Farming of Kent. 
289 
In this statement neither the duty nor the expenses of picking, 
drying, &c., have been charged — a sum usually computed at 35/. 
a ton, or \l. ISs. per cut. 
Tlie duty on hops has been IBs. 8rf. per cwt., to which an 
additional 5 per cent, was recently added. 'I'he number of acres 
cultivated for hops in the county of Kent in 1844 was 22,475, 
being one-half of the entire plantation of the kingdom. From 
the expensive cultivation, the piecariousness of the crop, and the 
low prices which have ruled of late years, the business of hop- 
growing affords upon the whole no profit adequate to the risk, 
and it is attended in not a few instances with positive loss. Hop 
growing, however, is a speculation in which a few occasionally 
realise immense profits, the hope of obtaining which induces the 
many to persevere. It is indeed a lottery, in which the blanks are 
too commonly found disproportionate to the prizes. Hops are 
unlike every other species of" agricultural produce, in that tiiere is 
sometimes a danger of growing too vmch. In years of very great 
abundance the price is so low as scarcely to meet the duty and the 
expense of picking and drying. The chief hope of the planter's 
obtaining a remunerating price is the chance that the crop in 
some other cUstricts save that of his own may more or less fail. 
It should also be observed that the cultivation of hops too fre- 
quently receives such exclusive attention as to act most injuriously 
on all the other crops. It is no uncommon tiling to see — particu- 
larly on the smaller farms of the Weald — the small portion de- 
voted to the growth of hops highly manured and cultivated, while 
the rest of tlie land is suff'ered, year alter year, to remain in a foul 
and exhausted condition. No wonder that, under such manage- 
ment, both corn and cattle should deteriorate. I need not say 
that such is not the case upon all hop-farms ; many of which, as 
regards skilful and liberal cultivation, leave little or nothing to be 
desired. But I think that the sooner that hop-culture is allowed 
to occupy only a subordinate place in the extended husbandry of 
Kent, the better will it be for the advancement of its agriculture 
and general prosperity. It should be borne in mind, however, 
that on a hop farm a large fixed capital exists in buildings and 
underwood, which, in case hop-culture were abandoned, would be- 
come almost valueless. 
Hops are dried and prepared for market in buildings erected 
for the purpose, called " Oasts,'' It would require an independent 
treatise to go into full descriptions and specifications of " oasts," 
and the particidars of hop-drying; in this place, therefore, a few 
general remarks must suffice. Many changes of late years have 
been made in the construction of these buildings. Mr. John 
Read, the inventor of the stomach-pump, was among the 
