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YALE AGRICULTURAL LECTURES. 105 



angular form rather than square. That is to say, the hills of 

 adjoining rows should alternate, and not be set opposite each 

 other. When picked, the hops should be at once dried, and 

 this is better done by passing a current of hot air over them 

 than in placing them in a room where they get only the radi 

 ated heat from a stove. Liebig recommends exposing hops to 

 the fumes of sulphur, as thus the lupuline, or active principle, 

 may be preserved from one season to another. The practice 

 is opposed by some, but adopted by many of the best Munich 

 brewers. The hop crop varies from year to year to such an 

 extent that the price is very fluctuating, and even in a single 

 season a month may make a difference of one hundred per 

 cent. In conclusion, the lecturer detailed the casualties to 

 which the hop is subject, such as insects, weather, <fcc., and gave 

 practical directions for its cultivation. 



Judge FRENCH gave his third lecture on Draining, taking up 

 this time the subjects of the Arrangement and the Cost of 

 Drains. He spoke of the necessity of system, and of accurate 

 plans. He described and illustrated on the black-board the 

 methods of laying out drains with reference to the shape of the 

 field, preferring a direction up and down to a direction across, 

 or diagonally. He spoke also of the importance of securing 

 outlets against frogs and moles by means of gratings, and of 

 making the outlets few and permanent. Backwater usually 

 does no harm in drains, because it occurs only when the earth, 

 as well as the streams, are full, and so there is a strong current 

 through the pipes which will prevent any obstruction, as water 

 cannot back up into pipes already full. The cost of this in this 

 country is twice as great as it should be ; two-inch tiles are 

 sold at ten dollars or more a thousand, which is twice the cost 

 of bricks. In England tiles cost and are sold at less than the 

 price of bricks, and will be sold at five dollars per thousand 

 here as soon as tile-making is understood, and there is a fair 

 competition. 

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