THE MICROSCOPE. lo^ 



BARLEY, RYE, OAT AND BUCKWHEAT. 



BY MRS. L. R. STOWELL, M. S., FROM PART II. OF ''MICROSCOPICAL 



DIAGNOSIS." 



BARLEY is found principally in the temperate region. There 

 are four distinct species and from these many old varieties 

 have been cultivated and new varieties are yet being developed. 

 Barley is the most hardy of all the cereals, its limit of culti- 

 vation extending farther north than any other, and at the same 

 time it can profitably be cultivated in some of the tropical 

 countries. Pliny claimed that barley was the most ancient food 

 of mankind. No less than three varieties have been found in 

 the lake dwellings of Switzerland, in deposits belonging to the 

 stone period. According to Professor Heer two of the kinds 

 found there are the most common varieties of to-day. The 

 smallest, the most common, and the most ancient known, is 

 the hordeum hextasfichum sanctum. The Goddess Ceres generally 

 has ears of this variety decorating her hair, while it is also 

 found stamped upon ancient coins. 



Barley has formed an important article of food in some 

 of the northern countries, but on account of its deficiency in 

 gluten as compared with wheat, it can never be a popular flour 

 for making bread. It has some redeeming qualities, however, 

 for we are told the Greek athletes were trained on this diet. 

 As to importance both in an agricultural and commercial point 

 of view barley is the grain crop ranking next to wheat. It is 

 cultivated principally for malting purposes, and of all the cereals 

 is the best adapted for this, containing as it does more starch 

 and less gluten, and about 7 per cent, of ready formed grape 

 sugar. Good barley should have a thin, clean, wrinkled husk 

 closely adhering to a full, plump kernel, which when broken 

 appears white and sweet, with a germ full and of a pale yel- 

 low color. 



The fruit coats of a grain of barley differ considerably from 

 those of wheat. There are four layers of longitudinally arranged 

 cells. The walls of the outer layer are wavy, but not beaded 

 as in wheat. There are three layers of transverse cells and 

 the walls are not wavy. There are also generally three layers 

 of cells containing the gluten or nitrogenous substances. All 



