i9 io.] Picking, Drying, and Packing Hops. 



on the other hand, if drying is continued too long, the hops 

 break to pieces when unloaded. The best test is to take a 

 good handful, and rub it in the hands; if dry, practically all 

 the strigs should be brittle, and there should not remain more 

 than two or three tough ones in the handful. 



When drying is finished, open all the shutters below the- 

 hair, and let the hops cool as much as time will allow before 

 unloading. 



Management of Fires. — As soon as the hops are loaded the 

 fires should be made up with big pieces of coal, so that they may 

 burn steadily for four or five hours without further stoking. 

 As the "reek" or moisture passes gradually off from the 

 hops and the hops get lighter, the draught gradually im- 

 proves. In consequence of this, the fires gradually burn 

 faster and the temperature slowly rises. 



It is of great importance that the temperature should be 

 kept continually rising during the first four hours of drying, 

 since, if it falls at any point during this period the colour of 

 the hops is likely to suffer. Stoking the fire during the early 

 part of drying should be avoided, as it causes the temperature 

 to fall. If the temperature should be rising too fast it should' 

 be checked, not by touching the fire, but by letting in more 

 cold air below. 



During the latter part of drying the fire-bars should be 

 kept free from ashes, so that the fire burns nicely, and there 

 should be a moderate depth of coal on the bars. If the fire 

 is too thin, very hot places are liable to occur in the fire, 

 I and there is a danger of burning the hops immediately 

 above these bright places by radiated heat*. 



Management of Draught. — It is only very rarely that there 

 is too much draught in an oast, so that the management is 

 mainly concerned with maintaining a good draught. To 

 attain this end, various precautions must be taken. 



The oast must be warm before loading. The loading must 

 be done as expeditiously as possible, and the drying started 

 at once. There must be no leakage of cold air into the oast 

 above the hops ; therefore, the doors leading on to the hair 

 must fit properly, and the tiles must be securely ceiled. In 

 f°8>gy weather, great care must be taken to keep the cowls 

 in the right direction, pointing away from the wind. 



