THE CULTIVATOR. 
94~ 
There is r.ot perhaps amongst the whole range of resins, one so de¬ 
licate, rich and powerful an aromatic as the hop, nor one more ea¬ 
sily destroyed by improper treatment; nor is there another article 
of produce or manufacture so little understood and so unskilfully 
managed. 
In connection with two of the largest brewers in the country, we 
purchased in the Boston market, last fall, a quantity of hops, and 
in the first shipment of about two hundred hales, there was not, af¬ 
ter a careful examination, jointly, over twenty-jive bales that ought 
to have been used, and all those were injured by being picked be¬ 
fore they were ripe. This is not an individual instance; it is a 
prevailing evil, and of the total amount brought to Albany, speak¬ 
ing within bounds, more than one-lialf are destroyed or injured by 
early picking. This evil ought to be at once remedied ; but let me 
caution your raisers not to run into the opposite extreme, and pick 
them as much too late. 
For the last fifteen years, I do not recollect a season, but repeat¬ 
ed instances have come to my knowledge, where the farmer has to¬ 
tally lost his crop by having it heated from neglect in not drying 
them well on the kiln. 
How truly mortifying, when the farmer presents his hops, the 
fruits of a season’s anxiety and labor, to be told they are scarcely 
fit for manure. I do know some men, whom I esteem as men of 
sense in other matters, year after year bringing their damaged goods 
for sale, in every other respect a splendid article, and having them 
heated, and this, after each year’s repeated advice and caution. 
Of the amount of loss from this source, it would be difficult to form 
an estimate; it is, however, large. There are more hops injured 
from partial drying, in seasons when the crops are abundant, than 
in ordinary years, by not having kiln room enough, hence they are 
hurried off undried ; this evil is easily corrected by having always 
rather, too much than too little kiln room; the additional expense 
is trifling. 
The next serious injury from want of skill in curing, is that of 
scorching or burning the hops on the kiln. There are large quan¬ 
tities, every year, of western hops destroyed or partially injured in 
this way. Our eastern hop raisers are far before those of our state 
in curing them on the kiln. Scarcely an instance of scorching on 
the kiln, of heating after being bagged, is known amongst them, 
and the fault with us must be want of care or skill. 
The hops of this state, as a whole, are not cleanly picked, and 
are often injured by having them heated before going to the kiln. 
Many have their kilns so low, that the steam does not go off, con¬ 
sequently the hop is stewed in its steam, and by this means mate¬ 
rially injured. A common practice of using coal, partially charred, 
smokes the hops, and their rich flavor is materially injured, and of¬ 
ten totally destroyed. That we may not forget, let us recapitulate 
our grievances: About one-half our hops are injured by picking 
before ripe, (our eastern hop raisers do more injury in this respect 
than our western farmers;) another part are injured by partial dry¬ 
ing, and bagging them in that state ; another part are scorched or 
burned; some are heated before going on the kiln; some stewed 
on the kiln; some smoked; some gathered with the leaves and 
vines ; some send us brimstoned hops, and a few good fellows bring 
us as fine hops as any part of the world can boast of, and they ought 
all of them, or nearly so, to be of this fine quality. 
Let our farmers make exertions to cure their hops as well as 
our eastern friends, and their hops will find the readiest market 
and the best price, and will, intrinsically, be near double the va¬ 
lue of the eastern, or until the eastern raisers let their hops ripen 
before they are gathered. It. may be justice to onr friends of the 
east to state, that the fault of picking their hops too soon, (and this 
is their only fault,) has been the mistaken advice of the hop in¬ 
spector, who has branded the ripe hops as seconds, and those which 
were refuse, from being picked too early, he has branded firsts. 1 
have often, some years since, remonstrated with the inspector on 
the injustice of his branding the refuse as firsts, and the firsts as 
seconds. He admitted, in his opinion, the course he was pursuing 
was wrong, but some pale ale brewers had advised him to brand 
the pale hops as first, to encourage the picking early. These ill- 
omened men have done incalculable mischief, and an evil that will 
take years to repair. There are, and it is to be regretted, but few 
brewers who are good judges of hops. I have not, however, con¬ 
versed with an individual, even of my own brethren of the pale ale 
stamp, who has not admitted the propriety of all I have advised. 
