SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION. 



soft, not a brittle state, and trod into the pocket as soon as 

 sufficiently cool ; they do not then break under the foot. In 

 Kent and Sussex hops are dried in a variety of ways, and 

 with several kinds of fuel. In oasts on the Cockle principle 

 anything may be used, and a considerable quantity of sulphur 

 is required ; but on the open fire principle Welsh coal and 

 coke is used, ana a small quantity of sulphur. 



" The cokes we get from Abberley and Pensax, in Wor- 

 cestershire, are highly charged with sulphur, which will 

 account for so little being added in these counties. Its only 

 value is to give brilliancy to .the sample, and, if used in 

 excess, brewers object to it as affecting the fermentation of 

 their worts. 



" It has been the practice in Worcestershire and Hereford- 

 shire to make eight sacks out of one piece of cloth of 

 36 yards, and the weight of the pockets when filled runs 

 from 1 cwt. 1 qr. to 1 cwt. 2 qrs. It is my practice to make 

 seven sacks from a piece, and I am thereby enabled to get 

 1 cwt. 2 qrs. to 1 cwt. 3 qrs. into a pocket, and I would 

 respectfully recommend my brother-planters to do the same. 

 A heavy pocket has many advantages over a light one ; you 

 pay less for weighing, porterage, and warehouse rent, and 

 you get your hops more quickly into consumption. 



" It was formerly the practice to roll, riddle, and otherwise 

 break and spoil good hops ; this silly method is in a great 

 measure exploded. Plant the best sorts, such as Coopers, 

 Mathons, and Goldings; pick them clean, dry them pro- 

 perly, and put them into the pockets as whole as possible. 

 By breaking the hop you lose a large quantity of the pollen, 

 which contains the most valuable brewing properties. 



