Phipson. — Transformation of Barley into Malt. 331 



this is applied during the fifth and sixth days. This should 

 supply sufficient moisture to carry on germination until the 

 acrospire has reached about two-thirds or three-quarters up 

 the back of the corn, when germination has proceeded far 

 enough. 



Directly the cellulose has been all converted, all further 

 change in the barley-corn represents dead loss, so that when 

 we have accumulated sufficient cytase to remove the rest of the 

 cellulose tissue, the piece is thickened slightly and allowed 

 to remain for eighteen or twenty-four hours without turning. 

 By this means the growth is to a certain extent stopped, the 

 piece collects heat and loses moisture, and the rootlets become 

 shrivelled in appearance ; this part of the process is known as 

 "withering." On the floors working at the above temperatures 

 it will take about twelve days to arrive at the withering stage. 

 Working at a higher temperature, and using a larger quantity 

 of sprinkling-water, it would be possible to obtain the same 

 amount of growth in eight or nine days ; but in this case a 

 larger amount of carbo-hydrate and soluble nitrogenous matter 

 is formed in the germ than it has time to assimilate ; conse- 

 quently, these bodies would remain in the malt,, and pass over 

 into the brewer's wort, with disastrous results. 



During the later stages of growth upon the floors mould 

 will unfortunately begin to make an appearance, the damaged 

 and broken corns being the first attacked. For this reason 

 as many as possible of the broken corns are removed prior to 

 steeping ; but, although broken corns can be mechanically re- 

 moved, this does not apply to corns that are slightly skinned. 

 Hence, however careful the maltster may be, a certain amount 

 of mould is inevitable. For this the grower is almost entirely 

 to blame, the damage to the grain being either due to setting 

 the threshing-machine too close — and this is frequently done 

 intentionally, so as to break off the awn as short as possible, 

 and so give the barley a plump appearance — or because the 

 grower is anxious to get a large amount of grain threshed in 

 a given time, the machine, in consequence, being driven at too- 

 high a speed. It is not too much to say that much of the New 

 Zealand barley is really unfit for malting for this one reason- — 

 the grower will not realise that barley for malting should have 

 an awn. 



The withering stage having been completed, the grain is 

 now loaded on to the kiln, where it is subjected to two distinct 

 though continuous processes — viz., drying and curing. 



The object of drying is twofold — firstly, we want to effec- 

 tually arrest any further growth in the malt ; and, secondly, 

 we want to reduce the percentage of moisture existing at the 



