188 MALTING 



step by step, shovelful by shovelful ; the under portion is then well cleaned up, flung 

 and spread -with an inward turn of the wrists, as the arms are thrown across the 

 front; by this motion, the grains are disposed into a thin, wide-spreading shower, 

 driven through the air and falling evenly on the floor, at a considerable distance from 

 where they were taken up by the shovel, and by the operation are separated and 

 cooled ; should any faint smell have been attained, it will afterwards be found to have 

 passed off in a very great measure. 



Thus the workman advances, proceeding across and recrossing the floor, taking 

 alternately, first the upper stratum, and then the lower one at every step, throwing 

 it out the further, the more cooling or ' check ' he purposes to give to it, and also 

 regulating its area accordingly. Sometimes it requires turning over, and lightening 

 up, without being subjected to the cooling consequent upon the use of the shovel ; and 

 for this purpose the workman uses what is called the ' rake.' This is an iron blade, 

 about 30 inches long and perhaps 2 inches broad, fixed at each end by holders, to a 

 massive wood head, to which is attached a strong wood shaft, with a cross-head 

 handle. This blade is dragged along the floor, passing under the barley, turning the 

 bottom to the top and lightening it up considerably ; but when turning only is re- 

 quired, he uses what is called the ' plough ; ' this is a long-handled tool, in shape 

 very much resembling the scull of a boat, and in using it is made to pass through the 

 grain, precisely as a scull is made to do in the water. The young floors will generally 

 require some sort of tendance every three or four hours ; this must be judged now by 

 the appearance of the radicle as a principal indicator ; when it is particularly white 

 and vigorous, the floor requires a ' turn,' that is, the shovel preceded by the rake ; if 

 it requires nursing, and it is thought that a turn would check it too much, the rake 

 alone is used; but if it requires a gentle turn over and careful nursing, then the 

 plough alone is used ; and thus these are employed, either alone, in turn or combined, 

 in any way the workman may deem it desirable ; but always before leaving his house, 

 for the night, he must thoroughly disentangle the corns, the one from the other, give 

 the floors a good turning and spreading, thin them out, and lay them light. In the 

 old floors it will most likely be necessary to use all three tools about them ; first the 

 plough, and then the rake, till they are well disentangled and light, then with the 

 shovel, thin out, turn, spread, and cool them. 



With the young floors, perhaps, only the plough and the rake may be required, 

 as it sometimes happens that nursing is necessary, owing to the coldness of the 

 weather. 



It will sometimes occur, most commoniy from an insufficient steep, that the radicles 

 will show signs of withering prematurely ; and if the circumstance was to remain un- 

 heeded, the floor would die long before the germination had wrought the desired 

 change in the constitution of the barley ; the withering radicles would drop off even 

 with the most careful handling, and then the grain would have to depend on those 

 that remained to it for the support it needed to complete the change. To render the 

 necessary help, at this time, recourse is had to 'sprinkling,' that is, water is ad- 

 ministered to it from a 4-gallon watering-can, with a rose, in the proportion as a rule 

 of about one can to the quarter (8 bushels) ; under some circumstances a floor will 

 take nearly double that quantity, as in the case of the heavy Scotch barleys, with 

 only 50 hours' steep, but with light free barleys, perhaps only half the quantity, the 

 less the better in all cases, where quality is of more consequence than appearance ; for 

 the object being to supply a stimulant to the ' fainting ' and perhaps wounded grain, 

 the acrospire is forced up as it were, iinder the husk of the hide-bound grain ; no good, 

 or at any rate very little good, is done by the process, to really benefit the constitution 

 of the grain ; the application is too superficial, and where the quality of the saccharine 

 Constituent is the consideration, it cannot stand in competition with the properly 

 administered steep. But for the sake of overmeasure or overweight, and it must bo 

 admitted a saving in appearance, it is adopted by the malting-trade generally, as a 

 matter of routine. It is administered as follows : 



On the fourth or fifth day after the grain is thrown from the cistern, the radicles 

 will have attained the length of nearly a quarter of an inch ; the floor has then given 

 to ic about half a can-full of water to the 8 bushels ; it is then well ploughed, raked 

 and turned, so as to wet every grain possible, and then worked in the usual course. 

 Next day, the remainder of the dose is given, or if much water is thought necessary, 

 it is given two doses the second day, one in the morning and the other in the after- 

 noon, and perhaps another dose next morning ; the operation, of course, necessitates 

 plenty of room, so it is usual to arrange for the main sprinkling on the day that the 

 old floors are loaded on the kilns. If floors are closely observed about this time, it 

 will be seen, that mould mostly appears immediately after the sprinkling ; then it is 

 that the mischievous effects of rotting, mutilated, and broken corns :ire most, apparent, 

 and with each hour the disease spreads from corn to corn, till sometimes, before tha 



