11 



BARLEY. 



give a sufficient hold of the laud by the rooU to avoid the danger of 

 ltang. It is of consequence that all the seed* be deposited at a 

 uiuforu. depth, to ensure their shoots rising at the same time : for 

 when some rise earlier and some later, it U impossible to reap the 

 whole in good order ; some of the ears will be too green, while others 

 are shedding the seed from being too ripe. This is one reason why the 

 drilled crops are, in general, so much more regular in their growth 

 than the broadcast. Attar sowing barley, it U useful to pass a light 

 roller orer the land, acrow the ridges, if there are any, to press the 

 earth on the seed, and prevent too great evaporation of the moisture. 

 When the plants begin to tiller, another rolling, and in some cases a 

 light harrowing, to loosen the surface and thin out the plants where 

 they grow toocJose, is very useful This also is the best time to sow 

 clover and grass weds, if not done with the first rolling. Barley is not 

 usually hoed, because the land should be perfectly clear of weeds and their 

 weds, before it is sown, and because clover and grass seeds are usually 

 own either with the barley or immediately after it ; but if hoeing 

 is thought necessary to loosen the soil, instead of merely harrowing it, 

 the clover or grass-seeds are sown at the last hoeing. After this no 

 attention is required to the crop till harvest, unless docks or thistles 

 should make their appearance, which must then be carefully pulled up. 

 The practice of sowing clover, rye grass, or other seeds, with the 

 barley, is almost universal, and is considered as one of the great 

 modern improvements in agriculture. There is no doubt a great 

 advantage in having a profitable and improving crop to succeed the 

 barley, without further tillage ; and clover prepares the land admirably 

 for wheat. Still there are some doubts whether this be profitable in 

 all cases. There are seasons when the clover materially injures the 

 barley by its luxuriance ; and, in wet seasons at harvest, it is very 

 difficult to dry the straw sufficiently, mixed as it is with the succulent 

 stems of the clover, or to prevent its heating in the stack. The clover, 

 as far as the barley is concerned, may be looked upon as a weed, which, 

 like all other weeds, must take a port of the nourishment from the 

 crop, and check its tillering. If the clover is sown late among the 

 barley, the danger is leas. It will not be able to grow so high as to do 

 much injury, but the fear of losing the plant of clover mokes most 

 farmers prefer sowing it soon after the barley. 



In Flanders, clover is seldom, or never, sown with barley, but chiefly 

 with rye : but they sow a species of white carrot instead, in the sandy 

 oils. These push out very little of the green top, but shoot their 

 fibres downwards, which form the rudiments of the carrot. After 

 harvest, the ground is well harrowed, and watered with liquid manure. 

 The carrots, which could scarcely be observed above ground, soon 

 spring up, and a good crop is secured before winter, extremely useful 

 for feeding cattle and swine, and greatly increasing the urine of cows 

 and bullocks, the favourite manure for light soils in that country. 



As soon as the ears of the barley droop, it "should be reaped. In the 

 caw of wheat it is well to reap before the grain has fully hardened in 

 the ear for the last stage in the process of ripening converts a portion 

 of the farinaceous contents of the seed into a woody husk, comparatively 

 useless as food. The quantity of bran in a fully ripened grain of 

 wheat is greater than if it had been harvested earlier. In the case of 

 oat* again, it is generally well to reap even before the green hue of 

 the crop has entirely gone, for if the plant be allowed thoroughly to 

 dry and ripen standing, the seeds will be extremely liable to be shaken 

 out by wind. In barley, on the other hand, which has to be con- 

 verted into malt, the quality of which depend* on the germinating pro- 

 cess being carried on uniformly throughout the mass, it is necessary 

 that the grain be all of one uniform stage of ripeness when cut, and 

 this is generally only to be ensured by taking care that it be all dead 

 ripe. When therefore the ears have all turned down, it may be reaped. 

 This is usually done by mowing it with a scythe, having a hoop, or an 

 ap|ivnilage called a cradle, fixed to it, so as to lay the swathe regularly. 

 The JJay*anll irytia, a short, broad scythe used with one hand, while 

 a light hook is held in the other to lay the straw even, so as to be 

 readily tied up into sheaves, is another good tool ; and the heavy 

 "bagging "hook is often used for the same purpose; but the horse- 

 drawn reaping machine is now rapidly gaining its way, and will no 

 doubt soon, to a great extent, supersede manual labour, so far as the 

 mere cutting is concerned. [HARVEST.] Binding into sheaves is 

 a great advantage; much lew corn is shed, which, in the common 

 method of raking into heaps, often amounts to more than would fully 

 sow the came extent of land. The sheaves set up on end are in less 

 danger from the weather, and when the stack is built, all the oars may 

 be laid inward and much grain saved, which, if on the outside, would 

 soon be the prey of birds : smaller stacks may be made, and the danger 

 of beating entirely avoided. Hie (tacks should be built on frames, 

 supported by atone or cast-iron pillars, with flat caps on them to keep 

 out vermin ; and, in large stacks, it is useful to have a kind of mien 



I in the middle, to allow the admission of air to the centre. This 

 the grain better than a kiln, and when the stack is properly 

 thatched with strew, the crop may be considered u safe till it is carried 

 into the barn to be thrashed. [HARVKST ; FARM.] 



