178 On Malting. 



sirous of carrying it more than three-foirths up. All of 

 ihcm maintained that the barley might be perfectly malted 

 beyond the acrospire, and that driving it up to, or beyond 

 tlif e;id of the grain would spend the iuoide, and make the 

 niah ie.ss productive. 



My enquiry was not limited to the common workmen, 

 for 1 endeavoured to select and converse with many of th« 

 nicist inteiiigtnt and best informed masters; and I met with 

 several '.\ ho afforded much useful information. Some of 

 them had woiked many years themselves, and their malt 

 was in the highest repute in the markets ; their account of 

 the process ot making was to the tolhiwing effect : That 

 the cistern water was aniply sufficient when the working 

 was properly conducted, for the malting of every variety of 

 barleys. That they luid malted barleys from every kind of 

 light and heaw soils, and horn almost every country, even 

 as far as Scotland on the one hand, and Devonshire on the 

 other; and they considered it as eatirelv groundless to ima- 

 gine that there did any where exist a kind of barley which 

 required wateruig ou the floors more than the Hertfordshire. 

 Their ideas were the contrary ; for the more inferior the 

 barley was. the more readily it would spend itself by running 

 oi!l in a quick vegetation ; and the less there was of the ori- 

 ginal su!)Stance, the less of it could be spared in the process 

 of malting it; whereas their own large plump corn would, 

 if the thing were necessary, stand watering on the floors 

 beyond any other kind, less bold and abundant in body. 

 Nevertheless, though the fact reallv was that their own large 

 grain would -tand watering better than anv other of an in- 

 ferior qualilv, thev were well convinced, that were they to 

 practise w.Uering, their malis would be light, and much in- 

 ferior to those which thev now make without watering; and 

 they eonsidered it as a case almost self-evident, that if their 

 own tuli -sized barleys could be well and even best malted 

 without watering, the maltingof all other inferior kinds might 

 •fee still easier accomplished in the san>e vvav. 



They were a»l of opinion, that weight is the best criterica 

 of good malt, when the grain is perfectly malted, and this 

 .was now so well known in the market, that weiglit a'hd ten- 

 derness 



