512 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



BARLEY, 



Wisconsin Pedigree — This is the common six-row white barley and is 

 a very dependable sort. The Wisconsin Pedigree is a selection of Oder- 

 brucker variety, made by the Wisconsin Experiment Station, 



Michigan Black Barbless — This is a six-row black barley with smooth 

 awns (beards). This is one of Professor F. A. Spragg's selections and 

 has been giving very good resnlts throughout the State when groAvn on 

 a fairly fertile soil. It is a short-strawed type, and on lighter soils, 

 quite frequently is so short as to be difficult to harvest. In the fields, 

 this barley does not create a very favorable impression because the heads 

 appear to be small. This is due to its short compact head, while the old 

 type, like Wisconsin Pedigree is very loose and open, giving the appear- 

 ance of a much larger head than it really is. 



Michigan Two-Row — This is a two-row white barley, has a tendency 

 toward a weak straw, which under our humid conditions, causes lodging 

 on our more fertile soils. 



TABLE 14 — BARLEY YIELDS IN THE UPPER PENINSULA. 



A careful study of these data shows that in all tests, whether taken 

 individually or as an average, these three varieties have ranked as fol- 

 lows: Michigan Black Barbless, first; Michigan Two-Row, second; and 

 Wisconsin Pedigree, third; except in two instances, when the Black Barb- 

 less and Michigan Two-Row were reversed. It is not desirable at this 

 time to recommend one of these varieties over the other, but every com- 

 munity should have a carefully managed barley demonstration to de- 

 termine which is best for their conditions and this should be supple- 

 mented by data obtained from fields. Barley is becoming more and 

 more the important grain crop of the section, and we should grow the 

 best. 



