HOPEA, in botany, so named in ho nour of Dr. Hope,. professor of botany at Edinburgh, a genus of the Polyadelphia Polyandria class and order. Natural or der of Guaiabanw, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx five-cleft, superior ; co rolla five-petalled ; stamens many, con nected in five bodies; style one ; drupe with a three-celled nut. There is only one species, viz. H. tinctoria, a native of Carolina.
HOP, in botany. See Hum-Los. Hops are said to have been first brought into England from the Netherlands, in the year 1524. They 'are first mentioned in the English statute-book in the year 1552, viz. in the 5th and 6th Edw. VI. cap. 5, and by an act of parliament of the first year of King James I. anno 1603, cap. 18, it appears that hops were then produced in abundance in England. The hop be ing a plant of great importance in this country, we shall briefly consider what the culture and managemenc of it under distinct heads. As for the choice of shil,the hop-planters esteem the richest and strongest ground the most proper ; and if it is rocky within two or three feet ofthe surface, hops will prosper well; but they will by no means thrive on a stiff clay or spongy wet land. Hops require 'to be.planted in a situation so open, as that the air may freely pass round and be tween them, to dry up and dissipate the moisture, whereby they will not be so subject to fire-blasts, which often destroy the middle of large plantations, while the' outsides remain unhurt. The hills should be eight or nine feet asunder, that the air may freely pass between them. If the ground is intended to be ploughed with horses between the hills, it will be best to plant them in squares, chequerwise ; but if the ground is so small that it may be done with the breast-plough or spade, the holes should be ranged in a quincunx form. Which way soever you make use of, a stake should be stuck down at all the places where the hills are to be made. Persons ought to be very curious in the choice Of the plants as to the kind of hop; for if the hop-garden is planted with a mixture of several sorts of hops that ripen at several times, it will cause a great deal of trouble, and be a great detriment to the owner.
The two best sorts are the white and the grey bind ; the latter is a large square hop, more hardy, and is the more plenti ful bearer, and ripens later than the former. There is another sort of the white bind, which ripens a week or ten days before the common ; but this is ten derer, and a less plentiful bearer ; but it has this advantage, that it comes first to market. If there • is a sort of hop you value, and would increase plants and sets from, the superfluous binds may be laid down when the hops are tied, cutting off the tops, and burying them in the hill ; or, when the hops are dressed, all the cut tings may be saved, for almost every part will grow and • become a good set the next spring. As to the manner of plant ing the sets; there should be fine good sets planted in every hill, one in the middle, and the rest round about, sloping. Let them be pressed close with the hand, and covered with fine earth, and the stick should be placed on each side the hill to secure it. When the hop ground is dug in January or February, the earth about the hills, and very near them, ought to be taken away with a spade, that you may come the more conveniently at the stock to cut it. About the end of February, if the hops were planted the spring be fore, or• if the ground is weak, they ought to be dressed in dry weather; but else, if the ground is strong and in per fection, the middle of March will be a good time ; and the latter end of Mara, if it is apt to produce over rank binds; or the beginning of April, may be soon enough. Then having, with an iron pick er, cleared away all the earth out of the hills, so as to clear the stock to the prin cipal roots, with a sharp knife you must cut off all the shoots which grew up with the binds the last year ; and also all the young suckers, that none be left to run in the alley, and weaken the hill. It will
be proper to cut one part of the stock lower than tho other, and also to cut that part low that was left highest the preced year. In dressing those hops that have been planted the year before, you ought to cut off both the dead tops and the young suckerS which have sprung up from the sets, and also to cover the stocks with fine earth a finger's length in thick ness. About the middle of April the hops are to be poled, when the shoots begin to sprout up ; the poles must be set to the hills deep into the ground, with a square iron picker or crow, that they may the better endure the winds : three poles are sufficient for one hill. These should be placed as near the hill as may be, with their bending tops turned outwards from the hill, to prevent the binds from en tangling; and a space between two poles ought to be left open to the south, to ad mit the sun beams. As to the tying of hops, the buds that do not clasp of them-. selves to the nearest pole, when they are grown to three or four feet high, must be guided,to it by the hand, turning them to the sun, whose course they will always I follow. They must be bound with wither ed rushes, but not so close as to prevent them from climbing, up, the pole. This you must continue to do till all the poles are furnished with binds, of which two or three are enough for a pole, and all the sprouts end binds that you have no occasion for are to be plucked up ; but if the ground is young, then none of these useless binds should be plucked up, but should be wrapped up together in the middle of the hill. About the begin-• ning of July the hops. begin to blow, and will be ready to gather about Bardiolo mew tide. A judgnient may be made of their ripeness by their, strong scent, their hardness, and the brownish colour of their seed.' When by these tokens they ap. pear to be ripe, they must be picked with all the expedition possible ; for if at this time a storm of wind should come,• it would do them great damage, by break ing the branches; and bruising and disco louring.the hops ; and it is well known that hops, being picked green and bright, will sell for a third more than those which are discoloured and brown.
The most convenient way of picking them is into a long square frame of wood, called a binu, with a cloth hanging on ten ter hOoks within it, to receive the hops as they are picked. The best method of drying 'hops is with Charcoal on an oast, or kiln, covered with hair cloth, of the same form and fashion that is used for drying malt. The hops must be spread even upon the oast, a foot thick or more, if the depth of the curb will allow it; but care is to be taken not to overload the oast, if the hops are green or wet. The oast ought to be first warmed with a fire before the hops are laid on, and then an even steady fire must be kept under them ; it must not be too fierce at first, lest it scorch the hops ; nor must it be suffered to sink or slacken, but rather he increased till the hops are nearly dried, Jest the moisture or sweat, which the fire has raised, fall back or discolour them. When they have lain about nine hours they must be turned, and in two or three hours more they may be taken off the oast. It may be known when they are well dried by the brittleness of the stalks, and the easy falling off of the hop leaves. As soon as the hops are taken off the kiln, lay them in a room for three weeks or a month, to cool, give, and toughen ; for if they are bagged immediately, they • will powder, but if they lie a while (and the longer they lie the better provided they are covered close with blankets to secure them from the air) they may be bagged with more safety, as not being liable to be broken to powder in tread ing ; and this will make theit bear tread ing the better, and the harder they are trodden, the better they will keep.