USES OF BARLEY 211 



on the soil moisture, barley is an excellent nurse crop to use 

 when seeding down to grass or clover. Its early maturity 

 also makes it of value in clearing weedy land, since it can be 

 cut before many weeds mature their seeds. It is of less value 

 as a smother crop than oats, as it makes less shade. 



263. Sowing with Other Grains. As noted elsewhere 

 (Section 232), barley and oats are frequently sown together 

 for the production of feed grain. The largest yields are ob- 

 tained when about 1 bushel of each grain is sown to the acre, 

 using a medium late variety of barley and an early Variety of 

 oats, so that the two grains will ripen together. The yields 

 from these grain mixtures, which are quite commonly grown 

 in Ontario and other portions of Canada and to a lesser ex- 

 tent in the northern United States, are larger than those from 

 either crop when sown alone. 



THE USES OF BARLEY 



264. The Manufacture of Malt. About one fourth of the 

 barley crop of the United States is normally used in the 

 manufacture of malt, which is largely used in the production 

 of beer and other malt liquors. Malt is produced by ex- 

 tracting the starch from the grain after it has been changed 

 in form by the germination process, the grain being placed 

 in vats or tanks where it is moistened and heated sufficiently 

 to induce rapid germination. Oats, rice, and wheat are also 

 used to produce malt, but barley is much preferred by malt- 

 sters and is most largely used. Brewing, or malting, barley 

 should be clean and bright in color, free from other grains, 

 weed seeds, and broken grains, and of high germinating power. 

 Broken grains or those which will not germinate are objec- 

 tionable, because they mold in the germinating tanks and 

 the mold is communicated to the healthy grains. 



265. Feeding to Stock. Barley, either whole or ground 

 into meal, is quite largely used for feeding to stock. In the 

 Mississippi Valley it is most largely used for feeding to hogs, 



