158 RURAL NEW YORK 



is from 80,000 to 90,000 and the ten-year average 

 yield is 26.6 bushels. There has been a tremendous 

 decrease in the acreage of barley in the last thirty 

 years. Together with wheat it once had a large place 

 on the hill lands, reaching its highest point in acreage 

 in 1860. In 1879 it occupied approximately 360,000 

 acres. Northwestern states' competition forced its 

 decadence. 



Eye occupies more acreage than barley and instead 

 of one has two centers of production. It is grown 

 extensively in the Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley 

 regions, and again in the central section of the Hud- 

 son Valley. In the former region it takes its place 

 with wheat in the rotation, perhaps on rather poorer 

 soils. In the latter, it is the preferred grain on thin 

 soil, is used extensively as a nurse crop for grass 

 seeding and, in addition, the straw has a high market 

 value in the city for packing and certain manufac- 

 turing purposes. It is carefully harvested and 

 threshed to preserve the straw without breaking. 

 Much of it is cut with a dropper and bound by hand 

 and some is even cut with a cradle in the old-fash- 

 ioned way. The acreage is about 150,000 and fluctu- 

 ates considerably from year to year. The ten-year 

 average yield for the period ending in 1915 was 17.3 

 bushels, three bushels more than the ten-year average 

 for any period since 1865. 



Eye is widely planted as a cover- and green-manure 

 crop. It makes a fair growth on rather poor soil. 

 It grows late in the fall and reaches good size early 

 in spring. The fall growth may be pastured and 



