MALT. 



MALUS. 



minaie to a certain extent, after which the pro- 

 cess is checked by the application of heat. 

 This evolves the saccharine principle of the 

 grain, which is the essence of malt. Rice, and 

 almost every species of grain, has been used 

 in malting; but in Europe, and especially in 

 England, malt is prepared almost wholly from 

 barley. It is the principal ingredient in the 

 manufacture of beer and of ardent spirits. 



The process of malting is performed by 

 steeping any quantity of good barley in cold 

 water for a period which (as regulated by law) 

 must not be less than forty hours ; but beyond 

 that period the steeping may be continued as 

 long as it is thought proper. The proportion 

 of water imbibed depends partly upon the bar- 

 ley, and partly upon the length of time that it 

 is steeped; but the result of a good many trials 

 proves that the medium increase of weight 

 from steeping may be reckoned at 47 Ibs. in 

 every 100. The average increase of bulk is 

 about one-fifth. After the grain has remained 

 a sufficient time in steep, the water is drained 

 off, and the barley thrown out of the cistern 

 upon the malt floor, where it is formed into a 

 heap, called the couch, about 16 inches deep. 

 In this situation it is allowed to remain about 

 20 hours. It is then turned by means of wooden 

 shovels, and diminished a little in depth. This 

 turning is repeated twice a day or oftener, and 

 iin is spread thinner and thinner, till at 

 last its depth does not exceed a few inches. 

 The temperature which it is wished to preserve 

 by these frequent turnings varies from 55 to 

 62, according to the different modes of malt- 

 ing pursued. Soon after the rudiments of the 

 future stem, called acrospire by the maltsters, 

 has appeared, the process of germination is 

 stopped by drying the malt upon a kiln. The 

 temperature at first does not exceed 90, but it 

 is raised very slowly up to 140, or higher ac- 

 cording to circumstances. 



Barley, by being converted into malt, gene- 

 rally increases 2 or 3 per cent, in bulk, and 

 t an average about 20 per cent, in weight, 

 of which 12 are ascribed to kiln drying, and 

 consist of water which the barley would have 

 lost had it been exposed to the same tempera- 

 ture; so that the real loss does not exceed 8 

 per cent. 



The following is Dr. Thomson's analysis of 

 barley, and the pale malt made from it. 



Barley. Mlt. 



Gluten .... - 3 1 



Sugar 4 16 



Gum 5 14 



Starch 88 69 



100 



100 



The gluten in this case is a most important 

 component, as by its transformation, when the 

 malt is converted into wort, ferment is gene- 

 rated; whilst the saccharine matter, which is 

 increased fourfold, is the origin of the alcohol 

 cf the beer. Oxy u is appropriated by the 

 gluten at the same time that the transforma- 

 tion of the sugar is going on ; and thus carbo- 

 nic acid and yeast are disengaged simultane- 

 ously. 



In' brewing ale, porter, and table beer, three 

 different kinds of malt are employed: 1, pale 

 cr amber malt which vie.'ds the saccharine or 



fermentable extract ; 2, brown or blown malt, 

 which is not fermentable, but is used to impart 

 flavour; 3, roasted, black, or, as it is some- 

 imes called, patent malt, which is employed 

 nstead of burnt sugar, merely as a colouring 

 matter for porter. 



The manufacture of malt has been carried 

 on in England to a great extent from a very 

 early period; but it is singular that notwith- 

 standing the products obtained from it have 

 always formed the principal beverage of the 

 reat bulk of the people, instead of increasing 

 with the progressive wealth of the population 

 of the country, it remained nearly stationary 

 for more than a century, and it is only within 

 :he last 8 or 10 years that there has been any 

 increase in the manufacture. This extraordi- 

 nary result is most probably to be attributed to 

 the introduction and universal use of tea, cof- 

 fee, &c., and to the heavy duties that were for- 

 merly levied on beer and malt. The present 

 duty on malt from barley is 2s. Id. per bushel, 

 and from bere or bigg, 2s. The quantity of 

 malt charged with duty in the United King- 

 dom during the three years ending 1838, was 

 41,814,811 bushels; and the revenue derived 

 from it averaged in the same period 5,282,975J. 

 The following is the quantity of malt con- 

 sumed by the brewers of London and its vici- 

 nity from the 10th of October, 1830, to the 10th 

 of October, 1840. 



1831 

 1832 



1834 

 1835 



62'2,549 



001,477 

 578,588 

 662,713 

 702,533 



1836 - 



1837 



1838 



1839 



1840 



Q. 

 754,313 



714,488 

 742,597 

 750,176 

 776,219 



The 6 Geo. 4, c. 107, s. 52, enacts that " malt 

 may not be imported into the United Kingdom 

 for home use under pain of forfeiture ; but it 

 may be warehoused for exportation." The im- 

 portation of malt is, however, now allowed 

 under very high duties, fluctuating with the 

 price of home produce; but under no state of 

 the market can any addition be thus made to 

 the quantity of malt in this country, because 

 barley which has undergone a voyage of mucn 

 length is unsuited to the process of malting. 

 See BAHLET, BEER, and BREWING. 



MALT-DUST. The dust or substance that 

 separates from the malt in the act of drying, or 

 during its preparation. It is sometimes called 

 malt-combs, and has been found useful as a 

 manure or a top-dressing when sown over the 

 cereal grasses in the early spring season. 



The proper quantity of this dust is, if top- 

 dressed, for wheat, 36 to 40 bushels; if drilled 

 with the crop, for barley and turnips, 30 to 34 

 bushels. It is also eminently calculated for 

 grass lands ; and if applied in the latter pro- 

 portion, it will produce a very considerable 

 increase of the best feed. The common price 

 at most malt-kilns is from 5s. to 6s. per quar- 

 ter. Malt-dust is also in some places employed 

 in the feeding of milch cows and pigs. 



MALUS (Lat. malum, an apple). The wild 

 crab (Pyrus mains, see CRAB-TREE) is the only 

 apple indigenous to England, and it is on this 

 stock that most of our valuable apples have 

 been grafted and raised by the ingenuity of 

 the gardeners, who have, by sowing the seeds 

 and studying the soil, so improved and multi 



759 



