May 04, 2026
HOP
The Hop (Humulus Lupulus) is referred to in an old English proverb:—
“Till St. James’s day be come and gone,
There may be Hops and there may be none.”
The cultivated Hop, however, was not brought into England until the reign of Henry VIII., when it was imported from Flanders, as recorded in the distich:—
“Hops and turkeys, mackerel and beer,
Came to England all in one year.”
The Hop-leaf has become in Russia proverbial as the best of leaves. King Vladimir, in 985, when signing a peace with the Bulgars, swore to keep it till stone swam on the water, or Hop-leaves sank to the bottom. It is a very old custom in Russia to cover the head of a bride with Hop-leaves—typifying joy, abundance, and intoxication.
Astrologers place Hops under the rule of Mars.