Now as there is
still no planting of hops in the north, though a great consumption,
and the consumption increasing daily, this, says my friend, is one
reason why at Stourbridge fair there is so great a demand for the
hops. He added, that besides this, there were very few hops, if
any worth naming, growing in all the counties even on this side
Trent, which were above forty miles from London; those counties
depending on Stourbridge fair for their supply, so the counties of
Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Northampton, Lincoln,
Leicester, Rutland, and even to Stafford, Warwick, and
Worcestershire, bought most if not all of their hops at Stourbridge
fair.
These are the reasons why so great a quantity of hops are seen at
this fair, as that it is incredible, considering, too, how remote
from this fair the growth of them is as above.
This is likewise a testimony of the prodigious resort of the
trading people of all parts of England to this fair; the quantity
of hops that have been sold at one of these fairs is diversely
reported, and some affirm it to be so great, that I dare not copy
after them; but without doubt it is a surprising account,
especially in a cheap year.
The next article brought thither is wool, and this of several
sorts, but principally fleece wool, out of Lincolnshire, where the
longest staple is found; the sheep of those countries being of the
largest breed.
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