HOOSIER STATE. Indiana. See STATES, POPULAR NAMES OF.
HOP (from Mllutch hoppe, Dutch hop, OHG. hopfo, Ger. hopfen, hop, of doubtful origin), Hu mulus Lupulus. A perennial plant which be longs to the Urtieace•, or nettle family. The single species, a native of America and Eng land, where it is often found growing wild upon trees and shrubs, has given rise under cultivation to many varieties. The hop is a dicecious climb ing vine with rough stems and heart-shaped, three to seven lobed leaves. The pistillate flowers are the hop of commerce, used mainly in the manufacture of beer. Hop culture is not general like the culture of cereals, but is con fined to certain areas, comparatively limited in extent, which on account of soil and climatic con ditions are especially suited to the production of the crop. The principal hop-producing regions of the United States are New York and the Pacific Coast States. Wisconsin also produces a small quantity. In Europe hops are grown for the market in England, Bohemia, Germany, France. and Belgium. The hops from Kent in England and from Saaz and Auscha in Bohemia have long been considered of the finest quality throughout the world. In general, the hops are known in the European markets by the name of the locality in which they were grown. This serves as an in dication of their comparative quality and value.
The hop may be grown on a variety of soils, but it always requires a well-drained subsoil. It succeeds best on a moist, sandy loam. Soil con ditions are generally considered the most impor tant factor in determining the quality of the crop. In preparing land for hops it is plowed deeply and brought to a fine tilth. The hop is propagated by cuttings made from the under ground stems which the plant sends out near the surface of the ground. These cuttings are made and set out in the spring. In the 'United States the plants are usually placed about feet apart each way, but in European hop-fields the distance is about four feet. In this country one
male plant is grown per hundred or so, but in Europe as a rule only female plants arc grown, as the presence of seeds in the hops the flavor of certain beers made from them. The vines are either trained on poles or on wire trel lises. The latter method is gradually displacing the system of training on poles. During the growing season the soil is cultivated to keep it mellow and retentive of moisture and for the pur pose of killing the weeds. Harvesting is done by hand, and forms the hop-grower's busy sea son. as the hop deteriorates when exposed too long to the weather after it is ripe. The yield varies from 1000 to 3000 pounds per acre. \\lien the hops are harvested they are immediately cured by under cover or by drying in kilns constructed for that purpose. The cured product is pressed into bales of about 200 pounds each and is shipped in this form to distant mar kets. In Europe hops are generally shipped in large sacks without being baled. By the Ameri can Agriculturist, the crop of 1900 was estimated at 208,000 bales; 1901, 210,000; 1902, 195.500. The largest crop recorded was that of 1s94, which was estimated to be 320,000 hales.
The valuable principle of the hop is a yellow ish aromatic, resinous substance called lupulin, which has been found to contain two preservative or soft resins (oleoresins), and a non-preserva tive or bard resin. The preservative resins are the most valuable, since they are particularly un favorable to the growth of lactic ferments, hut not to the true yeast of beer. The deterioration of hops caused by exposure when mature, or by excessive drying, consists in the waste of the lupulin. To fulfill the requirements of the brewer the product must be a well-ripened hop. properly dried and with the resin and other qualities unimpaired.