HOP 39 



bad neighbour, for its dense masses of foliage and numerous 

 tough and twining stems go far towards choking the general 

 mass of undergrowth. One may observe this very clearly 

 in Winter, when, the hop having died down, we may see 

 how ragged and thin the hedge at that point has become. 

 Extending, as the plant does, over the greater part of 

 England and having every appearance of being thoroughly 

 at home, it is yet a very doubtful point whether the 

 hop be truly indigenous. It has long been cultivated, 

 and it is probable that the hops of our hedgerows are 

 really the descendants of plants introduced centuries ago. 

 However this may be, there is no doubt that the con- 

 ditions here are so entirely favourable to its well-being 

 that it long ago determined to stay with us. 



The root is perennial, and each Spring throws up a 

 vigorous mass of shoots. These, by the way, are sometimes 

 gathered and boiled and are said to be equal in flavour to 

 asparagus. They are highly commended, we see, in 

 Bryant's Flora Dietetica. In the hop gardens, where the 

 plant is under cultivation, it becomes necessary each Spring 

 to remove some of the superabundant shoots, and these 

 cuttings are an acceptable article of diet. The stems 

 develop very quickly ; they are tough, flexible, slightly 

 angular, far-reaching. The leaves grow in pairs and are 

 either heart-shaped or with three or five lobes, and these 

 latter are not at all unlike vine-leaves in general form. 

 These lobed leaves are ordinarily the lower ones and 

 are of considerable size, and we regret that the limited 

 dimensions of our illustration forbid our introduction of 

 one of this type. The leaves, whatever their shape, are 

 deeply toothed at their margins, very prominently veined, 



