BEER 



301 



exclusively used. There are two species of barley ; the ' Hordcum vulgare,'or common 

 barley, having its corns arranged in two rows on its spikes ; and the- ' Hordeum 

 hexastichon,' in which three seeds spring from one point, so that its double row has 

 apparently six corns. The former is the proper barley, and ,is much the larger sized 

 grain. The latter is little known in England, but is much cultivated in Scotland 

 under the name of berc, or bigg, being a hardy plant, adapted to a colder climate. Bigg 

 is a less compact grain than barley, the weight of an imperial bushel (2218-192 ins.) 

 of the former being only 48 lb., while that of the latter will bo from 52 to 56 Ibs. 

 Their constituents are, however, similar. 



By chemical analysis, 100 parts of barley-meal appear to consist of 



Gluten ..... 3-76 



Starch . . . . . 72'00 



Sugar 5-60 



Gum 5-00 



Another analysis gives : 



Gluten . . . . . 3'52 

 Hordeum, or starch and gluten 



intimately combined . . 67*18 

 Sugar . . . 4 . 5-21 

 Gum . . . . . 4-62 

 Albumen. . . . 1-15 



Albumen 2'23 



Phosphate of lime . . .0-25 



Water lO'OO 



Loss . . 1-16 



Phosphates . . . .0-24 

 Oil 0-30 



Vegetable fibre . . . 7-29 

 Water . . . . . 9-37 

 Loss . . 1-12 



Hermstadt gives the mean of several analyses of barley to be : 



Gluten 4-92 



Starch 60-50 



Sugar 4-66 



Gum 4-51 



Albumen. .... 0'35 



Oils . . . . . 0-35 

 Phosphates . . . .0-36 



Husk 11-56 



Water 10-48 



Loss , 2 -31 



Proust thought he had discovered in barley a peculiar principle, to which he gave 

 the name of Hordeine, and which he separated from the starch by.the action of both cold 

 and boiling water. He found that, by treating barley-meal successively with water, 

 he obtained from 89 to 90 parts of a farinaceous substance, composed of from 32 

 to 33 of starch, and from 57 to 58 of hordeine. His analysis also gives, gluten, 3-0 ; 

 sugar, 5'0 ; gum, 4-0 ; and resinous extract, 1-0. 



Dr. S. Thomson gives no hordeine, but the starch as 88 per cent., sugar 4. 



Einhof gives the- constituents of barley as 70'05 flour; 1875 husk; and 11-20 

 water. 



The hordeine of Proust is a yellowish powder, contains no nitrogen, and is, therefore, 

 dissimilar to gluten. In the process of malting the proportion of hordeino is greatly 

 diminished by its conversion into starch and sugar, so that many chemists view 

 hordeine as only an allotropic condition of sugar ; but the subject will evidently bear 

 yet more extended and careful research. 



In giving the foregoing analyses, it may be remarked that they are not intended as 

 a basis for any estimate of the value for brewing purposes of even the various samples 

 from which they have been drawn, as the quality of the extract is affected by every 

 variation of the soil on which the barley was grown, the quality of the seed, the 

 climate, the season, and the care bestowed on its proper cultivation. 



The quality of barley is much influenced by the soil on which it is grown ; the 

 best being from a light calcareous soil, or that known by farmers as good turnip- 

 land ; and crops of excellent quality are also grown on a rich land. 



Much also depends on the seed, the climate, and tho care of the husbandmen in the 

 harvesting, stacking, and the threshing at the proper season. 



The barley should have a thin, bright, clean, wrinkled husk, closely adhering to 

 a plump, well-fed kernel, which, when broken, appears white and chalky, with 

 .a full uninjured germ of a pale yellow colour. If it breaks hard and flinty, it 

 should bo avoided; and, although not in a proper condition for malting until it 

 has sweated or seasoned in the stack- or mow, care must be taken that it has not 

 heated so as to destroy the vitality of the germ. Mixed or uneven samples should 

 also be avoided, as it is important that all should grow simultaneously or evenly on 

 the floors. 

 i. The Saalo district of Germany is generally considered to produce the finest quality 



