MID-SEASON OR MAIN CROP VARIETIES 341 



dioxide gas), which bleaches and very considerably modifies their 

 natural tint : the greatest alteration, due to this treatment, takes 

 place in unripe hops. The colour of English commercial 

 samples is therefore unlike that of the natural hop. 



The following are the chief kinds of hops grown in this 

 country : — 



A. Early Varieties — 

 Prolific and Meopham. 



These hops have red bines, and long coarse strobiles of poor 

 quality which, when ripe, have a somewhat orange or brownish 

 tinge. They yield good crops, and usually ripen in the order given. 



Early Hobbs'. — An early hop resembling the Prolific, but 

 smaller with a green bine. 



Henham's Jones. — An oval medium-sized hop, thin in 'petal' 

 and poor in lupulin, but of good colour and aroma. This name 

 is often applied incorrectly to the Meopham and 

 similar coarse hops. 



Bramlitig.— This is an early variety of good 

 quality, and is the kind most extensively grown 

 for early picking in the best hop districts. The 

 strobile is firm and compact, of medium length, 

 roundish in cross-section, and the stipular bracts 

 and bracteoles are broad and rounded at the 

 tip. The yield is moderate. 



Whit£s Early. — This and the Bramling are 

 the only early varieties of good quality. White's larbract.^TBractcoie 

 Early is a superior kind, exceptionally early, but °'^"ifetme"oTB'r:;;.' 

 usually a poor cropper : the ' petals ' are thinner ''°^ *^°''' 

 and paler than those of the Bramling, and the strobile not so 

 long. The tip of the strobile is generally open and loose. 



B. Mid-Season or Main Crop Varieties — 

 Rodmersham or Mercer's Hop ; Cobb's Hop. 



These are comparatively modern varieties of medium quality, 

 hardy and good croppers. They resemble the Canterbury White- 



