Cultivation and Management of Hops. 
341 
as desirable as a change of seed in the cases of wheat, barley, 
and oats. There have been several new and improved sorts oi 
hops introduced within the last few years, raised from seed and 
from cuttings ; in the former instance by mere accident or 
chance, in the latter by a careful process of methodical selec- 
tion,* As Dr. Carpenter says, the usual principle is, that 
propagation by seeds will only produce the species, the race not 
being continued with any certainty.! The tendency is to revert 
back to the original type. This is seen in apples, plums, and 
in a marked degree in peaches, nectarines and apricots. Seeds 
taken from the same hop-plant will, it is well known, produce 
different varieties, whose tendency is generally to degenerate to 
the wild hedge hop. This inherent tendency to reversion is 
augmented by the uncertainties of fertilisation peculiar to 
dioecious plants, and the prepotency of the pollen of the original 
type over that of all others.^ Hence those sorts which have 
been raised from seed are, as a rule, coarse and inferior, as in 
the case of a sort called " Prolifics," which, though large 
croppers and of a hardy nature, are comparatively of low quality 
and not liked by the brewers. Some very valuable new sorts 
have been obtained from cuttings taken from solitary plants, 
which have been observed to differ from their congeners in 
certain characteristics. These specialities were further continued 
by a careful methodical selection of plants, in which the desired 
qualities were most prominently displayed. A very good sort of 
early Golding was obtained in this way by Mr. George White, 
of Hunton, Kent, which not only comes to pick a fortnight or 
three Aveeks before other hops, but has a fine quality. It is a 
very great thing to get such a sort of hop, of first-rate Gold- 
ing character, which arrives at maturity early, in order that 
the English grower may be able to supply the market before 
foreign hops come in, and to ensure good colour before the 
winds, the hot sun, and the heavy night fogs of late autumn have 
browned the delicate light-golden hue so sought for by pale ale 
brewers. To get this much desired colour it has been the 
common custom to pick hops too soon, which tends to injure 
the stock of the plant, especially in the case of the Golding hop, 
more delicate by nature than other kinds, to lessen its produc- 
* " Methodical selection is that which guides a man •vrho systematically 
endeavours to modify a breed according to some predetermined standard." — 
Darwin's ' Animals and Plants under Domestication,' vol. ii. p. 193. 
t Carpenter's ' Principles of Physiology,' p. 985. 
X But few planters allow male liop plants in their grounds, trusting that the 
pollen, for mere purposes of fructification, will come from somewhere. It is clear 
that artificial fertilisation must be resorted to systematically if it is wished to 
obtain true and satisfactory sorts from seed. 
