SOME VARIETIES OF HUSKLESS BARLEY FROM THIBET. 31 
The cultivation of the white huskless variety has been carried 
on with considerable success in the Punjab, where it is known as 
wheat-barley. You will notice how very closely it resembles 
wheat in its general appearance—so closely, in fact, that it quite 
deceived* one of my friends, who has had a large experience in 
corn. So convinced was he that it was wheat, and not barley, 
that he took a sample away with him with the intention of grow- 
ing it, and proving me wrong. 
This similarity to wheat is certainly not without its dangers, 
and, in fact, grave objections to its cultivation have been made 
by some of the Indian authorities, on account of the ready 
manner in which it can be fraudulently mixed with the native 
wheats. Whether this objection is a serious one or not I cannot 
say. 
This white skinless barley just described is a two-rowed barley, 
as you may see from the specimens of the complete plant, which 
Mr. Duthie has sent to me from India. 
The second variety, the green barley, is four-rowed, and grows 
on avery short spike. The Aalee of this barley are somewhat 
more adherent to the grain than are those of the other two kinds. 
The chocolate barley, from the same district, is very remark- 
able. It is a two-rowed barley, with a very slender straw, and the 
peculiar colour is not confined to the grain only, but occurs also 
in the nodes of the straw, which even at an early period of growth 
are coloured a very dark purple. The ear itself is two-rowed. 
The colour is not diffused through the Aa/ee, as it is in black 
Abyssinian or black Scotch barley, but is confined to the 
integuments of the caryopsis. When microscopically examined, 
the inner portions of the pericarp (endocarp) immediately adjacent 
to the testa are seen to be charged with a very dark purple 
pigment, appearing in mass almost black. This pigment is fairly 
soluble in water, and probably consists of modified chlorophyll. 
I have cultivated both the white and black varieties of barley 
during the summer of 1890 with variable results, and have 
succeeded in raising from the latter a sufficient quantity of seed 
for future experiments in a similar direction. 
