Hop Manuring Experiments.
By Dr. BERNARD DYER.
A year ago I recorded the results of several years' continuous experiments on the manuring of hops, carried out under my superintendence by my friend Mr. Shrivell, of Golden Green, Hadlow, near Tonbridge. I have now to continue the record. The object of the experiments, as previously explained, has been a simple one, viz., to ascertain how far nitrate of soda, in the presence of an abundant supply of phosphates and potash, can be advantageously used as a source of nitrogenous food for hops. For many years there has been prevalent among hop-growers an idea that nitrate of soda is an unsafe manure for hops, and likely to injure their quality. On the other hand, the consumption of nitrate of soda in our hop gardens has, of late, been steadily increasing. Nevertheless, a very large number of hop-growers, while freely using nitrogenous manures of other kinds, fear to make use of nitrate of soda.
As I pointed out last year, it is probable that this widely-spread distrust of nitrate as a hop manure is largely due to the fact that nitrate of soda, like many other nitrogenous manures, has in the past been misused, by being applied without a sufficient quantity of phosphates. For many years
