The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-07-20
Highest Leavenng Powe-U. Govt Report Arg 1889
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ABSOLUTELY PURE

reporter the other day that the hop trade was
fiourishing in spite of the cries of hard times"
The worse times are he said, ''the more
businesses are stagnant The unfortunate drink
70 drown their sorrow. bartenders treat oftener
to keep good customers from swearing of, and
those who are well off help the needy"
The hop trade is one of the most uncertain
thugs in the world In 1852 New York dealers
paid 81, p pound for hops. and good crop has
also sold for as low as cents pound. Growers
have frequently refused to sell when the market
price was at 80 cents.
Hop picking begins in this state abort the
middle of September, and gives employment 10
many young women. The hops are gathered In
great boxes holding from eight to twelve bush.
els. The girls receive about 10 cent? q bushel
for picking. Men are employed for the harder
work of pulling up the poles and placing the
vines where the hops can be conveniently
reached by the women. These poles are from
eighteen to twenty feet long, of cedar or tama-
rack, and come from Canada The large boxes
are removed as occasion requires and in few
days the hops are oil gathered and the girls are
ready for the next farmer. From the boxes, the
hops are bagged and taken TO the kilns for
curing, after which they are packed for the
market in bales containing from $50 to 220
pounds
Most of the hops now grown I'm this country
come from this state and the Pacific coast. Wis
consin was few years ago large hop producing
state, but the sharp competition OF the Pacific
coast has dwaried her former annual area OF
100000 acres 10 something less than 5000. New
York has suffered more less from the same
cause, but Oneida, Chenango, Otsego, Madison,
Schoharie, Montgomery, franklin, Herkimer
and few other counties OF the Empire states
which still grow an immense amount of hops.
have not kept pace with the ever-increasing de-
mand caused by the steady advance in the pop
ulatIon of the country.
The English are fond of declaring to outside
barbarians that the excelleney of their beer
compared with that of America is that 'we
haven't got the ops, you know" Nothing
English beer is made of American and German
hops and whenever this volatile product fails
in one or two OF the three countries that produce
it, English beer is made of the hops of the
country where the crop Is an average or heavy
one. English beer 10 therefore made of Arner-
can hops some years and German hops in other
years. and not even the keenest critic
could tell the difference Some Englishmen
pretend TO be able TO distinguish certain foreign
flavor, but il is merely prejudice, and the tight
little island" is as effectually fooled it is in
the matter of American cheese, American beef,
and hundred other articles. America at pres
ent is sending more hops to England than is
Germany, Notwithstanding the great difference in
distances, freight charges and insurance. Hops
are, therefore, INTERCHANGEABLE articles OF ex-
port and import for all three countries, and in
stances are not few where hops impCTted from
one country have been re-exported Enen prices
warranted New York hop merchants frequently
go to London one year 10 purchase aud the next
to sell. Surely there is no such thing as carry
ing Goals to Newcastle in the matter Of hops.
The import duty on foreign hops is - cents
pound The present price OF American hops ia
from % to 30 cents pound, and foreign 50 to IS
cents. The fact that Budweiser, kulmbacher,
Thuringer and Bavarian beers are much dearer
here than native beer 10 accounted for in the
import duty, and the fact that these beers
always made of German hops, and "bitter beer
is so called because it contains an extra guam
tity OF hops.
New hops are better than old hops as a rule,
but this is not always true. nor has size any
thing to do with the price. Hop dealers gener-
ally have on hand quantities of the crops OF
several years, and prices go lower in proportion
TO age.
Although it only requires pound and a half
or two pounds OF hops for a barrel OF beer,
ninety-nine out of a hundred pounds of this
wonderful product is used for ale and beer, and
the remaining small fraction finds its way into
hypnotic pillows, yeast, drug stores and the
arts America sends no beer to beer-drinking
countries. The exports of beer are mainly to
South and Central America, the West Indies
and Mexico.