THE HOP INDUSTRY IN TASMANIA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 82, 4 April 1873, Page 4

THE HOP INDUSTRY IN TASMANIA.

Hop growing* is so largely on the increase in Nelson and tbe surrounding districts that tbe following from the. Australasian will be read with interest by many : — Our friends across the straits are very generally charged with lack of energy and enterprise, and many bard things bave from time to time been written about their seeming indifference to the stores of wealth lying idle at their feet in tbe soil of their beautiful island. We are not disposed to inquire into the justice of these charges; were we to do so we should probably discover that Tasman ians had merely consulted their own interests, as Victorians also have done, in resigning land to grass that -would no longer yield profitable returns to the plough. In the one particular industry of hop-growing they bave certainly set an example to the rest of tbe Australian colonies, and, to their credit, tbey bave done it in no selfish manner; they have endeavored to induce others to embark in the enterprise, and bave thus offered them a share of its profits. Instead of keeping secret tbe results of their venture, the whole of the pioneers, with a liberality and disinterestedness which evince true patriotism, have spread abroad the information, and have opened their grounds to tbe inspection of all who are desirous of benefitting by their experience. " I am glad," lately wrote the pioneer hopgrower of Tasmania, Mr Ebenezer Shoobridge, "that Victorians are engaging in hop-growing. I wish to see all of these colonies independent of European hops; but I must say that 1 think it unfair of your Government to impose a tax upon our hops when they arrive at your ports. We should all pull together," &c. In the same spirit have Messrs Sharland, Officer, Wright, Riddocb, and other Tasmanians both spoken and acted, until *at length, through their teaching and example, tbe hop interest has assumed quite respectable proportions. It is in the southern or metropolitan district that the great bulk of the plantations are found. From the statistics for 1871 we learn tbat in that year 478,5671b5. of hops, valued at £23,080, were exported from Hobart Town, and 27001 b., valued at £120, from Launceston. It is remarkable that the presence of this surplus has not wholly prevented the importation of bops. At Hobart Town, in 1871, 66,1301 b. were imported, their value beiug £3380, and at Launceston, 18,4271 b, valued at £1,207. It is evident, therefore, that the foreign article possesses certain qualities which ensure it a market in Tasmania in spite of the cost of freight and other charges. It is impossible to avoid that inference, and it is the duty of growers to see whether tbe disabilities under which the colonial article labors cannot be removed by improvements in the 'system of culture, or by employing other varieties than those njow grown » The total area under hops in .1871 was -642. acres, of which, as we learn; from the about -300,! acres were in full bearibg in the j New!; Norfolk dis-. ;t^ict^ in the hands of ■ some 60 growers. The.yeacly! increase. 4inxarea-'-appeaFß:*tb.-be.-: "ratber^mpreyttan^ tacres.in I^^^ -he iV^poied'fiext^j&a^ ychiejf : merits. of the industry 'is its power-pf.find-ing eraplbymenVibr old men, Wbinpn^nd;; Children; ':.. In 'Tasmania lfdw. aoleibodied; meniriire^mplpyeditbat dunna; thefhbp-s

picking' season "asf? .many ,-885,2,850 of .all; ageayfiridywork on. jfie 500 acres in bear- : ing. We find that some of the evils attendarit on, hop-picking in, England exist also iri Tasmania. "Many 1 of the 'growers ;haye taken soine; trouble to provide suitable accommodation for the men, women, and children in their employment during the picking season; but, as a rule, the accommodation is of the roughest possible description. Barns, stables, and outbouses, of all kinds are brought into use, while,; occasion ally, a faniily will occupy the hollow space in the middle of, ..the tent- '. shaped piles 'of hop. poles- Small tents and mia-mias are also. used, while in fine weather not a few of the men and boys sleep under the hedges, with no extra covering but a bag'or something of the kind. There are some/ curious sights to be seen in a hop-garden where a couple of hundred pickers are at work." As the usual price paid by growers for picking is three halfpence per bushel, and as a woman and two children can pick from 35 to 40 bushels a day, or a good man from 25 to 28 bushels a day, the wages are considered in Tasmania very fair. The pickers find their own rations, which .they can usually buy very cheaply on the spot, but some of the grbwei s give largely of potatoes and fruit, and in one case barrels of soup were seen eri route for the hop ground. In England the evil of misceir laneous crowding at night during the hp|p-: ping season has become so great, as to have attracted the attention "of a benevolent sooiety, whose duties „ consisting of finding work for the hands, and seeing that they are properly lodged. At Bushy- park, Tasmania, Mr. * Shoobridge has recognised the propriety of properly housing the people;, of -who ji 447 of all ages were lately, at work, by erecting 15 houses, and cottages of brick and wood; containing 94 rooms. In addition to their wages, the pickers receive soup one day per week, potatoes another, and on another' day a special sort of cake. We find that irrigation is very generally adopted, (and

that in many cases the water is raised, by means ; fof Bteam|,po'w|ir #rom; ari adjacent i riverf v ' WKefe it is' possible to bring a ; race from a higher level,' the plan is of. course adopted. The yield varies widely — : from Bc wt. to lOcwt. per acre, from two andy tliree -year - , old-: hops, , up to 15cwt., ; 18cwt., and 20c wt. per acre. . We note,! amongst other indications of departure; from tbe beaten track, .the abolition of the; practice of earthing" at Mr Turnbull'sl grounds. The hops tbpva just" as well,; and an immense deal of labor is saved.'. The practice, It" ~ is said, "is, spreading ins 'England Bince a paper was read by a Mr Whitehead before the Royal Agricultural : Society; ■: Then (Mr Alexander Riddoch; has also fried the system of non-earthing, i and bas" a ■splendid drying apparatus." I Mr Djdwnie has ..given his hops extra) space, but he has used four poles to a hill; instead of three; " the. hops certainly look; splendid," and an estimate of 26cwt. to 28cwt. per acre is not considered over the . mark. At this estate a sample parcel of bops was .lately; picked on the Monday, dried and pressed the same day, shipped on Wednesday-, and delivered i.n Melbourne on Friday; a new press, by WildiDg & Co , is found to work most satisfactorily and Bave an immense deal of time. The kiln is of peculiar construction; half the floor can be used at one time with four fires, there being eight when the kiln is in full work. The interesting reports given in the J&lercury reveal the necessity for union amongst the growers." At present each pursues his own course, of which perhaps little would be known were it not for the annual visits of the press. There is not even . nominally a hopgrowers' association, but the* bare fact of such differences existing in the routine practice is enough, we should hope, to lead to the formation of one without delay. In Gipps Land such a society was formed, but its operations, we fear, have not effected much good. It is time that the public heard something of its proceedings, unless it has resolved to sit with closed doors.