122 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



ted by hand before they are fairly in blossom. If neglected 

 till sometime after this, the seed is so well matured as to 

 ripen after pulling, and if then thrown upon the ground they 

 will defeat the effort for their removal. When too luxuriant, 

 barley like rye may be fed off for a few days, but not too 

 closely. 



THE HARVESTING of barley should be seasonably done 

 or its extreme liability to shell will cause much waste, and 

 on the contrary, it will shrivel if cut before fully matured. 

 It may be stacked like wheat. 



THE USES OF BARLEY are various and important. In 

 Europe it forms no inconsiderable part of the food of the 

 inhabitants. The grain yields from 80 to 86 per cent, of 

 flour, which however contains but 6 per cent, of gluten ; 7 

 per cent, being sacharine matter and 79 mucilage or starch. 

 It is inferior in nutriment to wheat and rye but superior to 

 oats. In this country it is principally used for malting and 

 brewing and in some cases for distilling, but when ground is 

 more generally appropriated to fattening swine, though some- 

 times used for other stock. 



THE OAT (Avena saliva) 



Is cultivated throughout a wide range of latitude and on a 

 greater varioty of soil than any other grain. It will grow 

 on rich or poor, and on dry or moist soils ; on the heaviest 

 clays and the lightest sands, and it will pay as well on rich 

 lands as any other crop. The average yield on good soils is 

 from 30 to 40 bushels per acre, and on the richest when well 

 cultivated, it has exceeded 120 bushels. It is exposed to 

 fewer injuries than other grain, being seldom affected by 

 rust, smut or insects. The wire-worm is most destructive 

 to it, especially when sown on fresh sod. The most effectual 

 mode of extirpating these and other troublesome insects is 

 to turn the sod over late in the fall just before our severe 

 winter frosts. They thus become chilled and incapable of 

 seeking a safe retreat from their fatal effects. If not plowed 

 at that time, it should be done immediately before sowing in 

 spring, when by turning them into the bottom of the furrow, 

 they cannot find their way to the surface in sufficient num. 

 bers to prey upon the plant before it gets beyond the reach of 

 their attacks. 



VARIETIES. Of these, Loudon mentions nine as being 

 well denned and entirely distinct, besides which there are 

 many local or recent sub-varietes. He says " The White or 



