80 How THE FAKM PAYS. 



one-fifth or one-fourth to the product. Hence it will always be the 

 most profitable to use such seed. 



Q. Are oats ever affected with diseases? 



A. In some unfavorable years oats are affected more or less with 

 rust, but of late years smut has appeared very extensively in the oat 

 crop, in some localities almost destroying it. Upon this account it is 

 advisable to treat seed oats in the same way as has been recom- 

 mended on a previous page for wheat. 



BARLEY. 



Q. Is barley grown to any extent in New York or adjacent States ? 



A. Not to a great extent. 



Q. Have you had any experience with it on Long Island ? 



A. I have sowed barley several times, but did not find it to be 

 a paying crop. The straw is not of much value for bedding on 

 account of the beards, which are sometimes injurious when eaten, par- 

 ticularly by sheep. Its culture, however, is wholly a question of soil ; 

 it wants a deeper and heavier soil than oats, as the roots strike deeper. 

 Barley is grown to a great extent in western New York, and some 

 places further west, and in Canada, to supply brewers. In Europe 

 it was formerly grown for food, but has not been much grown in the 

 last ten years, since our wheat has come so largely into use. It yields 

 from thirty-five to fifty bushels per acre, but seldom brings more than 

 eighty or ninety cents per bushel. There are a few special points in 

 its culture which require attention or a full crop cannot be grown. 

 The soil must be in good condition, well plowed and harrowed, and 

 clean ; fall plowing, followed by a thorough working by the Acme 

 harrow, or other cultivator, in the spring. The seed, at the rate of 

 two to two and one-half bushels per acre, is sown as early as the 

 ground is dry. In harvesting, the greatest care is necessary to avoid 

 damage by rains, as this spoils the color of the grain and unfits it for 

 the brewer's use, and seriously reduces its value. Barley is not 

 bound in sheaves, but cured in the swath and lifted by broad 

 wooden forks known as barley forks. This may be considered as one 

 of those special crops fitted for special soils and circumstances only, 

 and is only profitable when the crop can be perfectly well grown. 



CULTURE OF RYE. 



Q. In what way does the culture of rye differ from that of oats ? 



A. We can sow rye on our poorest land; but when grown on rich 

 land it is a valuable crop, in some cases giving from thirty to thirty-five 

 bushels per acre, which sells at from twenty-five to thirty cents per 



