It

APPENDIX. 197

parties he went to aſk 1nforma tion from, preYious to this Work making its appearance, that he came very much prejudiced in favour of the part of the county he came from; and I was, in ſome meaſure, prepared for rather a partiality, which 1t is natural for us all to carry about us for our native‘ſpot; nevertheleſs, I did not expe, by much the largeſt plantation of England 4, and the origi- nal ſpot from whence the hops were diiperſed to other parts of it, ſhould have paſſed of with only five and a half ſhort lines, in which the whole growths are condemned in a lump in the words of Mr. Boys.“ This plantation ſome years grows great crops of hops; but the quality of them 1s much inferior to thoſe of Canterbury and Eaſt Kent.”—1In reply to this, I doubt not but he will find, from the kindlineſs of the land generally to the growth of hops, that on an average of all years, and particularly of the difficult ones, Middle Kent exceeds in quantity thoſe of Canterbury and Eaft Kent: and as to quality,

on the generality of good grounds, they cannot be ex-

) ceeded by any growing in England. Real judges of hops allow it. And the largeſt growths round Maidſtone, from the following places, Linton, Looſe, Otham, Eaſt and Weft Farley, W ateringbury, e Eaft and Weſt Peckham, Maidſtone, Eaſt and Weſt Sutton, Yalding, Hunton, Boughton, Malling, and many other places, where the ſoils are rocky, are principally conſumed by the London brewers; not but that there muft be fitua- tions where, in ſo VEIN large an CKtent, hops are planted of a very coarle ſort, becauſe no others will grow; but they are eafily diſtinguiſhed by the moſt common ob-

ſerver, by the largeneſs, coarſeneſs, and harſhneſs of the

leaf and feel; and they want condition, the moſt valu

+ Phe Car nterbury collection of duty takes in a very large proportion of the grounds cloſe to Maidſtone. able