Show GREAT PROGRESS MADE IN UNITED STATES IN production OF HOPS IN RECENT YEARS industry practically restricted to areas in states of oregon california and new york several factors to be considered in selection of proper soils by W W the hop plant can be grown gen brally throughout the united states but at present its commercial production Is practically restricted to areas situated in the states of oregon call forkla new york and washington they are grown in more or less large quantities in wisconsin idaho mas pennsylvania michigan vermont kentucky and ohio long and severe w enters inters frequently kill out many of the plants and continued damp or foggy Is injurious in the yakima valley washington where rainfall Is not abundant arri gallon Is necessary the hop plant readily adapts itself to very different conditions of rainfall but whey the harvest months august and septem her are accompanied by much rain tall the crop frequently suffers heavy damage from lice and mold the selection of the best soil on which to grow the hop plant involves the consideration of several factors depending on the peculiarities of the plant itself and the physical conditions of the region in which the land lies in general rich alluvial lands or deep sandy or gravel coams loams are preferred A stove kiln for hop raising The soll with a high percentage of sand is readily tillable while the cultivation of a stiff soil Is difficult and expensive owing to variations in the rainfall amount of sunshine and force of the prevailing winds land suitable for hop culture in one region would be entirely un suitable it located in another since the roots of the hop plant penetrate the earth for a distance of many feet a well drained subsoil Is essential especial attention must be given to the depth drainage and fineness of the soil heavy wet soils are avoided and stiff clayey soils are in general disfavor hop plants may be raised from the seeds but method Is seldom cm aloyed since by using cuttings strong plants are more easily and quickly secured in some sections of the pacific coast crop may be obtained from cuttings planted in the spring but in general full crop Is not harvested until the second year the best cuttings are those taken from young plants as they are more resistant to disease and should be more productive than those from old plants all cuttings should be carefully inspected before planting and the diseased or damaged ones rejected the opportunity tor producing am proved sorts by selection of the stocks rom which the cuttings are taken offers a promising field for the progressive gres sive hop grower many growers who give much attention to improving the fertility of their fields and their methods of cultivation take their cut ings from planting from the nearest ival lable supply without any conald ration of the productiveness and aber qualities of the plants from velch the cuttings are taken this las resulted in many yards in the loss f certain distinct varl etal character sties and in almost every field mixed varieties and light and heavy pro queers occur indiscriminately A careful study of the productive less of an acre of hops in california las recently shown that the yield of hills varied from a few un ceato 18 pounds of green hops when the number of these ng hills Is large the total yield will ie correspondingly reduced such hills should de removed and replaced by from plants giving high yields the time at which planting is done depends very largely on the local con existing where the crop Is but in general the best results ire obtained by planting as soon as he soil can be worked into a fine mel ow condition in california planting should be done in january or febra iry although in come seasons plant ng as late as may 1 has yielded good esulis in oregon and washington lops are planted in march or april ind in new ork successful plantings lave been made in april in favorable thorough cultivation Is am octant and should begin early and until the plants are well armed out within certain limits determined by ocal conditions the length of the rowane period and the time of ripen ing may be influenced by the earll nesa or lateness 0 pruning the general practice Is to prune early in the spring the exact time being determined by fhe season and the locality except in the hop growing regions of new york the use of hop poles has been largely discontinued in those regions where there Is a scarcity of available timber and even in heavily cooling house showing position 0 baling press wooded sections many growers hav dispensed with them this Is not due to the labor and expense of handling alone but experience has proved that the advantages of growing hops on strings so tar surpass the growth on poles that it Is only a question ol 01 time when poles will be almost entirely abandoned the hops are healthier on strings more successful ly ep ayed mature earlier are usually richer and brighter arm out lower and are not so leafy they do not wind whip so readily can be picked cleaner and are much more easily torn down for picking also the hoopii cn be picked without cutting the vine a practice which is harmful since it prevents the return of m from the vine to the root of the hop and by causing a loss ol 01 food reserves to the stock produces a weakening effect on the succeeding crop in picking every effort should bt made to reduce to a minimum the quantity of leaves stems and foreign material the presence ol 01 leaves in cured hops renders them un sightly and materially reduces theli market value the opinion is tre expressed by the more am hop dealers that one of the principal points for raising the quality of the american hop Is clean picking hops must be dried boop after theia removal from the vines as otherwise they undergo a process of oxidation idt tt air blast kiln or heating which seriously injures their appearance as well as theli aroma and other valuable qualities the most important and at the same time most difficult part of hop production Is proper drying and sulphur ing no other factor affects the quality appearance and market value as much as the manner in which the hops are handled during the curing process |