QUALITIES OF THE HOP SUBSTITUTES. 351 



floury parts may be soft and in full body : its fine, 

 spirituous, balsamic qualities will then be preserved, 

 and be communicated to the beer. Should, in the 

 course of the seasons, wheat become again sufficiently 

 cheap, it would surely be desirable to revive this im- 

 portant national experiment ; and I call upon my read- 

 ers of our grand national manufacture, and particu- 

 larly on our aristocracy in their country residences, and 

 on country residents generally, to bear it in mind, as 

 an object well worth their recollection and attention. 



The HOP, formerly held injurious to health, has 

 long been proved an indispensable ingredient for the 

 preservation of beer, and equally conducive to its 

 salubrity. The qualities of the hop, that is to say, of 

 that part of the plant which is used, are opening, 

 diuretic, and discutient, and held by the old physi- 

 cians to be effective in removing obstructions in the 

 liver, kidneys, and lower bowels. The ancient notion 

 has, indeed, been fully and practically disproved, that 

 the hop in beer renders it productive of nephritic 

 complaints (gravel and stone). In all probability, 

 such effect ought rather to be attributed to the hard- 

 ness or impurity of the water used in brewing ; since, 

 with all due respect for modern medical science, the 

 incontestable fact remains, that in those districts where 

 beer from necessity is generally brewed with well, or 

 hard water, the inhabitants are most subject to the 

 above diseases. 



Formerly, in dear seasons, many substitutes have 

 been used for the hop, or in addition to it, worm- 

 wood, sweet flag (calamus aromaticus}, horehound, 

 broom, and various bitter herbs. The hop, or husk 



