48 



THE HOP. 



growers have little to fear; but from the point of view 

 of resin percentage, continental and American com- 

 petitors so far have the advantage. To reduce the dif- 

 ference between British and foreign hops to a small 

 point, the end may be attained by allowing British 

 hops to fully mature before picking, by greater care 

 and delicacy in handling, and by greater care and su- 

 pervision in drying. Careful investigation shows that a 



FIG. 20. CLIMBING TENDRIL OF HOP VINE. 



Magnified 100 times, showing the prickly points that give the vine such power to 



cling. 



great loss of resin is due to careless handling, in some 

 cases amounting to 20 or 30 per cent, of the total. In 

 German hops scarcely a particle of the resin is lost. 

 The one question now before the hop growers of Eng- 

 land is how to produce the largest amount of resin pre- 

 servative and then to save as much of it as possible. If 

 the English curing can be improved so as to give a 

 return of 18 per cent, resins, instead of about 15 per 



