252 
Hop Cultivation. 
Leaves show in the samples and spoil their appearance 5 besides, 
buyers object to pay for leaves. 
Calculations as to the number of pickers required are based 
upon the amount of kiln accommodation upon each plantation 
and the probable out-turn of the crop in bushels. The price 
paid to pickers runs from 1 \d. to 3d per bushel. The average 
price is 2d. per bushel. When the hops have been measured, 
they are taken to the oast-houses in the “ pokes,” “ greenbags,” or 
“ sarpliers,” and put on the kilns at once in the morning. In 
the evening, as the kilns are not free till past midnight, the 
pokes are placed upon scaffolds round the oast-house so that 
the bops may not heat, as they would if laid on the ground, which 
must be avoided. 
Drying. 
Everything depends upon the drying of the hops. They may 
be grown to perfection, being bright, aromatic and full of 
lupulin, but if they are not dried enough, or if they are too 
much dried, these qualities are sacrificed. It may be said that, 
as a rule, hops are dried too rapidly and at too high a tempera- 
ture. This is to a great extent necessitated by the limited 
amount of kiln accommodation, as kilns are expensive to build, 
and landowners somewhat naturally object to put up more than a 
certain number, as hop growing is a most speculative business and 
the kilns can hardly be turned to other purposes. 1 It is therefore 
the general practice to load each kiln twice a day, so that each 
loading gets about ten hours’ drying. In these circumstances, 
during almost the whole of this time of drjing it is necessary to 
maintain a high temperature of from 120 to 140 degs. Fahr. By 
this great and continuous heat a serious waste of valuable and 
essential principle is entailed. Hops that are dried by sun 
heat and air in Germany have much higher percentages of 
essential oil, and other principles valuable in brewing, than the 
finest East and Mid Kent hops that have been dried at high 
temperatures. Spalt. hops do not contain naturally a larger 
proportion of these principles than those of Kent; but in the 
former the slow mode of desiccation preserves their intrinsic 
qualities, while in the latter the merciless treatment of stewing 
or baking to which many of them are subjected causes the 
absolute, visible loss of lupulin, or gold dust, besides the escape 
of ethereal essences. English hops dried slowly at a temperature 
never rising beyond 100° Fahr. were found on analysis to contain 
1 Hop kilns are occasionally used for malting barley for cattle food, for 
drying corn in the sheaf in wet seasons, and for storing apples. 
