230 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



without the meat, as you like. A chicken, or a piece of 

 beef, may be substituted for the veal. 



Hunmlus Lupivlis — Hop. 



The hop is a plant with a perennial root, throwing out 

 many herbaceous climbing stems, and is found growing 

 wild on the banks of rivers in Europe, Siberia, and our 

 own country. It was cultivated in England, on or before 

 1525, when the old doggerel states : 



*'Hops, heresy, pickerel, and beer, 

 Were brought into England in one year.'' 



A few roots should be in the garden, as they are useful in 

 making yeast and beer. 



Culture. — It is propagated by dividing the roots in au- 

 tumn and spring. Give the plant a deep, rich soil; put 

 two or three plants, six inches apart, in a hill, making 

 with the plants, when set, a triangle, and the hills six or 

 eight feet apart. Keep the ground free from weeds, and 

 well stirred. Manure them every year. Give them poles 

 twelve or fourteen feet long, and two or three poles to 

 each hill. Gather when of a straw color, and you find the 

 inside of the hop covered with a plentiful yellow dust, and 

 the seeds begin to be plump ; dry them thoroughly, and 

 put them up in bags for use. 



Use. — We have said that the principal use of hop was 

 in the preparation of yeast, &c. The young shoots and 

 suckers are boiled and eaten as asparagus. They are 

 very largely cultivated in fields, and used in the manufac- 

 ture of ale and strong beer. Its medicinal qualities are 

 tonic and soporific A pillow filled with hops will produce 

 sleep, without the 11 effect of opiates. 



