CLASSIFICATION OF BARLEY. 191 



" The practical procedure in regard to barley, then, runs 

 thus, the Chevalier, the Thanet and the common barley ; 

 the recommendation of the Chevalier consisting not only 

 in its popularity with maltsters, but in the fact of its tall, 

 stout straw not being liable, in the general experience, to 

 lodge, and even when it does lodge, not. being subject to 

 after shoots of germ, although one of our correspondents 

 reports otherwise. The great fault of the common barley 

 is its liability to over luxuriance, and to shank over at the 

 knee when too richly manured. When grown on warm 

 friable soils, or even when deeply deposited in a tilthy bed, 

 it is best adapted for succeeding turnips and for being eaten 

 down by sheep ; but for that matter, so also is wheat, 

 which, of all crops, loves a hard-pressed surface. One of 

 our ablest correspondents states, however, that he has of 

 late years grown wheat after all his root crops and barley, 

 which he seeds down after his wheat. By pursuing this 

 system, he grows first-class barley, and ensures better and 

 more healthy crops of seeds and roots." 



Mr. Keary is a strong advocate for a "constant and judi- 

 cious change of seed," and says that " although it may 

 sometimes be expensive to obtain it from a great distance," 

 he believes that it " will generally repay the cost by an 

 increase of produce and an improvement of quality ; " and 

 he gives the following instances confirming his opinions on 

 this point, which we need not say, are those of the best 

 authorities on barley cultivation : 



" On two adjoining farms in a barley-growing district, 

 both much alike as to quality of soil, the occupier of No. 

 I being in the habit of constantly changing his seed and 

 sowing tolerably early, and the occupier of No. 2 systema- 

 tically never changing his seed and sowing rather late. 

 The quality of the barley grown upon No. 1 in the year 

 referred to was remarkably good ; and upon No. 2 it was 

 so very inferior as to be quite unsaleable for any but the 

 most common purposes, and 2s. per bushel, or 16s. per 

 quarter, was the difference in the price these barleys fetched, 

 at several times during that season, on the same day and 



