36 Agrictdtund Journal of Victoria. 



Mr. de Bavay considers that imperfect or too late drying is 

 responsible for a good deal of our inferior liops. He says : — " I am 

 convinced, from the many samples of inferior hops I have seen in 

 this comitry, that the kiln-drying of the hops is not always well 

 conducted or well understood, and that many of our growers do not 

 possess kilns of the right construction. Too much heat, especially 

 when the hops are still moist, will s])oil the best hops, for not only 

 will it brown them, but it will make them lose the best part of their 



" What is required are kilns well away from the fire, and with great 

 draught. In fact, practically speaking, the fire should only be there 

 to dry and purify the air." The hop-kiln shown is considered one of 

 the best in Australia, and was constructed by Hiram A. Crawford, at 

 Brookfield, Everton. It is built of brick, and the roof slants up to the 

 top on which rests a cowl to keep out the rain. The roof consists of 

 shingle, because when sulphuring the hops the escaping gas makes 

 holes in an iron roof. In the centre of the kiln is a platform, on a 

 le\'el with the drying floor, and to this the green hops are brought 

 immediately after picking. The landing floor is battened lengthwise, 

 to put the bags on and to keep them cool. The furnace room is 

 situated at the base, and the elevation of the drying floor is 12 ft. 

 although it is generally reckoned that this should be not less that 

 20 ft., in order to give the heat a better chance of spreading, and as a 

 precaution against the scorching of the hops. 



The hops must dry in a draught, and therefore good ventilation is 

 provided. The drying room floor is covered with hessiau, and the hops 

 are spread out on it as evenly and as lightly as possible about 1 ft. 

 deep, although a depth of 2 ft. is not amiss. 



The best temperature for drying is considered to be about 130 deg. 

 Fahrenheit, and the hops are left for about 12 to 14 hours. To allow 

 the air to pass through them they should be turned or stirred. The 

 best charcoal for heating purposes is made from red gum. 



The cooling room adjoins the drying kiln, being a few feet lower 

 than the drying room, and is i)0 feet x 30 feet. It has a corrugated 

 iron roof which is lined with calico to keep it cool. The hops are 

 taken out of the drying room when ready and put in one big heap for 

 4 or 5 days before pressing. This is done by a hydraulic press for which 

 hand-power is used, since it acts slowly and gives an enormous pressure. 

 Then the room below the cooling room is used for packing and storing, 

 where the hops are kept both cool and dark and free from draughts so 

 that the aroma is not driven off. 



It will be observed that the cooling room is convenient to both drying 

 rooms so that the hops when taken out of either can be placed where- 

 ever most convenient. 



