168 NAT. OUDER. — SCABRID^. 



nal, and furnished wifh bractcas ; tlie males are in drooping panicles 

 of a pale, greenish-yellow color ; the calyx consists of five, oblong 

 concave, minutely serrated leaflets ; \\\e filaments are five, capillary, 

 and supporting oblong anthers, which open at the apex by two pores ; 

 the female flowers are in solitary, pendlous, ovate cones or strobiles, 

 composed of membranous scales of a pale greenish color ; tubular, 

 from being rolled in at the base, and containing the ^craiew which is 

 small, supporting two short, subulate styles, tipped with awl-shaped, 

 downy stigmas ; the seed, which is enclosed in the tubular part of 

 the scale, is round, flattish, truncated, and of a bay brown color. 



The hop is not confined to England and America, but has been 

 introduced into many other parts of the world. The culture of this 

 plant was introduced into England from Flanders, about the year 

 1524. From England into America at the time of its settlement. 

 The strobiles were first used for preserving malt liquors in the lat- 

 ter part of the reign of Henry VIII. ; but the prejudice against them 

 continued for a long time, as the citizens of London, a century af- 

 terwards, petitioned Parhament to prevent their use. 



At the season when the strobiles are sufficiently ripe, the plants 

 are cut a foot or two from the ground, and the poles on which they 

 are supported, pulled up. The strobiles are then carefully picked 

 off", care being taken to separate those that are defective from those 

 that are sound ; both kinds are carried to the kiln, for the purpose 

 of drying as soon as possible after they are gathered. The heat 

 of the kiln requires to be regulated Avith great nicety, to prevent 

 their being dried too rapidly — to obviate this occurrence many kilns 

 have two floors, on the upper one the greener hops are laid, and 

 gradually dried, before being brought to support the heat of the 

 lower floor. Charcoal is usually employed, as the other kinds of 

 fuel are said to injure the flavor of the hops. The strobiles are 

 considered sufficiently dried when they become crisp ; but they re- 

 quu-e some degree of tenacity and touglmess, from lying in heaps 

 on the floors of the store-houses, previous to their being bagged. 



