Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
June,  1875.  j 
Hop  Culture  in  Wisconsin. 
243 
120°  F.,  when  the  hops  have  become  thoroughly  warmed,  so  as  to  give 
out  their  moisture,  which  is  commonly  known  as  sweating.  Brim- 
stone is  burnt  on  the  stove  for  the  purpose  of  bleaching.  The  quantity 
of  brimstone  used  varies  according  to  the  condition  of  the  hop  :  when 
the  hop  is  bright  and  free  from  disease,  and  a  light-green  color  is  de~ 
sired,  only  two  or  three  pounds  are  used  to  a  kiln  of  about  twenty 
boxes  ;  but  when  a  bright  golden-yellow  color  is  required,  or  when  the 
hop  has  been  injured  by  disease  or  wind,  then  larger  quantities  are  re- 
quired, say  from  three  to  four  pounds,  or  even  as  high  as  live  or  six 
pounds.  The  brimstone  is  placed  in  a  small  dish  on  the  stove,  a  small 
quantity  at  a  time,  and  this  is  repeated  until  the  moisture  is  mostly  ex- 
pelled from  the  hop.  In  some  instances,  when  the  hop  has  been  injured, 
or  become  brown  on  the  vine,  the  bleaching  process  is  desired  to  be 
continued  after  the  natural  moisture  has  been  expelled.  In  this  case, 
sprinkling  the  hop  on  the  kiln,  or  setting  kettles  of  water  on  the  stove 
are  resorted  to.  The  time  required  to  dry  a  kiln  of  hops  is  about 
twelve  hours.  When  the  hop  is  a  little  green,  as  at  the  beginning  of 
the  picking  season,  more  time  is  required,  and,  at  the  close,  when  the 
hop  has  become  fully  ripe  and  does  not  contain  as  much  moisture,  less 
time  is  required.  The  heat  should  be  very  carefully  regulated,  not 
running  above  1 10°  or  120°  F.  in  the  commencement,  as  there  is  danger 
of  scorching  when  the  hop  is  full  of  moisture,  then  gradually  increasing 
the  heat  as  the  process  goes  on  to  i40°-i50°  F.  Great  care  is  neces- 
sary, that  the  temperature  may  not  be  allowed  to  recede  during  any 
stage  of  the  process,  as  the  steam  will  settle  back  on  the  hops  and  give 
them  a  dull,  darkish  color,  which  materially  lessens  their  market  value. 
The  drying  is  considered  complete,  when  one  hop  out  of  four  or  five  is 
found  brittle  when  taken  from  the  surface  of  different  parts  of  the  kiln. 
The  fires  are  then  suffered  to  die  out,  and  the  hops  allowed  to  remain 
on  the  kiln  until  cool,  the  doors  being  thrown  open  to  hasten  the  cool- 
ing. They  are  then  shoved  off  from  the  kiln  into  a  room,  called  a 
cooling-room,  where  they  are  allowed  to  lay  until  wanted  for  baling. 
They  should  be  examined  every  day  to  see  that  they  do  not  heat,  which 
is  sometimes  the  case  when  they  have  been  insufficiently  dried.  They 
should  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  cooling-room  four  or  five  days  before 
baling,  or,  better,  about  two  weeks,  when  not  in  haste  to  shove  them 
into  the  market,  as  they  are  then  not  required  to  be  dried  quite  so  much 
on  the  kiln,  and  allowed  to  finish  in  the  cooling-room,  which  makes  a 
softer,  silkier  sample,  and  one  not  as  liable  to  be  broken  and  powdered 
in  baling. 
