92 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



sugar beets, the year before; nor should it be raised several 

 years in succession on the same field. 



The preparation of the seed-bed for barley is the same as 

 that for wheat or oats. In some parts of the country barley is 

 sown in autumn, but in most places it is sown in spring. 

 From one and a half to four bushels of seed per acre are 

 sown. Barley does not stool out much, hence a good deal of 

 seed is required. Barley should be harvested before it be- 

 comes over-ripe, and great care must be taken to shock it so 

 that the heads do not become discolored by rain and dew. 

 This care is necessary if the grain is to be sold to brewers. If 

 the grain is to be fed to live stock such care is not so necessary. 



There are not many varieties of barley. They are classified 

 as six-rowed, four-rowed, and two-rowed varieties, according 

 to the arrangement of the grains on the head. The varieties 

 may also be grouped as bearded and beardless. The beard- 

 less varieties are quite new and were developed because of the 

 strong objection by farmers to the beards on the common 

 barley. In most varieties the hull remains attached to the 

 kernel after threshing, but there are a few varieties in which 

 the kernels thresh out clean like wheat. 



Rice. — While rice is not grown in many states of the 

 Union, it has become such an important crop in some of 

 them that a brief mention of it here will not be out of place. 

 Rice furnishes food for more people than any other plant. 

 It is cultivated in the warm regions throughout the world. 

 In the United States its culture is limited to the Gulf States 

 and Arkansas. Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas produce 

 most of the rice raised in this country. 



Culture. — The rice plant grows best in a rich, clay loam 

 soil. The rice fields are usually located along streams or 



