VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



Premature germination of an ear of Barley. 



will sprout in the ear, and should the weather which 

 follows be warm and genial, this growth will be so 

 rapid that the ears will put on the appearance of 

 tufts of grass. Barley is besides very liable to be 

 beaten down by rain and to lodge ; and should this 

 occur after' the rilling of the ear, germination of the 

 grains will take place to such a degree that the first 

 growth will be completely rotted and destroyed by 

 the second. Gentle showers, however, if of short 

 continuance, and if they do not happen either very 

 early after the plant is above the ground, or during 

 the time of blooming, or when the ear is full, are 

 rather beneficial than hurtful. It is worthy of re- 

 mark that the very quality which renders barley so 

 precarious a crop in unsettled climates, imparts to 

 it likewise its chief value. The facility with which, 



