COMPOSITION OF BARLEY 321 



442. The Embryo. — The embryo is very similar to that of 

 wheat. On account of the plmnule becoming twisted upon ger- 

 mination it is known as the acrospire. For good malt the 

 acrospire should be three-fourths the length of the grain, and 

 the radicle or root should be twice that length. 



443. Composition. — Barley grain is more carbonaceous than 

 either wheat or oats. The grain has more crude fiber on ac- 

 count of its hull ; otherwise its proximate composition is very 

 similar to wheat. An analysis of hulled barley is almost identi- 

 cal with that of wheat. Barley differs principally from maize 

 in having a less per cent of fat and higher per cent of crude 

 fiber. Oats contain about three times as much crude fiber as 

 barley ; yet the hull of barley is so tough that it is essential to 

 grind it before feeding it to domestic animals, while this is not 

 necessary with oats. 



Barley also has less fat and more starch, the starch taking 

 the place of the extra crude fiber in the oats. Barley straw is 

 similar to wheat straw, and barley hay has more protein and less 

 crude fiber than timothy hay. No summary of comparative 

 analyses of American grown two-rowed and six-rowed varieties 

 has been reported. Wahl has reported a two-rowed variety 

 (Chevalier) grown in Montana containing 9.23 per cent of pro- 

 tein and a six-rowed variety grown in Minnesota with 15.16 per 

 cent protein.^ 



444. Weight per Bushel. — The legal weight per bushel in 

 Canada and most of the States is forty-eight pounds. A 

 variation from forty-five to fifty pounds is to be found in other 

 States. Variations in weight of measured bushel from forty-two 

 to sixty-eight pounds have been recorded. Variations between 

 forty-five to fifty-five pounds are not uncommon. Hull-less barley 

 usually weighs about sixty pounds to the bushel. The weight 

 per bushel depends much upon the thoroughness with which 



i R. Wahl: High or low albumen content in barle}^ malt? 



