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Hop Curing in California. 



the drying floor. To this platform the green hops are elevated, 

 and from it they are passed in through a door. Various means 

 are employed for raising the hops to the drying floor ; in some 

 cases inclined driveways are erected up which loaded waggons 

 are driven, but more commonly the hops are drawn up from the 

 ground by an elevator or crane. 



The slat floor of the curing room rests on strong joists or 

 girders. Over this floor is spread, to receive the hops, a kiln 

 cloth or carpet, usually of flax or hemp, made of small hard- 

 twisted threads loosely woven, so as to allow the air to pass 

 through freely. The hops are spread out on the drying 

 floor as evenly and lightly as possible, from 18 to 24 inches 

 deep. 



As to the height to which the temperature should be raised 

 and the number of hours necessary for properly curing the hops, 

 there are many differences in opinion and practice. In Cali- 

 fornia it is customary to dry a flooring of hops every twelve 

 hours, using a sufficiently high temperature to do the work in 

 that time. A fresh batch of hops is laid on the drying floor at 

 noon, and another at midnight. The temperature usually 

 varies between 125 0 and 140° F., but it is chiefly a question of 

 judgment. If the fire has been properly kept up, by 9 or 10 

 o'clock the hops around the side of the kiln will begin to rattle. 

 It is then time to turn them, as the top hops are the slowest to 

 dry. This is done with a wooden barley fork, or by walking 

 through them, and thus ploughing them up with the feet ; in the 

 latter case the feet should be dragged along the floor to avoid 

 stepping on the hops. On an average, it takes about three- 

 fourths of a cord of willow wood to dry 1,000 lb. of hops (dry 

 weight). 



The colour of the hops seems to depend largely on climate 

 and soil. In Sonoma county the golden colour seems to result 

 from the bleaching effect of fogs and heavy dews ; that of the 

 hops grown around Sacramento is attributed to the soil. The 

 principal demand is for yellow or straw-coloured hops, which 

 has led to the custom of bleaching or sulphuring. To produce 

 this, the process of bleaching with the fumes of burning sulphur 

 is carried on in connection with the curing of the hops ; about 

 1 lb. of sulphur being used for every 100 lb. of green hops. 



