42 THE FRUITS OF THE COUNTRY-SIDE 



The meaning of the word is very obscure. It has been 

 suggested that this is the plant Pliny called the Lupus 

 salictarius, meaning willow-wolf, and that he so called it 

 from the tenacity with which it clung to the willows. 

 Hop has certainly no special delight in willows ; on the 

 contrary, it prefers something considerably stouter. How- 

 ever, if it be not a particularly good wolf-story, it is an 

 excellent cock-and-bull story, and we must accept it on 

 that footing. 



The ripened hops are sometimes gathered in the 

 country into pillows, as they are held to promote sleep. 

 This use of them came into great prominence when they 

 prescribed, and with benefit, to King George III., in the 

 year 1787. It is found in medical practice that, besides 

 producing restful sleep, the hops exercise considerable 

 soothing influence over the nerves, allay pain, reduce the 

 pulse, and give it steadiness. Infusum, Tinctura, and 

 Extractum Lupuli all hold place in our pharmacopoeia. 

 One old author, we see, declares that " the Decoction of 

 the Flowres and Tops are given with good successe to 

 those that have drunk any deadly poyson ; " while some 

 will to-day say that, far from being an antidote, it is, as 

 an important constituent in beer, a poison itself. 



In Sweden and Norway the fibres of the hop stem 

 are made into strong cloth, stout cordage, and coarse 

 packing-paper. Though premiums were offered by the 

 Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and 

 Commerce in the year 1760, for the utilisation of the 

 plant in England, but little success seems to have attended 

 the experiment. It was, in fact, found that hemp could 

 be produced at a cheaper rate, and that it was of much 



