18S Van'dfi'iii in IIk M<i/i //a/i. Iluirmlns Inpulus A. 



The Lalcnils (1 nflorescetices). 



By "lateral" is meant a branch growing in the axil of a leaf (bract) 

 borne on one of the main stems (bines). The laterals above' the 

 breast-wire with a few exceptions bear the staminate flowers and are 

 thus tiie inflorescences. These bear bracteoles in the axils of which 

 develop secondary laterals, which may be opposite or alternate; on 

 long laterals they arc usually (ij)posite, on the short ones usually 

 alternate. The utilitv of a male hop for pollination depends of course 

 on the output of pollen, or, in other words, its value is according to the 

 fertihty of the laterals, and an attempt was made to determine the 

 fertility of any plant in terms of the characters of the laterals. 



Other things being equal, the longer the lateral the more flowers 

 it bears, but factors which must be taken into consideration are the 

 length of the internodes of the laterals and the length of the secondary 

 laterals. Since as a rule the internodes and secondary branches 

 decrease in length gradually towards the distal end of the lateral, it 

 was considered sufiBicient to take measurements of the first internode* 

 and of the longest secondary lateral. 



Other characters, viz. (1) the number of nodes on the hitcral at which 

 the bracteoles were leaf-like^, ('!) whether the bracteoles were opposite 

 or alternate, and (3) length of the stipular inflorescences*, were also 

 examined, as it was thought that they du'hIiI be of varietal significance. 



Of these characters, however, the only important one, so far as 

 observations went, is length of lateral, as this is the most easily ascer- 

 tained, and the other characters are dependent on that. With increase 

 in length of lateral there is an increase in length of secondary laterals, 

 and in length of internode; of the last two the rate of increase is not 

 the same for both, that for the internodes being greater than that 

 for the secondary laterals, so that a short lateral is densely flowered 

 while a long one is lax. A typical long lateral may be contrasted 

 with a typical short lateral as: 



' 'J'lioKC laterals liclow tlic breast-wire are, toc;elher witli tlic lowei' leaves, stripped 

 off before "hop-washing" commenecs. 



- By first internode is here meant that between the first and second i)airs of braeteoles. 

 When the bracteoles were not truly opposite, but were more or less alternate, the node 

 was taken as being midway between the two braeteoles representinf; an opposite |)air. 



' Sooner or later along the lateral the braeteoles towards the distal end are represented 

 merely by scales. 



* By the "stipular inllorescences" is meant those short laterals at the base of each 

 main lateral and growing apparently in the a.xils of the stipules. 



