110 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



first quality after being cured. They are then pressed with 

 screws into bales, and are ready for the market." 



This foundation wall is sometimes made of brick, and plas- 

 tered inside. A furnace of stone or brick is placed in the 

 centre, at the bottom of the front wall, with an opening 

 through the wall to put in the coal. A funnel, winding round 

 within the walls, three feet from the top, and out at a chim- 

 ney, is sometimes used ; but it is thought by many of the best 

 growers to be quite unnecessary, and that, in fact, the simpler 

 the contrivance is, the better. There should be sufficient draft 

 to cause the fresh air to circulate freely within the walls. A 

 sort of roofing is built over the kiln to shed the rain, usually 

 with eight-feet posts, and having several doors or windows, 

 capable of being opened to admit the air to the hops, and to allow 

 the moisture which collects in the process of drying to pass off. 

 The kiln may be made capable of drying from fifty to one 

 hundred pounds of hops in twelve hours. The hops are spread 

 from six to eight inches deep. Some recommend to build a 

 kiln large enough to dry two hundred pounds at once ; but 

 nothing is gained, generally, by too large a kiln. If the plan- 

 tation is large, it is thought best to have two or three kilns, 

 and not try to dry too many at once. It is without doubt bet- 

 ter to have several small kilns than one large one, and the cost 

 of several small ones is but little more than one large one. 



The kiln is often much more elaborately built, it is true, and 

 proportioned in size to the quantity of hops to be cured and 

 the ability of the grower. It should be so large, if there is 

 but one, as to be capable of drying the hops very soon after 

 being picked, and so as not to require them to accumulate 

 faster than they can be dried. The fire is kindled before the hops 

 are put on, though the kiln is to be slowly and gradually heated 

 at first. The fire is commonly kept up day and night. If the 

 hops are rusty, a little sulphur is burned under them, to 

 bleach them and improve their appearance. This is done as 

 soon as tl icy have begun to heat and feel moist; but if the 

 hops arc damp when first spread on the kiln, burn the brim- 

 stone immediately. No objection is now made to hops treated 

 in this way; indeed, their appearance is greatly improved. 



Some make a practice of turning the hops as soon as the top 



