BARLEY AND OATS. 109 



Before the introduction of threshing machines, 

 barley, though easily threshed by horses or by hand, 

 was with great difficulty prepared for market, owing 

 to the obstacles offered in separating the awn from 

 the kernel ; and, at the present time, in many dis- 

 tricts of England and most parts of the Continent, 

 the hummeling, or freeing the berry from the beard, 

 is one of the most laborious and difficult processes 

 in the culture of barley. 



Barley is extensively used in the fattening of pork, 

 for which purpose it is admirab'^"^ adapted when pre- 

 pared by steaming or grinding; and, in the districts 

 where it is grown, is an excellen/. substitute for the 

 corn-crop, which for a few years past has been a 

 partial failure. It is also used in large quantities in 

 our breweries, and in too many instances takes the 

 place of rye in the manufacture of whiskey. As a 

 feed for horses it is not generally approved of ; but 

 for fattening cattle, hogs, and poultry, it is highly 

 prized. Before the system of cutting straw, or 

 manger-feeding, was generally adopted in Great 

 Britain, barley-straw, owing perhaps to its being cut 

 earl}', was used as food for cattle in preference to 

 other kinds, as they could eat it uncut more readily 

 than the harder straws. Wheat or oat straw is now 

 preferred, when it is to be converted into chaff or 

 cut fine, for mixing with hay or roots. There are 

 two varieties of barley found in the shops, Pearl and 

 Scotch, both of which are prepared by divesting the 

 kernel of its husk in mills resembling in some degree 

 tlie rice mills of the South ; and in the case oi the 

 pearl barley, the grinding or rubbing is continued 

 until the berry assumes a smooth, round form. Few 

 articles are more nutritious, or better adapted to the 

 stomachs of the weak or valetudinarians. 



The oat, Avena sativa of the naturalists, is a very 

 useful grain, and better adapted to a northern cli- 



