360 



THE HOP CROP. 



formation, excellent hop soils are produced. These may 

 be seen in the lower part of Kent and the adjoining 

 county of Sussex, situated on the sides of some of the low 

 hills which rise out of the Weald, and offer great capabi- 

 lities for the cultivation. In Eastern Sussex some most 

 fertile grounds of this character are to be met with lying 

 in the valleys, and producing, on the average, a larger 

 return than perhaps any other district in the country. 



In Worcester and Herefordshire we find hops cultivated 

 principally in the valleys of the old red sandstone formation. 

 These soils have long been known for their general agricul- 

 tural fertility, and although the bop produce seems to be 

 more subject to fluctuation 1 than that of the south-eastern 

 counties, it is probably due to other causes besides that 

 of mere soil. In Nottingham and Stafford shires the hop 

 grounds are met with on the alluvial soils of the new red 

 sandstone formations. The cultivation is very limited, 

 and the quality of the hops rarely commands very satis- 

 factory prices in the market. 



The area under hop cultivation, though subject to 

 certain variations, exhibits but a very small increase when 

 compared with the increase of population and the advance 

 of agriculture since the commencement of the present 

 century. At that period we find it ranging between 

 35,000 and 40,000 acres, and the returns for the past five 

 years tend very much to show that it is gradually declin- 

 ing towards the same level: 



1 In 1823, the whole amount of the old duty paid by the Worcester district 

 was only 4, 3s. out of 26,057, the duty for that year, while in 1825, another 



