HOP. 17 



acid, extractive, bitter principle, wax, resin and lignin ; though Dr. Bige- 

 low thinks that some of these principles are the result of portions of the 

 chaffy scales which come off with the lupulin. Dr. Ives remarks, that 

 the process of gathering and drying the Hop should be performed with 

 a view to the preservation of the powder, — that a great saving of expense 

 would accrue from its employment in brewing, and the absorption of 

 wort by the Hops, as generally used, would be obviated. He further 

 observes : 



" So far as can be determined from its sensible properties, a quantity of 

 lupulin which has been kept in bottles for three years, and is now by me, 

 has lost none of its aromatic flavour, or is in any respect deteriorated 

 by keeping. That the lupulin possesses all the virtues of the Hop 

 essential to the good quality and the preservation of beer, is demonstrated 

 by an experiment made in 1820, by an experienced and respectable 

 brewer in this city. He obtained, by threshing and sifting, from a bag of 

 Hops weighing about 150 lbs., 21 lbs. of lupulin. Of this, and the usual 

 quantity of other ingredients, he made forty barrels of beer ; the quantity 

 into which he ordinarily put 150 lbs. of Hops. The summer following, and 

 not less than four or five months after it was made, I had an opportunity 

 of comparing this beer with that manufactured about the same time in 

 the usual manner. The former was less bitter, but in no respect inferior 

 to the latter. It would, doubtless, have been better than it was, had all 

 the lupulin been separated from the Hops used in the experiment. There 

 can, therefore, be no doubt of the correctness of my former opinion, that 

 if any mechanical means can be devised, by which the lupulin may be 

 easily and readily separated from the strobiles, it will consummate an im- 

 provement of incalculable value in the art of brewing." 



Payer and Chevalier have detected a volatile oil in lupulin, which is 

 similar in odour to the Hop, but more penetrating, narcotic, and acrid in 

 the throat. This oil at first escaped the notice of Dr. Ives, from its great 

 volatility and solubility in water.* 



Medicinal Properties and Uses. — The properties usually 

 attributed to Hops are those of being" stomachic, tonic, diuretic, 

 more or less narcotic, anthelmintic, and antiseptic. 



As a stomachic, it is more commonly taken as a beverage than 

 in the character of medicine. In the State of New England, a 

 fermented decoction, with the simple addition of treacle, known by 

 the name of hop beer, is much used. When made sufficiently 

 bitter with the Hops, and used as a common drink at meals, it pro- 

 motes digestion more than any of the table liquor in common use. 

 It is particularly adapted to obviate the lassitude and debility felt by 

 persons of relaxed habits in the spring, or on the approach of warm 

 weather. A simple infusion has been employed for that purpose, 



* Journal de Pharmacie, Juin 1822. 

 VOL. II. c 



