HOP-FLY. 75 



1802, is 12. Id. ; making, with the fractions, 23s. 4d. ; 

 in 1 805, 4s. 3d. per cwt. was reduced ; so that the actual 

 duty paid is 18s. Sd. per cwt. In betting on the duty, the 

 old duty is always understood ; and so generally adopted 

 is this plan of expressing the probability of a crop by the 

 betted duty, that the common question is, " What is the 

 duty laid at ?" and as the duty falls, the price of hops, of 

 course, rises ; and vice versa. This duty is, however, too 

 much guided by a few men in the Borough, who frequent- 

 ly rise and fall it to answer their own purposes ; yet, as 

 the day of picking approaches, the near correspondence of 

 the betted duty and the old duty actually paid, is truly 

 surprising. In the year 1802, on the 14th of May, the 

 old duty was laid at 100,000/. ; the fly, however, appear- 

 ing pretty plentifully towards the end of the month, it sunk 

 to 80,000?.; the fly increased; and, by the end of June, 

 the duty had gone down to 60,000?. ; by the end of July, 

 to 30,000?. ; by the end of August, to 22,000?. ; and by 

 the end of December to 14,000?. ; the duty actually paid 

 this year was 15,463?. 10s. 5d. In 1825, the duty com- 

 menced at 130,000?., but, owing to the excessive increase 

 of the fly, had in July fallen to 16,000?. ; at the beginning 

 of September it rose to 29,000?., but towards the end fell 

 again to 22,000?. ; the amount paid was 24,3 111. Os. lie?. 

 In the following year the summer was remarkably dry and 

 hot ; we could hardly sleep of nights with the sheets on ; 

 the thermometer for several nights continued above 70 all 

 the night through: the crop of hops was immense, scarcely 

 a fly was to be found, and the betted duty, which began in 

 May at 120,000?., rose to 265,000?. ; the old duty actual- 

 ly paid was 269,331?. Os. 9rf.; the gross duty, 468,401?. 

 16s. Id., being the largest amount ever known. From 



