38. AS to using barley in the making of beer, I have given it a full and fair trial twice over; and, I would recommend it to neither rich nor poor. The barley produces strength, though nothing like the malt; but, the beer is flat, even though you use half malt and half barley; and, flat beer lies heavy on the stomach, and, of course, besides the bad taste, is unwholesome. To pay 4s, 6d. tax upon every bushel of our own barley turned into malt, when the barley itself is not worth 3s. a bushel, is a horrid thing; but, as long as the owners of the land shall be so dastardly as to suffer themselves to be thus deprived of the use of their estates to favour the slave-drivers and plunderers of the East Indies, we must submit to the thing, incomprehensible to foreigners, and even to ourselves, as the submission may be.

39. With regard to Hops the quality is very various. At times when some sell for 5s. a pound, others sell for sixpence. Provided the purchaser understands he article, the quality is, of course, in proportion to the price. There are two things to be considered in hops: the power of preserving beer, and that of giving it pleasant flavour. Hops may be strong, and yet not good. They should be bright, have no leaves or pits of branches amongst them.