HOP-GROWING 191 



These differences are not entirely a matter of yield ; 

 for within the same period Sussex has produced an 

 average of 9 cwt. per acre and Kent rather more, 

 whereas the yield in Worcestershire has been only 

 7\ cwt. per acre and nearly I cwt. less in Hereford. 

 On the whole, however, the hops are grown more 

 cheaply in the western country, and the land is 

 better, for though there is perhaps not much difference 

 between the best bottom lands of Sussex and those 

 of Worcestershire, the chief grubbings in the former 

 county and in Kent have been in the poorer gardens 

 situated upon comparatively unsuitable soils. 



Not only is the land rather better in the west, 

 but the standard of cultivation and manuring is 

 perhaps a little lower, so that the crop is left to grow 

 itself to a greater extent than in Kent. Several of 

 the operations carried out by hand in Kent for 

 example, covering up the hills with earth are re- 

 placed by horse labour in Worcestershire. Wages 

 are also at a lower level, both for the regular men 

 and for the pickers, who are chiefly drawn from the 

 Black Country ; indeed, the way that the Worcester- 

 shire hop-growers have managed to weather the 

 depression is an illustration of the fact that low 

 prices can only be met by reduced expenditure. It 

 is rather unfair to speculate about the human factor 

 in these matters because one's judgment is apt to be 

 based on too limited a range of examples, but we 

 certainly have formed the impression that at the 

 present time the average west country grower is a 

 little more progressive and active minded than his 

 competitors in Sussex ; and this opinion is strengthened 

 by the fact that we see installed in Worcestershire 

 and Hereford many more of the recent attempts to 

 dry hops by some form of forced draught of heated 



