49 



threshing, cleaning and grading the grain. The fault lies partly with the farmer, 

 who must exercise more care in handling this crop if it is to bring him its full value. 

 In a letter written by a practical Canadian maltster who recently visited England 

 in connection with the barley business of his firm, he says, when referring to the dis- 

 appointing sales : " Shippers have not kept faith with the bi-okers or purchasers as to 

 quality, the bulk was not equal to the sample." Again, "All brewers who saw the 

 Government farm samples at the brewers' exhibition were charmed with them, and 

 millions could have been sold, but the general crop did not equal the samples. I 

 may say that unless the Canadian barley can be threshed so as to avoid the large 

 proportion of half and broken grains, which cause excessive mould on the floors, 

 the trade won't materialize. All English maltsters agree on this point." This gen- 

 tleman speaks quite hopefully of the Canadian six-rowed barley for the English 

 market, and says it is beginning to find favour with several maltsters who have 

 tried it. 



Other Canadian dealers speak more hopefully of the two-rowed barley trade. 

 One says : " The two-rowed barley we have handled this season, grown from Eng- 

 lish seed, has given us the best of satisfaction, and I believe that all that has gone 

 forward to the old country would have done likewise had it not been badly mixed." 



Another buyer who visited England in connection with his barley business 

 writes : " In November sales were made in Great Britain by sample to arrive of 

 both two-rowed and six-rowed. The former was received with much favour by 

 maltsters ; the latter did not attract much attention. I am not, however, surprised 

 that the demand for expoit has fallen oS, for many sales were filled with shipments 

 quite inferior to the sample ; the result was disappointment and resentment on the 

 part of the receivers." He says, further : " It is a mistake to suppose that the Eng- 

 lish maltster does not require colour; he does, and the bright sample will in every 

 case take the market there, as in the United States. I desire to impress strongly 

 on farmers the necessity of growing from pure seed, and in harvesting and thresh- 

 ing to carefully avoid mixing. I found a very kindly feeling expressed towards 

 Canada, and a marked desire to trade with her. I am convinced that if we can 

 grow as good barley as we have done this year, and if it is kept pure, we will work 

 into a good trade with the English maltsters." 



Enough has, I think, been said to show that if the Canadian farmer will exercise 

 the requisite care in the selection of good, clean seed and in the cultivation of this 

 grain, also in threshing and cleaning it for the market, avoiding all mixing ; and if 

 the shipper will see that the bulk of the grain he sends is equal to the samples for- 

 warded, there seems no reason to doubt that a satisfactory trade in two-rowed barley 

 can be established. The maltster in Great Bi-itain is willing to pay a good price for 

 a first-class article. 



EESULTS OF EARLY, MEDIUM AND LATE SOWING. 



Experiments in this important line of work have been continued, but the same 

 varieties of grain have not been used in every instance. In the experiments con- 

 ducted in 1890 the Eed Fife and Ladoga were the sorts of spring wheat chosen ; in 

 1891 the varieties were Campbell's White Chaff and White Connell. The oats in 

 1890 were Prize Cluster and Early Race Horse, in 1891 Prize Cluster and Banner, 

 and the barleys which, in 1890, were two varieties of two-rowed, the Prize Prolitic 

 and Danish Chevalier, were changed in 1891 to one of two- rowed, the Prize Prolific, 

 and one of six-rowed, the Baxter. 



The method adopted in 1890 of six successive sowings a week apart was repeated 

 in 1891, the first sowing in each case being made as soon as the land was fit to 

 receive the seed. The same land was used in both instances, but the arrangement 

 of the plots was changed, so that the oats followed wheat, barley followed oats and 

 wheat followed barley. The land was ploughed in the autumn of 1890, and received 

 a coating of manure of from 20 to 24 tons to the acre in the spring of 1891, which 

 was promptly covered after spreading by a light ploughing. 

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