In thrashing barley, an extra process has to be adopted in order to 

 break off all the awns clow to the grain. A thrashing machine does 

 not accomplish this perfectly by only once passing the straw through 

 the rollers; it is consequently usually put through a second time 

 wpecisJly if it has not been tied into sheaves. But it is generally 



BARLEY. 918 



after the barley is thrashed, to effect this by another 

 operation, which is called >mmmfiiny, for which purpose several dif- 

 ferent kinds of instruments are used. A simple one consists of a 

 cylinder composed of small bars of iron, and placed on an axis, which 

 is rolled backwards and forwards over the grain ; or, where a thrashing 

 machine is used, a plate of iron, perforated like a nutmeg-grater, is 

 fixed to the inside of the drum in which the beaters revolve, and the 

 awns are effectually broken off by this rough surface. This process is, 

 however, more generally now effected by an addition to the thrashing 

 machine, through which all the grain when separated from the straw 

 is pawed, coming under the action of rapidly revolving knives, which 

 break the brittle awn into dust, to be afterwards separated by the 

 blast and riddles of the winnower. 



The diseases to which barley is subject while growing are those which 

 attack all other grain the smut, the burnt ear, blight, and mildew ; 

 nut it is less liable to these than wheat. The greatest enemy is a wet 

 harvest. It is so apt to germinate with the least continuance of 

 moisture, that even before it is reaped, it often exhibits an ear in full 

 vegetation, every grain having sprouted (see fy.). It is then of little 



cage i 

 dnea 



Premature germination of an car of barley, 



value, and even when this is checked by dry weather or ill the kiln, 

 the grain is so impaired as to be fit only to feed fowls and pigs. A 

 strong plant of clover, by keeping the wet longer about the barley, 

 often contributes to increase this evil, as has been hinted before. 



The principal use of barley in this country, and wherever the climate 

 does not permit the vine to thrive, and no wine is made, is to convert 

 it into molt for brewing and distilling. [MALT.] The best and 

 heaviest grain is chosen for this purpose, and, as it must have its ger- 

 minating power unimpaired, the least discoloration, from rain or heating 

 in the stack, renders it suspected, and consequently not so saleable. 

 It is, however, still fit for being ground into meal, for feeding cattle 

 and pigs, when it is not used for human food ; or it may be made 

 into pot-barley by the process of shelling. [BARLEY, POT and PEARL.] I 



The produce of barley, on land well prepared, is from 30 to 50 

 bushels, and more, per statute acre, weighing from 45 to 55 Ibs. per 

 bushel, according to the quality. 



On all good loamy soils barley is a more profitable crop than oat*, 

 and is supposed to exhaust the soil less, and of late years (1857-8) the 

 extraordinary prices it has reached have rendered it more profitable 

 than even wheat. On stiff cold clays it does not thrive so well, and 

 there oats are to be preferred. In some districts, where the best l.arl. \ 

 is grown, the farmers seldom sow oats, and many prefer buying them 

 for their own use, with the additional expense of market and carriage. 

 In Scotland, and some parts of the north of England, oats are in greater 

 request, being the chief food of the labouring classes, and preferred 

 by them to barley, except it be in the form of pot-barley in their 

 broth. 



Barley in its green state, especially the Siberian winter barley, makes 

 excellent spring food for milch cows, as is well known to the cow- 

 keepers about London ; it comes in early, and greatly increases the 

 milk. It is also very good for homes, provided it be given sparingly at 

 first, as it purges them ; but after a little time, when the stomach 

 becomes accustomed to it, it increases their flesh and condition 

 wonderfully, and is much more wholesome than the usual spring 

 physic, as it answers the purpose of gently clearing the intestines, 

 without any risk of irritation. For sheep it is more nourishing than 

 rye, and comes earlier : when fed off quite close in April, it will spring 

 up again, and, on good land, produce a fair crop of grain in August, 

 but in general it is ploughed up as soon as it is fed off, and succeeded 

 by spring tares or turnips. 



Barley has always been considered as possessing medicinal virtues ; 

 decoctions of it have long been used for the sick, especially in all 

 pulmonary complaints ; and with the addition of some vegetable acid, 

 it is extremely grateful in fevers, allaying thirst, and giving such a 

 degree of nourishment as is indispensable, without exciting the 

 circulation. 



