No. 11. 



Agricultural Production, ^c. — Barley. 



335 



fluence which they have over the nutritive 

 juices of the earth. First, those which ex- 

 haust much; second, those which exhaust the 

 least; third, those which enrich much ; fourth, 

 those which enrich the least. 



Plants which require much manure, occu- 

 pying the earth more than a year sometimes, 

 and not absolutely rendering anything to the 

 soil for that which they have drawn from it, 

 are eminently weakening. 



Plants which have not all these effects, are 

 weakening in a less degree. To the class 

 the most weakening, belong hops, madder, 

 hemp, poppy, flax, nursery plants, and colsa. 



To the class of plants which weaken in a 

 less degree, belong cabbages, turnips, red 

 beets, potatoes, cereales of autumn, cereales 

 of spring. Wheat weakens less than rye; 

 barley weakens as much as rye ; oats weaken 

 as much as wheat, at an equal weight. But 

 there is this difference between grain of au- 

 tumn and that of spring, that the first, besides 

 weakening, wastes the soil, as I shall have 

 occasion to say hereafter. 



Let us speak now of plants which weaken 

 the earth, which absorb its nourishing juices, 

 or which restore them to it ; let us speak fur- 

 thermore, of those which waste, or improve, 

 the intimate composition of the earth. It is 

 necessary to seize upon this distinction, be- 

 tween these two different effects, produced 

 by the plants upon the soil. There are plants 

 which weaken and waste the earth at the 

 same time; others, on the contrary, which in 

 weakening the soil of all its nourishing juices, 

 improve its nature; others finally, which en- 

 rich and improve. We see that this aug- 

 mentation, or diminution of the nourishing 

 juices, is called augmentation or diminution 

 of richness, and that the improvement or the 

 waste of the nature of the soil is called aug- 

 mentation or diminution of power. 



Plants which are wholly covered, or which, 

 having occupied the soil for many years, have 

 enriched it by their remains, and by fertiliz- 

 ing substances, drawn from the atmosphere, 

 are eminently enriching. 



Plants are as much less enriching, as they 

 have drawn less from the atmosphere as they 

 have given to the earth a smaller quantity of 

 their remains, consequently they are as much 

 less enriching, as their vegetation would have 

 been less leafy, less vigorous, less compact, 

 and that one would have covered a smaller 

 quantity. 



To the class of plants the most enriching, 

 belong, of the first rank, lucerne and sanfoin, 

 well trimmed, which have lasted many years; 

 it is necessary that they should have been 

 broken before they had decayed ; clover, well 

 prospered, which one has planted in full 

 growth ; green turf, lupine, spergule, fitch, 

 rape seed, bean, buckwheat, rye, covered. 



To the class ot plants which enrich in a 

 less degree, belong the leguminous harvest, 

 clover, peas, fitch, beans ; enriching them- 

 selves only as much as they have been not 

 only vigorous, but thick, which happens only 

 in fields in a good state. — Boston Cult, 



Barley* 



Barley should be sown as early in spring 

 as the ground can be well fitted for its recep- 

 tion. We have known it sown from April to 

 June: but it may be observed, as a general 

 rule, that on soils equally prepared, the early 

 sown grain always gives the best samples. 

 From the 1st to the 15th of May may be con- 

 sidered the usual time of sowing. It rarely 

 suffers from spring frosts. 



Any soil that will produce good roots, or 

 clover, will grow barley. It should be rich 

 and friable, moist, but not wet. Cold, heavy, 

 tenacious soils are unfit for this crop. Stag- 

 nant water is destructive to it 



Barley succeeds best after hoed crops, po- 

 tatoes, turnips, or corn, crops that require 

 heavy manuring, and keep the ground clean. 

 Manure, applied directly to this crop, is not 

 advisable, as it gives too much straw, is apt 

 to lodge it, and injures the berry. It is fre- 

 quently sown on clover sward ; and in all 

 cases, the soil must be made fine for the re- 

 ception of the seed. 



Thin skinned, plump, and rather pale seed 

 is to be selected. Soaking the seed in a 

 weak solution of nitre, for twenty-four hours, 

 has proved of great service. We use from 

 two to two and a half bushels per acre. Poor 

 soils require more seed than rich ones, as the 

 plants do not tiller so much. In England, 

 greater quantities of seed are used than here, 

 from three to four bushels being the amount 

 recommended. 



Barley should never stand, before cutting, 

 until it is dead ripe. When the ears drop 

 and bend down to the stems, and lose their 

 previous reddish cast, barley should be cut. 

 The straw will now be of a yellow colour, 

 and if allowed to stand longer, becomes brit- 

 tle, the heads break ofl^, and thus easily 

 wastes. Cut early, the berry will be finer 

 and of brighter colour than if allowed to stand 

 longer. 



Barley is a good fcxxl for any animal, but 

 is generally grown for the purpose of making 

 pork, for which it is only exceeded by corn. 

 Barley, if fed to horses, should be ground, 

 and fed with cut straw. If given them in 

 the same manner and quantity as oats, it is 

 apt to produce fever, a proof that its nutritive 

 powers are great, and that some more bulky 

 substance is required for the distention of the 

 stomach. 