I must again repeat, that hops too early picked, are the worst re¬ 
fuse we get; they are totally destitute of the only valuable part, 
the resin or Jupulin. The hop is gathered before it is formed, hav¬ 
ing only a sort of sap: not only the smel', but also every appear¬ 
ance of lupulin is soon dissipated. 
In submitting these brief remarks for the consideration of those 
interested, it is with a sincere hope that all will unite cordially in 
endeavoring to place the reputation of the hops of America as the 
best in the world. 
I am, very respectfully yours, &c. 
J. Buel, Esq. L. FIDLER. 
Hamilton, Madison co. August 2, 1834. 
Sir — I have been looking, for some time past, in the Cultivator, 
for a communication from Mr. Fidler, or some of our hop growers, 
relative to hops ; not finding any, I have presumed to send you a 
few observations of my own. 
It is said, and perhaps truly, that our western hops are not as 
good as the eastern ; if so, 1 think it highly important that we 
learn the cause or causes, and remedy the defect, that the repu¬ 
tation of ours may compete with theirs, or even with the Euro¬ 
pean. 
I have been in the hop growing business about fourteen years, 
and have had some experience therein; but fearing I shall extend 
my remarks beyond the limits of the Cultivator, (if thought wor¬ 
thy a place therein,) I shall not speak of their cultivation, or of 
the different, kinds, but of their curing, (the time of gathering be¬ 
ing near.) It is necessary, however, that hops be picked clean 
from stems and leaves. Every hop grower should have a kiln of 
his own, and it is of the first importance that the cloth on which 
they are to be dried should be of suitable thickness. The cloth 
which I now use, placed about seven feet from the bottom of the 
cell or cavity, was all made of coarse linen yarn, wove in a slate of 
twent.y-six, with one thread in a reed, which I think to be a good 
one. 
The drying of hops requires experience as well as care and at¬ 
tention. Many go into the business for a year or two ; not being 
very successful in growth or curing, and consequently in price, 
they relinquish it; others succeed them in the same path, with 
the like effect, which operates materially against the general re¬ 
putation of our western hops. I would recommend to persons who 
commence in the hop business to persevere and pursue it, and in 
the first place obtain information relative to their proper manage¬ 
ment, and particularly the curing of them. 
Obtain some person of experience, in drying, even at almost any 
price, attend closely with him, observe the light, loose manner in 
which they are spread upon the kiln cloth, and more particularly 
the temperature of the air within the kiln, and in a few days you 
can manage them yourself in good weather. In wet weather, it is 
almost impossible to dry them and have them retain their proper 
colour and flavor, if the same quantity as usual are put upon the 
kiln. 
In drying wet hops, the heat of the fire at the commencement 
must be reduced at least one-third, to give time for the evapora¬ 
tion of the water they retain, otherwise you heat the water to such 
a degree that the hops are scalded, wilted, and often scorched be¬ 
fore they are dry; stirring them in that situation is of little or no 
use. When dry they are worth little, but are often, I presume, 
carefully mixed with those that are good, thus damaging the whole, 
reducing their value and reputation. This is bad policy; we had 
better be equal;y careful 1o keep them separate from those which 
are good; press them by themselves, sell them to distillers for what 
they are worth, which is more to them than to the brewer, and thus 
retain, or rather obtain, a better reputation for ours. 
But more relative to drying. Much depends upon the thickness 
of hops on the kiln when drying. It is too often the case that we 
employ more pickers than we can dry after to advantage, even in 
good weather, consequently we are obliged to place them too thick 
upon our kilns. The result is obvious; the hop naturally contains 
a quantity of moisture, the evaporation of which commences at the 
bottom and necessarily has to pass through the whole thickness, 
and unless great care is taken, with moderate heat, it becomes too 
hot and dense, and carries off a great proportion of the aromatic 
substance of the hop, and often changes its colour. Much, howe¬ 
ver, depends upon the cloth, as I have befoie observed, relative to 
the thickness on which hops may be spread ; on a cloth sufficiently 
open, they will do well six inches in depth, and perhaps some more; 
