305 
but ash, or any wood, is used. It is calculated that 1000 new- 
poles per acre will be required annually, costinj?, if 14-feet poles, 
71. ; but a process has lately been adopted by which it is hoped 
that the durability of the poles may be much increased. The 
ends ;uo dipped, 2 feet up, in creosote, and boiled for 15 hours, 
to drive the fluid up the pores of the wood. Tyeim/ succeeds : 
three bines are tied to a pole as liigh as a woman can reach (a 
ladder is not used, unless wind blows the top away, late in the 
season); the remainder are ^''pulled out" — this is the proper 
practice. Cutting off, technically called " clearing," is more 
usual, but is not so good. Rushes, the canvas of old guano bags, 
or any such inaterials, are used for tyeing. The land is then 
" becked :" a beck is a hand implement, which combines a fork 
with three grains or prongs, and a hoe at the back ; the fork is for 
stirring the ground, the hoe for cutting out the weeds. Becking 
is done twice, if there be time. Surface cultivation by lioeinf/ 
lasts up to the time of picking. " Nidging," or. horse-cultiva ■ 
tion with hoes or tines, is not thought good hop-farming. 
" Never let a horse look into the ground, except to cart the dung 
in frost," is the maxim. Hilling, or earthing-up the plant usually 
begins when the bines are half-way up the poles. These are 
" half-hills ;" " whole hilling " subsequently completes the opera- 
tion. The hills are 5J, 6, and 7 feet apart, according to the 
soil. They hill higher here than in Kent, but with doubtful 
advantage, because the plant is apt to be too much drawn up. 
The cleaning of the ground is an unquestioned good. During 
the summer, just before coming into burr, a top-dressing of 
guano, 4 cwt. to the acre, is applied. Picking generally com- 
mences in the first week of September. Leaves should be care- 
fully discarded, but inferior and browned hops (the wind has this 
effect) are not. Drying with brimstone brings back the colour, 
and covers all faults. The effect of brimstone was discovered 
about twenty years since,* and long concealed under the impres- 
sion that its use was illegal. This proved to be a misappre- 
hension, and now brewers prefer hops so dried, the quality 
and the colour being alike improved. The hops are taken 
from the ground to the " oast-houses" or kilns, heated with 
culm and charcoal, where they remain 12 hours, care being 
taken not to give too strong a heat at first. They are lagged by 
machinery (not by treading, as formerly) as soon as cool. To 
* Or rather re-discovered. The Royal Brewer of Eltham was enjoined (temp. 
Hen. VII.) to put neither brimstone, nor hops into the ale. Our ancestors had 
long been used to a sweet and glutinous liquor, and had no relish for the bitter 
herb. Hops were grown in Kent as early as 1464, but did not come into popular 
use for more than a century. Indeed, the acceptability of our hitter beer is a modern 
and acquired taste. 
