216 SPECIAL VINE CROPS 



there is estimated at several million dollars' worth. The hop 

 plant is propagated by dividing its roots in autumn and spring. 

 About three plants should be put in a hill, and the hills should 

 be placed six or eight feet apart. As the flowers are imperfect, 

 it is necessary to have staminate and pistillate plants within easy 

 reach of one another. The ground should be well cultivated and 

 kept free from weeds. The plants should be supported by stakes 

 and trained on trellises or arbors. 



The principal use of hops is in making yeast, ale, and beer. 

 Hops are also valued for their medicinal qualities. In Germany, 

 England, France, and Austria large quantities of hops are raised 

 only for the purpose of making beer. Many of the brewers in the 

 United States import from Germany the hops they use in manu- 

 facturing beer. St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee are the chief 

 brewing centers. 



Black Pepper. The use of pepper dates back to very early 

 times, and it is said to have been known to the Greeks at the time 

 that Alexander the Great completed his conquest of the world. 

 They received the most of their pepper, as we do to-day, from East 

 India and the Malay Islands. 



Our black pepper comes from berries about the size of a pea, 

 which are at first green, then red, and finally yellow or black 

 when dead ripe. These berries grow on a climbing plant with large 

 glossy leaves, which is allowed to grow to a height of ten or twelve 

 feet. The plants are propagated both from seeds and cuttings, 

 and are trained on poles or trellis work, and they are set out at the 

 rate of twenty-five hundred to the acre. They begin to bear in 

 their third year, and from this time they usually produce approxi- 

 mately two pounds every year for a period of fifteen or twenty 

 years. 



The pepper berries are picked while red and are put in the sun- 

 light to dry, and are left there until they turn a dark reddish brown 

 or black. These dried berries are then ground, and furnish us the 

 ground black pepper of commerce. White pepper is made by 

 removing the pulp of the ripe berry by thorough washing, and then, 

 after drying, the pale gray central portion is ground. 



Vanilla. The vanilla vine grows wild in the eastern part of 

 Mexico, and also in some parts of South America, but it is now culti- 



