913 



BARLEY. 



BARLEY. 



911 



labour at the busy time of sowing, but it cannot be avoided ; the 

 experience and judgment of the cultivator must direct him as to 

 the best mode of proceeding, ever bearing in mind that it is an 

 irretrievable error to sow barley on land not properly pulverised, and 

 that, if it is once fine and dry, a little delay in the sowing is of much 

 less importance. It can scarcely be too dry on the surface at the time 

 of sowing, at least in this climate ; and, provided a few showers supply 

 the moisture necessary to make it vegetate and spring up, there is no 

 great danger to be apprehended from too dry weather. Barley has been 

 known to grow and ripen, when not a single shower refreshed the soil 

 from the day it was sown to that in which it was reaped. 



When the soil is of a strong, compact nature, but fertile, and turnips 

 cannot be well fed off the land, nor taken off in carts, on account of the 

 damage which would be done to the soft moist soil in winter, by the 

 tread of the sheep, or the wheels of the carts, recourse is sometimes 

 had to a limy fallow during eighteen months, from harvest till the 

 second spring, giving the land the benefit of two winters' frosts, a 

 tillage in autumn, in summer, and in two springs. Thus the laud is 

 perfectly cleaned, and, if properly managed, quite mellow and fine; 

 and the barley sown on such land always produces a crop, not only 

 abundant, but of the best quality ; so that the lines of Virgil in his 

 ' Georgics,' i. 48, whether literally applicable or not, are verified in 

 the result : 



" Ilia sepes demnm rolls respondet avari 

 Agricote, bis quae solem, bis frigora sensit." 



This practice has been alluded to in the article AKABLE LAND, and 

 is common in the heavier soils of Essex and Suffolk. The loss of time 

 by so long a fallow is amply repaid by the state of the land and the 

 subsequent crops. It was once the universal custom to sow wheat 

 after a fallow, and barley after wheat, unless clover was sown with the 

 wheat, which was the first step to improvement ; but after the barley 

 another fallow became necessary. By sowing barley after the fallow, 

 the land is much more perfectly cleaned, and the clover sown with the 

 barley is the best preparation for the wheat, which may be succeeded 

 by beans, and if these are well manured and properly hoed, another 

 crop of wheat may be taken before a second fallow is necessary. By 

 comparing the probable produce of the two different rotations, the 

 advantage will be evident in favour of that which begins with barley. 



Fig. 5. 



Fig. 5.* 



5. A root of self-sown barley in a rich light soil, 

 t 5* The same in a poor stiff soil. 



In some particular cases, however, when a very dry autumn allows 

 the wheat stubble to be ploughed and well cleaned before winter, and 

 several ploughings and harrowings can be given in spring, barley may 

 be sown with advantage after wheat ; but then it is seldom advisable 

 to BOW clover and grass seeds with the barley, the land not being 



ABT8 AND SCI. DIV. VOL. I. 



sufficiently free from weeds. But the Trifuiitim incurnatum, lately 

 introduced from the south of France, which succeeds well in our 

 ilimate, would be admirably adapted to be sown on the barley 

 stubble : the land being slightly ploughed or scarified immediately 

 after harvest, and the seed rolled in. It will grow so rapidly in 

 spring as to smother all seed weeds, and will give a heavy green crop 

 to be cut for horses and cattle early in May, and excellent winter 

 fodder if made into hay. [TRIFOLIUM in NAT. HIST. DIV. ; CLOVER.] 



The quantity of barley sown formerly was four or five bushels per 

 acre : but, if the land is duly prepared and the seed good, from two to 

 three bushels is an ample allowance, especially if sown by the drilling 

 machine, which it always ought to be ; for if the land be too rough to 

 allow of drilling, it is scarcely fit to sow barley in, and oats will be a 

 more advantageous grain. 



The proper time for sowing barley depends much on the season and 

 the state of the land. The best practical rule is, to sow as soon in 

 March as the ground is dry. Earlier sowings may sometimes succeed 

 well, but in this climate cold wet weather often prevails in the end of 

 February, and this is by no means favourable to young plants of 

 barley. The early-sown crops are, however, in general the heaviest, 

 especially of the sort which ripen later : they require less seed, having 

 more time to tiller before the hot weather draws up the stems. 

 There are, however, seasons when the later-sown crops are the best : 

 a good rule is, to sow a quick-growing sort when the sowing is 

 unavoidably deferred, and in this case more seed must also be allowed. 



The depth at which the seed should be deposited depends on the 

 nature of the soil and on the season. Winter barley need only be 

 slightly covered, and will tiller astonishingly in good light soils. The 

 examination of two roots, one of which (fiy. 5) proceeded from a grain 

 dropped on the surface of the soil, and the other (Jig. 6) buried one or 

 two inches under the surface, clearly shows the difference. In the 

 first, the crown (a), from which the stems tiller, has the seed still 

 adhering to it; in the other, they are separated by a strong tough 

 ligament (c). This forms two distinct centres, from which the roots 

 spread ; and, in very light soils and dry seasons, the roots, springing 

 immediately from the seed, are less exposed to be dried up. But in 

 stiff soils the seed buried deep may have much difficulty in germi- 

 nating, the air not having sufficient access, and the first shoot, which 

 forms the ligament (c), not being able to pierce the compact soil above 



Fig. 6. 



Fig. 6.* 



6. A root of barley in a good soil. 

 6*. The same in a poor soil. 



it. As a general rule, a depth of from 1| to 3 inches, according to the 

 nature of the soil, is most likely to enable the seed to sprout well, and 



3 N 



