336 



NEW ENGLAND FARJ^IER. 



July 



Fig. 9. Elevation of Double Kiln. 



E, room. G, press-room. H, press. J, store-room, m, drying floor. 0, platform from which to charge the 

 kiln through the doors P. Q, ventilators or cowls. R, lower ventilators. S, conductor of cloth to convey hops 

 to press. 



ClTLTrVATIOW OF HOPS. 



Having considered the planting, growth, and 

 harvesting of hops, we now give some direc- 

 tions in regard to 



Kiln Drying. 



As fast as hops are picked they must be 

 dried. This is an important and delicate pro- 

 cess. They may be full grown and well picked, 

 but if poorly dried will prove of little value. 

 There is danger of over-drying and scorching. 

 We saw a specimen of a scorched lot last year 

 which was received on a contract for mer- 

 chantable hops, and on which a comfortable — 

 to the lawyers — little law-suit was pending. 

 There is also danger of insufficient drying, in 

 consequence of which the hops are liable to be 

 damaged or utterly spoiled. Hence the ne- 

 cessity of nice judgment and practical skill in 

 deciding as to the amount to be applied at 

 once to the dryer, in graduating the heat of 

 the fire, the ventilation of the room, and the 

 exposure of the hops during the whole process 

 of manufacturing the green into the baling 

 article. Mr. Z. E. Jameson, Secretary of the 

 Irasburg Farmer's Club, says that his test of 

 the proper dryness is, when the stem in the 

 middle of the hops will break easily ; if it can 

 be twisted and bent, it is not dry enough. 



Some old wooden building may answer for the 

 hop-house or kiln, but to give an idea of the 

 principles which should be introduced into 

 whatever structure may be used, we copy from 

 Mr. Judd's Practical Hop Culture the an- 

 nexed cuts and description of a somewhat 

 elaborate structure of a double kiln which may 

 be simplified to suit the means and wants of 

 each individual hop-grower. 



The kiln should be built prior to the tenth 

 of September, when, in ordinary seasons, the 



Fig. 10. Ground Plan of Double Kiln. 



A, stove rooms. B, stoves. C, pipes, D, doors to 

 wood-room. *i^, stall's. O, press-room. £^, press. K, 

 chimney. 



hops will be in condition to begin harvest. 

 The size will depend upon the number of hops 



