An entire plantation would not perhaps cost quite so much, but the estimate is given, and seems to be pretty generally accepted, as a "fair average." This estimate is framed on a Weald of Kent plantation, and the cost of a plantation in Mid Kent is confessedly higher, but then the Mid Kent hops bring higher prices than those grown in the Weald. The first year produces no crop, and that of the second is very trifling, so that an idea of the hazard incurred in hop growing looks rather startling. As a measure of the precariousness of the culture, I give, on the same authority, a summary of the produce and money receipts of a hop plantation in the Weald of Kent for ten years, from 1835 to 1844; during which time the price of the hops sold ranged between 48s. and 150s. per cwt.

CHAPTER V.

QUALITY AND KEEPING OF HOPS.

STATISTICS OF CULTURE

AND PRODUCTION IN ENGLAND.

THE following extract from Tizard gives an opinion on some of the varieties of hops:

"Farnhams," he states, "are in high repute, though not worth the price the brewer usually gives for them, unless the proximity of his residence be a consideration in their favour. The North Clays are rankest in taste, and fetch a better price with a certain class of buyers than those from Kent, though not generally so high as the Farnham variety. Those grown in the neighbourhood of Canterbury have been much prized for their superiority, but that is not invariable. The produce of the county of Kent, though pre-eminent both for strength and flavour, differs according to soil and season, which are not always adapted to each other. The Wealds are celebrated in some of the southern and midland counties, but in those more north, as Cheshire and Lancashire, the Worcesters are preferred for their mildness, and for the grateful sensation they yield; some use a few Sussex or Kents with them, but most brewers in the counties just referred to reject the growth of Kent as unpleasing to their customers.

"But however good the produce of any district may be in general, it must not be supposed that there are no bad samples of those varieties. Such bags should be chosen as are heaviest, because it is the farina which gives weight, and

hops which lose a part of it from fine weather or over ripeness in picking or turning on the oast, will considerably diminish in gravity.

"They should feel clammy when handled, should be uniform in colour, without greenish particles in the flower, and full of hard seeds, and farina or condition. Mould may be discovered in the sample by the strig of the flower being partly bare of leaf. Particular attention must also be paid to crust, proceeding from damp or bad keeping, as it injures the quality more than age.

"New hops, like new teas, have a larger proportion of volatile oil than old hops, and there is a strife amongst the growers to bring the earliest supply to the market."

English hops, well prepared and especially well packed, soon acquired a high and merited reputation; then Germany and Austria began to give increased attention to the cultivation and preparation of hops, and selected fine and delicate species. There are several varieties distinguished on the Continent, such as common hops, those in which the cones are formed of large and thick bracts, at the base of which are found small resiniferous yellow grains of an aromatic and bitter flavour. The Flanders hops have also large cones, thick with short dense bracts and dry lupuline. The English hops are strong, of a rough flavour, the bracts and cones large. The German hops have the delicate bracts on the cones, of the colour of Sienna earth; the lupuline grains are small, transparent, and oily to the touch, adhering to the fingers.

It is highly necessary that brewers should have determined for them the quality of the hops they employ, because according to the quantity of aromatic matter which they

contain will the useful principles to be extracted be found more or less active. It is not, however, alone this bitter principle which is useful in brewing, because we find among the components of the hop, tannin, a colouring matter, gum, resin, &c., each of which elements has some effect upon the beer. Thus an-analysis of hops shows the following:

At the London Exhibition of 1862 this important product was represented by samples from every hop-producing district of England, from two British colonies, from twelve European countries, and from the Northern States of America. The jury in their Report stated, that in regard to delicacy of flavour, brightness of colour, and perfection of curing, English hops maintain their well-merited high reputation. In strength or amount of lupuline the hops from Bavaria and Bohemia can hardly be surpassed, while, for the most part, their curing was excellent.

The samples from other German states (often represented as Bavarian) are generally of fair moderate strength and flavour, but too often badly cured, and packed with too many green leaves.

France exhibited hops from Alsace and Lorraine, of excellent flavour, but somewhat deficient in strength. They were carefully picked, and in some cases very well cured.

From Belgium most of the samples exhibited the usual fault of hops from that kingdom, being badly picked, with too much stalk and green leaves, and with a smell of smoke from bad curing.

The hops from Canada and the United States still exhibit the disagreeable flavour which renders them quite unsuitable for fine qualities of ales.

Hops were also shown from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Greece, but of very inferior quality.

Portugal exhibited samples of wild hops, which seem to indicate the possibility of successful cultivation there.

The hops must on no account be gathered until the seed is perfectly ripe, as it is only then that the bitter quality is fully developed. The ripeness of the hops can be ascertained by rubbing them between the fingers; if an oily matter remains, with a strong odour, they are fit for gathering.

The aroma, which is very agreeable, is extremely volatile, and hence the necessity for closely packing the hops, as is done in practice when they are to be preserved. Under any circumstances, however, much of the aroma of the hops will be lost by keeping, a circumstance rendering it indispensable that they should be used as fresh as possible, especially in the manufacture of superior descriptions of ale and beer.

Preservation of Hops.-The hop plant cannot, like grain, be preserved for an indefinitely prolonged time without undergoing some modification, even under the most favourable circumstances, for its preservation. If hops are kept exposed to the air they deteriorate materially; while grain may very well be kept to be employed the next year, hops, on the contrary, will have considerably declined in value, and this chiefly on