THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
448 
September 18. 
of sulphur as a bleaching medium, and, consequently, 
large quantities of common roll brimstone are thrown 
on the tire soon after the Hops are laid on the kiln, and 
the ventilators being stopped up, the fumes are made to 
pass through the Hops, blanching them to that pale- 
buff, or lemon-colour, which John Bull has decreed to 
be “ excellence,” on the same principle that the China¬ 
man colours our tea, the confectioner our pickles, and 
that we court the other thousand and one absurdities, 
according to the evidence of the Lancet and other 
j papers. 
In the instance of Hops, there is, certainly, less excuse 
than for most things else; for if the object be merely 
to gratify the eye (which is all but universally admitted), 
the few who are so gratified exact a heavy contribution 
on the public at large for there are but few who see 
the Hops in a manufactured state, compared with those 
who are drinkers of beer; whereas, in most of the other 
articles, coloured or adulterated to please the eye, they 
come immediately before the consumer in that shape. 
But a more ugly question arises. Do the fumes of 
brimstone impart any deleterious quality to the Hop, or 
do they not ? This very important question has a right 
to be known ; and I confess that I have not heard any 
one acknowledge it did any good, beyond improving the 
appearance of the sample. Some driers affirm the Hops 
dry more quickly when sulphur is used. Granting this; 
is that any advantage to the quality of the article ? 
while I think few will admit that sulphur fumes are 
agreeable accompaniments to food or drink in other 
ways. Would any one like to eat a beefsteak cooked on a 
gridiron over a brimstone fire? and yet there is a greater 
similarity than many imagine. If the one is unpalat¬ 
able, the other is only less so by being diluted or coun¬ 
teracted by other things ; for, mtfst certainly, sulphur does 
not impart anything useful to the Hop which it did 
not possess before. 
I ought before to have observed that the brimstone 
is put on the fire at the commencement of the dryiug 
process, and that the fires are kept on for some hours 
alter it is done with, the whole drying occupying from 
eight to twelve hours, or a little more ; but, in a general 
way, two kiln-loads are done in the twenty-four hours, 
the process always going on night and day, and the 
loading regulated by the supply, but never exceeding a 
certain quantity. I may observe, that when charcoal is 
much used, a less quantity of sulphur is wanted, the 
| charcoal containing a little of that article, or something 
i analogous to it within itself. Coke has not so much ; 
and one little benefit the men employed affirm is, that 
! after the fumes of sulphur have passed through the 
: Hops they lie more light; this may possibly be owing 
: to the air amongst them being more rarified, or some 
j like cause occasioned by the expulsion of the ordinary 
j atmosphere. One thing is certain, that the fumes of 
| sulphur passing through the Hops become, in a great 
i measure, divested of their deadly quality; for though 
vegetation near at hand will suffer a little by its falling 
upon them, it is not to the extent that might have been 
expected; therefore, some of its poisonous qualities 
must remain amongst the Hops, and certainly to their 
injury. 
The subsequent treatment of Hops may be easily 
guessed at; they lie on the kiln, as above, until they are 
turned over, and shortly after are taken off and spread 
over an airy loft adjoining to cool, when they are packed 
in large bags for market, the packing being done by a 
man treading them in, the bag being suspended at the 
time; but immediately tho kiln is emptied, it is loaded 
again, and the same process is going on as before. 
The whole process has, like that of many others, 
worked itself into such a system of routine, that it would 
be difficult to alter, excepting some high authority, like 
the republic of brewers, were to issue forth a decree 
forbidding the use of sulphur in the drying, as they 
have done against its employment in the growth of 
Hops, and then we might see if there be any use or any 
harm in the sulphur; for most likely the party inter¬ 
ested would find an organ somewhere. 
In the present case, the growers are far from satisfied 
that the losses said to bo sustained by some of the 
London brewers have been by sulphured Hops, as 
affirmed in the manifesto of their factors and one of the 
most popular brewers in Kent, himself being a grower 
of Hops, has come forward and affirmed that he has 
used sulphur to his growing Hops rather extensively 
for the last six years, and found no detriment to his 
beer. In the latter respect, I believe hundreds will bear 
him out. The Editor of a contemporary paper also takes 
up the matter; but his remarks tend rather to mystify 
the matter than clear it; for he finds fault with the 
factors’ circular, intimating that the sulphur is incor¬ 
porated into the Hop, forgetting, at the same time, if the 
sulphur be adhering any way to the scales forming the 
Hop, or mingled with the pollen constituting its prin¬ 
cipal bitter, it is still there, and, perhaps, in greater 
strength than if it passed through the tissues of the 
plant; and I do not know how r it could be applied to 
benefit the plant and overcome the mould, without a 
considerable part being likely to adhere to, and ulti¬ 
mately be carried away with the Hop at picking time. 
I Here, theu, is the question upon which, at the present 
! time, public opinion is much divided, and which may 
be divided into several heads, somewhat as under:— 
1st. Does sulphur, assiduously applied, overcome the 
mould in all cases? and can it be profitably done 
without injury to the Hop plant? 
2nd. Do sulphured Hops injure the beer brewed with 
them ? 
3rd. Is the application of sulphur in the drying of 
Hops injurious? The mere appearance of the 
Hops in this case being set aside ? 
4th. Is there any other remedy for the evils com¬ 
plained of in sulphur that can be usefully and 
profitably applied instead of that article ? 
With the opening of these questions, I find I must 
close for the present, but not without promise of recur¬ 
ring to it again. I confess being unable to give a 
decided opinion on it any way ; for those whose expe¬ 
rience has been gained at the expense of scores of 
pounds, seem much divided on the qualities of sulphur 
as an antidote to “ mould” ; and it is only fair to sup¬ 
pose the Hop-merchants aro equally accurate in the 
conclusions they have come to. But the whole matter 
is one of facts, and, however high the standing may be 
of any party who assumes to be a law-giver in the 
case, the evidence of half-a-dozen credible witnesses 
of facts of an opposite tendency must weigh down his 
opinion. I may, however, observe, that no one has 
assailed the use of sulphur in the drying, that I know 
of; but if it be hurtful in oue case, 1 think it must be 
so in another. J. Robson. 
DEEP CALLING UNTO DEEP. 
By the Authoress of “My Flowers." 
Affliction and sufferings are by no means signs of God's 
wrath towards the children of men. What a blessed con¬ 
solation it is to feel this! Rather are they evidences of 
His love and good-will to sinners; for either they are 
intended as pruning strokes to cause the fruitful branch to 
bear “ more fruit," or as a digging strokes, to see whether the 
unfruitful tree will yet bud and blossom to the praise and 
glory of God. There is more real wrath apparent to the 
eye of a believer wlion he sees people floumhing like green 
bay-trees, and that “ are not in trouble as other men, 
neither are plagued liko other men.” The chili of God is 
