66 succession a fortnight or more apart. An early variety named the "Humphrey" is coming in great favor. This is succeeded in maturity by a leading kind named English Cluster," which in turn is followed by a later Canadian variety known as the "True Canada." A model yard made up of this succession, the property of Sylvester Gridley, of Waterville, New York, deserves special mention in this connection. The plant is subject in some seasons to the attacks of noxious insects, such as lice, and to mildew of the leaves and rust of the clusters; these evils must be borne with philosophical resignation by the grower, as there is no known preventive, or remedy within his reach. The commercial value is graded in five classes-fancy, strictly choice, medium and good brewing, and low grade-the best grade bringing fully 25 per cent more than the lowest. The great hop-raising district of New York State is described as beginning at a point 100 miles north of New York City, and extending northward about 50 miles, and westward about 150 miles. The climate is cold in winter, the mercury sometimes dropping 20° to 30° below zero. Its summers are seldom oppressively hot. The season, opening early and frost coming late, gives the hops plenty of time to develop and mature. The highly picturesque face of the country consists of great rolling hills, fertile to their very summits, and of charming valleys. The soil is a gravelly loam, taking kindly to the luxuriant growth of all tame grasses, making the country famous for its dairy as well as its hop industry. Hop-picking here is done by people congregated from the surrounding country and from distant cities and faroff districts. A close estimate of the annual expenses incurred by the grower for 1 acre in full bearing places actual cost at $37.77. With the average yield of 1,000 pounds per acre the cost of production of 1 pound of hops is 13 cents. Another estimate, taking into account the material advance of late years in price of poles, places the actual cost of 1 acre's crop at $178.40, or a fraction less than 15 cents per pound. The average selling price of hops in seventeen years, from 1865 to 1881, is given at 34 cents per pound. The largest acreage cultivated by individual growers is given as 168 acres, 125 acres, 75 acres, etc. (See Pl. xxxiv). The hop region of Washington Territory is the basin of the Puget Sound. This fertile lowland lies between two mountain ranges, running parallel with the Pacific coast. The basin is watered by various rivers fed by the snow-capped mountain peaks. One of the rivers is the Puyallup, famous already for its hop production along its banks, where the soil and climate are peculiarly suited to this culture. Rich crops of hops of highest quality are a never-failing certainty there. The famous plantations and drying kilns of E. Meeker & Co. are located there. The picking of the hop crop of the Territory is done by Indians, who come from all parts of Puget Sound, from British Columbia, and even from the confines of Alaska. (See Pls. XXXV and XXXVI.) The cost of producing the crop of 1 acre is estimated at $168. The average crop is 1,600 pounds per acre, making the cost of producing 10 cents per pound. The cost of picking and uncertainty of the timely arrival of sufficient numbers of straggling pickers are the only checks restraining this industry from assuming in the near future far greater proportions than at present. W. A. Lawrence of New York is inventor of an ingenious process of extracting the lupuline contents of the hop and preserving them in hermetically-sealed packages for future use, unimpaired by deterioration or loss of the aromatic essence. Extensive works, capable of extracting 20,000 pounds of hops per day, are in operation in Waterville, N. Y., which is the center of the hop region of that State. The value of the process so successfully conducted by the inventor must be apparent to every one acquainted with the fluctuations of the hop market, and with the losses sustained by growers in years of overproduction and low prices, scarcely covering the price of production, or with injuries sustained by the crop from outward |