Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-09-25

HE following article, written some
years ago by r. Van Horn, Pierstown, n.
l., IS timely now, and may be of great
service to inexperienced hop. growers:
In the first place, no grower should raise
more hops than he has kiln or kilns with
capacity TO dry within eight or twelve
hours after picking; for instance, hons
picked to day should be cured or taken of
OF Kiln as soon rs possible in the morn
ing, tor the kiln to cool off, and the hops
picked in the forenoon, tomorrow, if not
sufficient for kiln, should be spread on
kiln and lay until night, when the balance
should be put on and fire started imme-
dlately, and good strong heat kept UP
from four to six hours, the exact time de
pending somewhat ON the height of the
KIN ana the thickness Of the hops spread
on, which never should be more than
rom twelve to fifteen inches The longer
the hops hang on the poles, and the near
er they come to maturity, the less heat
and time 1t takes to cure them. The kiln
should have plenty of air below, not one
half OF them having one-half enough
also draft enough above to let the steam
escape.
Hops never should be turned on the
KIN. some time, or any time when they
are DRIED, so the hops on the top open and
tae steam has all escaped, it will do to go
through them with scraper or the feet,
ana NIX them. One great trouble is,
most OF the hops are over-dried, which in
lures the flavor. This is done by keeping
the neat up after the hops are nearly dried
through. n sack or bag of hops. if ten
Dushei boxes, weighs from forty-fve to
hlty-fye pounds, which depends on the
If no =
same, and something on the weather, as
hops wilt and settle more in warm DAYS
than cool ones, and weigh from fourteen
to seventeen pounds, when cured. and
sometimes, If picked clean, twenty pounds
to the box after being cured This is TO
show you what moisture has to be taken
out of a box of green hops, which | sun
pose must escape in the steam.
Diseased or moldy hops require more
heat and more close attention than a
sound hop; and often hops diseased will
be very bad at the bottom fthe poles, and
some at top of poles sound, as was my
friend Dorr Russcll's, in 1867. | fOuud
by taking them off the kiln hot, that the
diseased hops, which had begun decom.
posing when picked, almost all break UP.
leaving sound hops to show-as when
examined by dealers they always open a
whole hop.
Now as TO using birthstone: As a
general thing there is too much used OF
course 1t depends on what condition the
hops come of the poles; there is kind
OF rust on hops that birthstone will help.
ana there IS sort of canker comes on
hops that birthstone will not affect; and
there Is one kind of green hop that NAV
be benefited by using birthstone, making
them straw-col0r; and there is another
kind of green hop it had better be kept off
entirely. II the dryer is good Judge, he
viii make the proper distinction.
One thing more: Growers often pick
hops too soon and then birthstone too
strong, TO make them look as if they had
come To maturity. | have ALWAYS used
more or less birthstone, still | hold that
no hop has that fine, sweet flavor. that a
really good judge can detect, when brim-
stone has been used; my mode of using it
Is to use Little after the first fire, if they
need 1t, for three or four hours, and by no
means use too much at time, but often
ana IN small quantities as the hops" may
require. Still | think, as a general thing.
hops would suit brewers better if there
was never another pound of birthstone
used.