BREAD PLANTS 35 



transformation of starch to sugar has been com- 

 pleted. The grain is now heated, to kill the grow- 

 ing parts and dry the kernels. The process just 

 ended is called the "malting" of the grain. The 

 dry malt may be stored or shipped. Before being 

 used further it is ground into meal, then mixed with 

 water, which soaks out the sugar. The liquid 

 is now strained, and yeast is added to it, to set up 

 fermentation. Alcohol and carbonic acid gas 

 are two substances into which the sugar is trans- 

 formed. In the casks, the gas is confined, so that 

 when the beverage is drawn, it is liberated in the 

 bubbles that rise in foam at the top of the mug or 

 glass. The hops used keep the beer from souring. 

 By the same general process ale and porter are 

 made. Gin and whiskey are made by distilling 

 the alcohol from the light beverages. Beer con- 

 tains but 2 per cent, alcohol. 



Another fact that makes barley "the brewer's 

 grain," par excellence, is this: it grows in warm as 

 well as cold countries. Turkey and France and 

 California raise a great acreage of this grain for 

 the breweries. "Chevelier," the best variety 

 for brewing, is grown to perfection in the valley 

 land of the Coast Range. 



Wild barley has been found growing in western 

 Asia, but whether it escaped from cultivation, or 



