THE JOURNAL 



OF THE 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Vol. XVII. No. 2. 



MAY, 1910. 



PICKING, DRYING, AND PACKING HOPS.* 



Arthur Amos, B.A. 



Time of Picking. — There are a variety of circumstances 

 that influence the date upon which hop-picking is begun in any 

 district. In average years, early hops are ripe, and picking 

 begins in most parts of England during the first week in 

 September, though in Hereford and Worcester it is usually 

 a week later. In order to secure the crop at its best, picking 

 should not last longer than three weeks. 



It is always a difficult problem to fix the day upon which 

 to begin picking. The hops remain at their prime for only 

 a very few days, and it is of the greatest importance to secure 

 the crop at its best. 



The loss incurred by picking unripe hops is very serious. 

 In the first place, unripe hops contain a smaller proportion of 

 dry matter, and consequently more bushels of unripe hops are 

 required to produce a hundredweight of dry hops than is the 

 case with ripe hops, this difference often amounting to 10 

 or 20 per cent, of the crop. 



Secondly, the quality of unripe hops is lower than that of 

 ripe hops. The colour of the sample is green instead of 

 yellow, and the hops contain less lupulin, consequently the 

 aroma is poor, and the hops, owing to the small amount of 

 lupulin, are said to "cut thin." 



'■ On the other hand, if picking is delayed too long, the 



*" The following articles dealing with hops have appeared in recent numbers of this 

 Jotwnak—" The Insect and Allied Pests of the Hop," by F. V. Theobald, M.A., 

 October and November, 1909; "Hop Cultivation," by Arthur Amos, B.A:, 

 February, 19 10. 



