The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-05-23
HOP CULTURE IN NORTH CARO-
LIMA.

| lOCDO1N COILI1 L1AO4OA VI VIZ P4AAO"
have for a long time held (and have
repeatedly given to certain New York
hop growers) that there are sections of
North Carolina as well adapted to the
hop industry as is any part Of the State
of New York.
l have been told by the Commits
sioner, by several members of the State
Board of Agriculture, by the Director
Of the Experiment Station, and many
others, that there is not now, nor has
there eve been, a hop yard in North
Carolina, These gentlemen, and in
fact the citizens of every section Ihave
visited, have shown an unstinted cor
duality, and have extended their cOur-
tesies to me almost without limit. They
manifest a lively interest in the hop
question and are eager to obtain all
the information possible pertaining
thereto. They are eager to plant the
hop industry in North Carolina and
DESTROYS to ecu the cooperation of
the practical hop growers Of New
York.
Just before I left Raleigh, the Score
tary Of the Board of Agriculture handed
me an official letter in which the Com
missioner, among other things, says:
I'VE believe that hops can be success
fully and proftably grown in this State
and will lend our aid in the f~urtherance
| Of any step to that end" After refer
ring to the fact that the roots in GUAM
tity sufficient for the purpose must
| come from the yards in New York, he
adds: 1--WE will have systematic ex-
periments made in at least ten differ
ent counties Of the State" The plant,
ing Of yards "on the State farm, at the
Experiment Station, and upon farms
in different sections and underits direc
tion," would determine the sections or
localities best adapted to hop farming.
In order to do this, hop roots should be
sent from New York to the Depart
ment OF Agriculture, Raleigh, n. c.,
sufficient to plant one hundred acres,
more or less Che Depar: mant, Of course,
paying the freight,) together with full
information a. TO planting and cultiva
ton. 1t will also be necessary il the
second year, and before picking time,
that competent hop men from New
York come on and erect or supervise
tie building Of hop houses, etc, see to
the proper gathering Of the crop and
that it is picked, dried cured, bloached
and baled as should be. Of course such
men will be we'll paid.
Now a few words as to why and how
this matter should be considered by
New York hop growers. That the hop
industry will be established in North
Carolina in the near future is a fore
gone conclusion. It is q certainty, and
the New York hop grower should give
this fact due and serious consideration
All the conditions necessary to the sue
ceEsful prosecution of this industry il
this State are found to exist III several
different sections. The native Cor if you
choose, tho Wild whatsoever DESTROYED
by blight, nor has it ever been known !
to have been injured by insects or dis !
ease of any sort. l have found long |
pieces Of last years vine adhering to !
the branches OF g. tree thirty feet above !
ground and at the foot of the same tree
many young shoots of this seasons |
growth, some of which were more than /!
four feet each in length. I find them
almost invariably in spots outside Of
the area of cultivation. They are
planted in many places simply for
shade, trained to trellises along the !
piazza, to cover an clubhouse or an
arbor, or i'll out Of-the-way spots near
the fence and among the grass and
weeds, for domestic use, that is for the
making Of hop cakes" These hop or
yeast cakes, of which I have enmanV
spread out on boards and drying in the
sun, r pungent and strong in that
delicious aroma so dear to the New
York hopman, and are much superior
to the ''yeast cake sold at the North.
They are made by the thrifty house
wife who, by their use, produces the
best white bread" to be found any
where.
Hop growers in New York who are
competent to a full and just apprecia
ton Of the facts as they exist will act
wisely and to their own profit if they
will gather, pack and send all the roots
for planting hop yards in this State
that may be desired by the Department
OF Agriculture, as above noted. The
establishing Of yards in many sections,
and on a sufficiently large scale, by
the Department Of Agriculture, will
determine not only the best sections or
localities, but also many other points
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