PECULIARITIES OF THE INDUSTRY. 15 



absence of organization among growers in America, 

 and a still worse condition in this respect in England 

 and on the continent, adds to the uncertainty of even 

 the best efforts to ascertain the extent of the new crop. 

 The effect of these natural influences that favor 

 fluctuating supplies and prices, is heightened by arti- 

 ficial conditions. The movement of hops, as shown by 

 actual shipments, and by imports and exports, fails to 

 reveal the extent of old stocks in hands of dealers or 

 brewers. Under ideal conditions, hops can be kept in 

 cold storage for months without losing their virtue to 

 any great extent. Breweries are now equipped with 

 cold storage for this purpose, and brewers usually 

 make it a practice to stock up liberally when prices are 

 low, but as practiced cold storage is not proving a suc- 

 cess. The quantity of hops used per barrel of beer 

 varies in different breweries to such an extent as to 

 afford but a shaky basis for computing consumption on 

 output of beer. It is asserted by some that fewer hops 

 per barrel of beer are now used than formerly, while 

 others claim to the contrary. It is now customary in 

 the American trade to estimate one pound of hops to be 

 used for each barrel of beer, against one and one-half 

 pounds twenty years ago, but this is somewhat arbi- 

 trary. When hops are dear, less is used per barrel 

 than when cheap, the deficiency being made good by 

 hop extract or substitutes. 



While the supply and the uncertainty about it thus 

 fluctuates, the demand is fairly constant in comparison. 

 Except in so far as substitutes are used, the demand for 

 hops is regulated by the consumption of beer, the 

 quantity used for medicinal or household purposes 

 really playing no part in the commercial question of 

 supply and demand. As the consumption of beer is 

 largest in Europe, where the population is most set- 

 tled, it is not liable to sudden increases or decreases, 

 and may be estimated with a very fair degree of accu- 



