VALUE OF HOPS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7527, 30 August 1886, Page 4

VALUE OF HOPS.

"'.-' /On this subject Dr. Taylor writes to : :* ':;-~itit\foArgitß as follows: — "Most housewives • '-. -' and hnrses'are acquainted with the sopo-. ' .' riiic properties of ' hop pillows ' for sleepless \>Atients, The • soothing qualities were 1 ■'%<< 'believed to reside in the resin 'of the '■'■; ,I'ferriale flowers' of, the plant, and .the '? ' ; ' : espe6ial property was named Hopeine. -V •'•':: 'As German chemist, Dr. Landeberg, . has v" • recently discovered that hopeine is iden- •:. v. tical'with 'morphine. Now, we don't em- ., •'■'-. ploy Hops along with malt (in our occasional use'ot these things for brewing) for „■"• ' ■ 'the sake only of either giving ale a bitter- *;'. ;' ness or of increasing its power to keep. -. '•..The fact is, hops are a stimulant. The .' ;-/" teetotaller may not know it_ when he ._.', drinks and praises the quality of his • Hppetta ' beer, but it is true. For the ■ ' ■ samereason we can understand why 'Hop " ■ ,•" Bitters' are popular— they are. stimulating. •' " -This may also be tho reason for the more -•'' '.-. drowsy character of the intoxication prov ' . ducedby malt liquors as compared with ' -.'- wines. Moreover, it will be noticed, :h: ■ that whon anybody substitutes other ; "a beverages for beer he generally prefers .-i bitter, substitutes. Speaking of hops ■ •'• "(and my remarks are in both cases suggested by papers which appeared in the . •;. -'last number of the Chemical Society's :■ . ' Journal), I note that experiments mdi- j >.'• cate the valuable character of the foliage . of this plant as fodder. Professor Wein : '"• ' - -finds that it closely approximates in its „: - i.' . : food value to meadow hay, clover,- and • V' ''ryegrassj whilst as regards its percentage .' 'of nitrogenous nutritive material, it ! . .is almost equal to , wheat, and rye •■ ' > " bran. Indeed, Professor Wein proved ..that hop stems and leaves are ' . '„' ,in every way superior to ordinary ' j ,"-:green- fodders. The practice of cooking ":'■'./' the young and undeveloped shoots of hops "(just as people do asparagus) has long ".' . been known to a select and privileged . '£'-; .few. .If the leave3are not developed, it • . is possible that even an experimenter for | . .the first time will prefer them to aspara",Y 'gnß. It is almost certain he will when he ,;'',' has' acquired a taste for them. I mention ": .. this, because in the selection of hop foliage 'r- for cattle fodder everything depends on • ■.- the condition . of the plants. The stems -V get.'fibrous and woody as they growoldei', - : ; - and' in such a state they are quite in- ■ ; nutritious. As hops will often grow ■•.•"'-•■ luxuriantly where clover, hay, rye, and, ; . '.' other ordinary fodder plants will not, I * consider this discovery of the food_ value of the hop plant as being highly impor- ,'- tant, and I don't know of any feeders to 'whom it is of more importance than those . of the Australian colonies."