Il
% tally man entering the field and shoutir
"No more polesi" This is in turn shout'
by the poie-pullers; and at once score
10 and often hundreds, of piokers' voices W
II echo, frequently derisivsly, and always
TO- mimicry, the order for temporary reles
. from toll. In many fields the piokers W
70 their cry to improvised doggerel rhym
fitted to the air of the latest popular Lo
0. don music-hall ballads, and make mu
20 melodious clsmor as they are leaving &
fields.
Most experienced men are employed
10 the casts or kilns. They get no rest dr
to ing the season of hop gathering, exec
81 from Sunday morning until Monday moi
A. ing. From six to eight small brick stov
are constantly burning in each kiln. OH
u coal and smokeless Welsh coal are sole
~ used, and dssh of sulphur is occasion
e. ly added, which gives the drying hop
N slightly yellow tinge. About eight f
=, above the cement chambers enclosing
III stoves is an open floor constructed of str
re like laths. On this is laid loosely WOW
v covering of horse-hsir; and upon &
he horse hair cloth the hops are piled to sbS
the depth of twelve inches. They are
al quently gently turned, and remain In
kiln for eleven hours, an hour being
u lowed for the change from q dry to Q gre
,x "shift" of hops, each of which consists
about five hundred bushels. The dry ht
ne are then spread on the floor of the oa
10 | o,Ir low, aporOh 20 oool hrk aIao