290 OK THE PRICE OF HOPS. 



where one of his decendants became the first Governor of the 

 Bank of England, two of the Governor's brothers being also 

 Directors. It was cultivated experimentally all over England, 

 and it was only after a long time, and the experience of loss, 

 that it became restricted to peculiar spots, which were found 

 to be particularly fit for it. I have traced the experiment at 

 Eton through several years, and have noted the disappointment 

 of the Fellows at the total failure of the project. 



While hops were being cultivated in England, they were 

 also imported from Flanders. The first year in which English 

 hops are named is 1590. The first year however in which 

 Flemish and English hops are distinguished is 1602, when 

 both are bough't at Cambridge. These were almost certainly 

 purchased at Stourbridge fair, whence the Shuttleworths of 

 Gawthorp Hall regularly procured their stock. 



The price of hops is subject to prodigious variations. The 

 yield of this plant is notoriously precarious even now, but the 

 crop must have been exceptionally capricious at that time, 

 before the proper soil and the proper treatment of the plant 

 were discovered. This variation happens not only in suc- 

 cessive years, but even in the same year. Thus Cambridge in 

 1602 buys some at 224^. the cwt. ; Eton some at Sos. In 

 1606 the average at Cambridge is 69^. 2*/., in 1607 it is 

 159.?. 8^/., and in 1608 40^. Generally Flemish are cheaper 

 than English hops, but not invariably. In 1607, Flemish 

 hops are 74^. qd. at Eton, English 151 s. %d. But in 1623, 

 Flemish hops are at 55^., English at 4$s. 



Still, apart from these fluctuations, due to the caprice of the 

 climate and the risks of the plant's fertility, it is possible to 

 trace the upward movement of prices during the seventeenth 

 century, when we analyse and average the years and the 

 decades of years. The price of hops, it will be seen, goes 

 steadily but slowly up during the first sixty years, falls a 

 little in the next ten, then rises, and is very high in the last 

 decade. It is highly probable that this steadying of the price 

 upwards is due to the growing use of the plant. In the 



