184 THE SOILS AND CROPS OF THE FARM. 



It is the six-rowed type that is generally raised in 

 this country. In England the two- rowed type is prin- 

 cipally used for malting, the six-rowed being used 

 there for grinding and feeding. The two-rowed type 

 has been found to yield more malt-extract than the 

 six-rowed. The leading six -rowed varieties are 

 Mansbury, Scotch and Imperial. The hulless or 

 naked barley is grown only for feed. It does not 

 seem so prolific as varieties with hulls. 



Culture. — The seed-bed should be deeply and 

 thoroughly pulverized. To this end the land should 

 be plowed fairly deep. A well prepared seed-bed is 

 essential for barley. 



Barley is sown in the fall in Europe along the Medi- 

 terranean sea, but in America practically only spring 

 barley is sown. The temperature required for the 

 germination of barley is about the same as that of 

 wheat. The barley plant when young, however, is 

 rather more susceptible to cold than .wheat. A light 

 frost just after it is up is likely to injure it. In the 

 spring wheat regions barley is generally sown after 

 wheat is sown and before oats are sown. 



Two bushels is the usual quantity of seed sown per 

 acre. It is generally sown broadcast, although some 

 raisers prefer to use the drill. 



Harveisting. — Formerly the barley crop was 

 usually cut with a self-rake reaper, and laid off in 

 small gavels or in continuous swaths. These were 

 allowed to dry a day or so, as required, and then raked 

 together, or, more usually, placed in piles by hand with 

 large wooden, four-tined forks. The aim was to get 

 the barley dry as quickly as possible, so that it might 

 be subject as little as possible to the rains and dews 



