BARLEY. 31 



formly sow broad-cast, generally on the fresh furrow, and 

 harrow in both ways ; and those who have a roller use it 

 in the finishing operation. It gives a smooth surface, breaks 

 down the lumps, brings the earth in contact with the seed, 

 and if grass seeds have been sown, its use is doubly benefi- 

 cial. I steep my seed twenty-four hours in a weak solution of 

 nitre, the crude kind of which costs me only eight cents per 

 pound by the quantity. From the analysis and observa- 

 tions of Grisenthwaite, there is reason to believe that this 

 salt is peculiarly beneficial to the barley crop, the grain 

 yielding it on analysis. I have made no comparative ex- 

 periments, but I think this steep serviceable. I have ap- 

 plied to this grain, as a top dressing, with singular success, 

 the powdered dung of pigeons and dunghill fowls, at the 

 rate of twenty to thirty bushels the acre. 



" The crop admits of no after-culture when sown broad- 

 cast. Yet the application of the roller, when the plants are 

 two or three inches high, is no doubt salutary, especially if 

 there has been no considerable rains. Rolling gives a sah^ 

 tary compression to the soil, which in the spring is apt to 

 be loose and porous, and full of cracks, by the alternation 

 of freezing and thawing, or of wet and dry weather; it de- 

 stroys many insects ; and, above all, it partially buries the 

 crowns of the plants, and induces a multiplication of seed 

 stalks. I can recommend the practice from experience. 

 When grass seeds are sown with barley, the luxuriance of 

 the young grass sometimes chokes the grain, robs it of nu- 

 triment, and sensibly diminishes the product. To obviate 

 this evil, it has been recommended to sow the grass seeds 

 after the barley has come up, and to cover them with a 

 light harrow and the roller ; and it is said, and I think with 

 truth, that this operation will not materially injure the grain. 

 In dry seasons, the crop is sometimes attacked by worms, 

 while young. In this case the roller should be applied, and 

 sufficient weight added, to require the draught of two or 

 three cattle. 



" Time and method of harvesting. When the soil is rich, 

 and the season propitious, this grain is very liable to lodge. 

 If this happens after it has blossomed, no material injury is 

 sustained in the product. If before, the crop is greatly di- 

 minished. This shows the danger to be apprehended from 

 making the soil too rich and of applying fresh manure. 





