BARLEY. THE APrLE-TUEE BORER. MICE. 



173 



the other white crops, even in the best of sen- 

 sons ; and in bail years it is often fouiul very 

 difficult to save it. It siiDulil not Ik; cut nntil 

 quite rii)0, the ears selJoin falling olf except- 

 ing from high winds. It shonld be sutfered 

 to lay in the lield until ihestmw is cjiiite dry, 

 being turned over early in the morning while 

 the dew is still upon it: this j)ractice is found 

 to improve the color of the skin, and tlu-rchy 

 renders the grain of more value to the malt- 

 ster. It shoidd never be carried unless per- 

 fectly dry, otherwise it is in danger of being 

 heated in the mow, which reduces the value 

 of the gi'ain very materially, for the undue ac- 

 tion of the heat destroys the spear or gennina- 

 tion of the grain, the malting process ii> con- 

 sequently very unei|ually performed, and, as 

 the duty has to be paid upon the whole bin, 

 maltsters will scarcely purchase such sanii)les 

 unless for the purpose of giinding, and then 

 always at an inferior price. It will be pru- 

 dent, ther(;fore to cany oaU in the early part 

 of the moniing, until the heat of the sun has 

 evaporated the dew from the barley, when it 

 should be cairied in a perfectly dry state the 

 remainder of the day, until the dew is again 

 deposited in the evenmg. 



It is a very common practice to sow clover 

 and other grass seeds with this crop, but 

 great care must be tiiken that they are thor- 

 oughly hnrvested, for, otherwise, considerable 

 fermentation will be created, and the sample 

 injured. It not unfrequently occurs, that, 

 when it is supposed to be well harvested, 

 heat is soon found to subsist in the mows, 

 which should be daily examined, by placing 

 a long iron spit, that should be kej)t for the 

 purpose, deep into the mow, when, if the 

 heat is found to increase, no delay should take 

 place, but the middle should be instantly cut 

 asunder and taken out, in proportion to the 

 size of the mow, u'lien it will generally es- 

 cape vv'itliout farther injuiy. This operation, 

 however, must not be deferred, as the injuiy 

 sustained rapidly uicreases. \Vhen barley is 

 grown in large quantities, it is usual to tread 

 the mows vsdth horses or oxen, to get as much 

 as possible into the bams, in which case more 

 guarded caution is necessary than when 

 thrown loosely over the floor. 



Threshing. — This grain should never be 

 threshed by a machine, as the injury done 

 thereby is fre([uently of a very serious im- 



port to the grain ; it biiiiscs the malting spear, 

 whic^h is as injurious to the maltster as if 

 heated in the mow. and should therelbro be 

 guarded against. Care must also be taken 

 not to havo too l;u"ge heaps lying together 

 without frequent examination, as, until it has 

 undergone a proper fennentation in the mow, 

 it will be very apt to heat in the heaj), in or- 

 der to prevent which, it requires to be moved 

 daily, or each other day, till cleaned np from 

 the chatl", which, frf)m the liiieness of its tex- 

 tin-e, scarcely admits the introduction of air, 

 and consecpiently promotes fennentiilion. 



UsK. — 1. This grain is not only the most 

 useful for making into malt, but is the best of 

 f )od for promoting the fattening of hogs, after 

 they have been fed to a certain extent with 

 beans, peas, or other food, from which it ha.s 

 been found that the meat is not only more 

 tender, but increases in boiling, wliile the 

 meat of those fed on beans and peas alone 

 has not only been hard, but has not yielded 

 any increase. Barley is also good food for 

 horses after being soaked in water, and al- 

 lowed to vegetate, if given in the spring of 

 the year in smidl proportions with oats ; and 

 when given with other grain in its ground 

 state, is an excellent food for liittenlng bul- 

 locks. 



2. The straw is used for feeding cattle and 

 for litter. 



3. Malt is the great purjjose to which bar- 

 ley is applied in this coimtry. To understiuid 

 the process of malting, it may be nccessaiy to 

 observe, that the cotyledons of a seed, before 

 a young plant is produced, are changed by 

 thi' heat and moisture of the earth into sugar 

 luid nnicilage. Malting grain is only an arti- 

 ficial mode of effecting this object. The grain 

 is steeped in cold water during a certain pe- 

 riod ; the water is then allowed to drain off; 

 the grain is spread out into a deep heap ; it 

 gradually heats; the roodets begin to shoot out; 

 afterward the plumula begins to grow ; and 

 when this has grown to a certain extent with- 

 in the grain, the farther germination is checked 

 by exposing the grain on a kiln, heated by 

 lire to such a degree as e.xtinguLshes the vi 

 tality of the seed. At this period it is foimd 

 th.it the starch is, in a great measure, con- 

 verted into saccharine matter, and by subse- 

 quent tcjnnentation or distillation, either beer 

 f)r spkits is obtained. 



THE BORER IN APPLE-TREES.— \V. Buckminster, at an agnctiltural meeting at 

 the Stale House, Boston, stated that the borer, which is a fly in its perfect state, lays ten 

 eggs on the tree near the ground ; that they hatch young worms and enter the bark the first 

 year ; the next, they eat into the wood and ascend ; and th(? third, come out and change to 

 the periect insect. He says the best remedy is to wash the trees with strong lye in .luly, 

 after the eggs are laid, and before the wonns have buried themselves in the bark. 



PROTECTING TREES FRO.M MICE.— A correspondent of the Gardener's Chronicle 

 mixes soot and milk till of the consistence of thick paint, and dien applies it to the trees 

 with a bi-ush. This, applied once a year, he finds effectual protection against hares and 

 rabbits. Would it not be equally so against mice ? 

 (365) 



