236 



THE HOP. 



But the trouble is that the average planter expects 

 the other fellow will go out of the business and that, 

 therefore, he can extend his own acreage. Co-operation 

 to reduce the acreage has failed heretofore, and the indi- 

 vidual action just noted too often leads to fresh over- 

 production. The improved methods of holding hops 



FIG. 130 . HOP KILNS, PLEASANTON. 



in cold storage enable brewers to lay in large stocks 

 during seasons of plenty and low prices, and this mili- 

 tates against improvement in prices more than was for- 

 merly the case. We find this quite as true in Europe 

 and in England as in the United States, except that 

 in those countries the area does not expand as rapidly 



