34 



color and fragrance. The dew should be entirely off before the picking commences, otherwise, the 

 hop might become musty, or take so long in drying as to lose fragrance. No leaves, or long stems, 

 should be left on the hop. The Baron's method is to strip tlie pole, and carry vine and all into a 

 large, clear place for picking. The drying commences immediately after picking, as the hop some- 

 times spoils, if left forty-eight hours. It is usually dried in a kiln, which should be well fumigated 

 with brimstone before using; of late, it is dried in rooms heated with stoves. Beech, birch, or maple 

 charcoal, perfectly charred, ought to be used in diying. Pine is ruinous to the flavor of the hop. 



When the leaves are brittle, and rub off easily, they are sufficiently dried, and after remainmg 

 eight or ten days, are ready for bagging. If bagged immediately after drying, the leaves break ; by 

 laying on the floor for a few days they are toughened. The hop is subject to the depredation of the 

 grub-worm, which sometimes destroys whole fields. Lime is said to be an effectual preventive. The 

 fly is also very destructive. The grounds are also much damaged by hail storms, after one of which 

 it is necessary to go through the field to trim the vines and replace them on the poles. After 

 picking, the poles are usually stacked in convenient places, for use in the following year. 



This plant is used in a variety of ways, principally, however, in the manufacture of malt liquors, 

 and is found to possess in itself elements of activity not contained in many other materials which have 

 been employed in its stead. It combines the properties of astringency, bitterness, and aroma ; besides its 

 diuretic and narcotic principles, it imparts to the beverage a tonic quality, and an agreeable flavor, modi- 

 fying the bitterness with a warm, stimulant property. The application of this vegetable in the manu- 

 facture of malt liquor, is to remove from the beer the active principle of its fermentation, for which 

 purpose a certain quantity of hops are boiled with the wort before it is set to ferment, and no other 

 material has been found to supply its place ; as its essential oil conveys a pleasing flavor, and prevents 

 the fluid from running into the acetous, or putrid fermentation. Experience has proved the salutary 

 effect of bitter on the digestive organs ; hence the use of hops in malt liquors — diminishing their 

 noxious effects, invigorating the stomach, and promoting digestion. 



Previous to the use of hops, ground ivy, quassia, gentian, wormwood, horehound and heath 

 were used in making beer. In parts of Germany, broom-top is resorted to. A bitter wood was once 

 imported into England from Jamaica, as a substitute for hops, but was discouraged and finally pre- 

 vented, by the imposition of a duty of £ 80 per ton upon it. The amount of hops consmned in Eng- 

 land as an ingredient in beer, in 1845, was 30,000,000 pounds. 



The taste of beer-diinkers must have very materially changed since their first introduction ; 

 at that time the citizens of Loudon petitioned Parliament that their use might be prohibited. 



