FIELD CROPS 295 



the Middle Ages. It has also run wild in some parts 

 of the United States. As a crop it is grown all over 

 the north temperate part of the civilized world. It 

 will climb high on trees and is often used as an orna- 

 mental climbing vine. 



Its flowers are green and not beautiful. The fruit, which 

 is a cone of small green leaves on which the seeds are borne, 

 is chiefly used in brewing beer, to impart to it a pleasant 

 flavor and a slight bitterness. It is also used for soothing 

 poultices, and in pillows for those who do not sleep well. 

 Its chief properties are contained in the yellow powder which 

 covers the inside of the cone leaves. 



Hops are usually sown first in the nursery and then set 

 out in rows ; later they are supported on trellises or hop poles. 

 The cones are gathered by hand before they are ripe, then 

 dried and packed in bales. California grows excellent hops, 

 but the cost of hand labor makes the crop unprofitable in 

 some years. In western Oregon and Washington, also, 

 hop growing is an extensive industry, and the quality is 

 excellent. 



FIBER CROPS 



There are in California and in the Pacific Northwest 

 many wild plants whose stems have a fibrous bark. 

 When cleaned the fiber is very handsome and strong. 

 Such plants are the common milkweeds, the turkey 

 weed, Colorado River hemp, and many others; and. 

 people often wonder why they are not used for spinning 

 and weaving. If you take the dry stem of any milk- 



