HOP

The /tumulus lupulus of Linna'us, the female flowers of which are used for imparling a bitter flavour to malt liquors for the purpose of preserving them from fermentation.The hop plant is a perennial indigenous to Britain and different parts of Europe; but to produce abandonee of hops, it requires to be very carefully cultivated in good soil, and even then is one of the most precarious of crape, The fields in which hoi is are grown are common Iv called hop gardens: a loamy soil on a dry subsoil is chosen, and the plants are placed in hills, stools, or groups of three or four in a group, the hills being in rows five or six feet apart, and at about the same distance; in the row. A full crop is not produced till the fourth or fifth year after planting. Every year the ground la dug in winter, and kept clear of weeds during summer; and the hills have poles, generally three or four to a hill, for the plants to twine on: the purchase of these pi les. the fixing them in the soil ever}' spring, the taking them down and stacking them every autumn, and tlit ir removal every five, si\, eight, or ten years, according to the kind of wood need, constitute a considerable part of the expense of hop culture. The hops, when mature, are picked by hand, nnd as they are picked they are carried to a drying kiln, dried, and packed into bags or pockets: and this is also an expensive proce . The In p plant is particularly liable to be injured by insects, by cold and Continued rains, and by thunder storms; in consequence of which, it is estimated that a full crop is nut obtained nftener than above once in five years. Hence it is easy to conceive that the price of Imps must vary greatly in different years, an I that the grower who bat a command of capital may profit largely by keeping them back from market when the prices are low, and only excising Itiem when they are high. In order to keep hops for two or three years, they require to he powerfully compre ed, and put into much closer canva bags than when they arc to be sent immediately to market; they also require to be kept in dry airy lofts, neither too warm nor tio cold. The culture of hops was introduced into England from Flanders in the reign of Henry VIII. The must extensive plantations are In Kent, Su ex, nnd Here ford shire; but they are cultivated to a considerable extent in many other counties. The hop-growers arc placed under the surveillance of the excise, a duty of 18s. 8el per cwt. being charged upon nil hops grown in this country. In 1837, the number of acres of land under cultivation of hope was 56,323; and in the same year the duty amounted to X310.71I4 4*., of which Kent contributed nearly one half. [s. 579]