228 FIELD CROPS 



crop. As with other grain crops, the heaviest yields are 

 usually obtained when barley is grown after corn, potatoes, 

 or some other cultivated crop. Excellent results are also 

 obtained when it follows a leguminous crop, such as field 

 peas in the North and cowpeas in the South. Barley yields 

 better after corn than after oats, when these three crops are 

 grown in a rotation. 



279. Use as a Nurse and Smother Crop. On account 

 of its early maturity and the fact that it draws rather lightly 

 on the soil moisture, barley is an excellent nurse crop to use 

 when seeding down to grass or clover. Its early maturity 

 also makes it of value in clearing weedy land, since it can be 

 cut before many of the weeds mature their seeds. It is of 

 less value as a smother crop than oats, because it makes less 

 shade. 



280. Sowing with Other Grains. As noted elsewhere 

 (Sec. 247), barley and oats are frequently sown together for 

 the production of feed grain. The largest yields are obtained 

 when about 1 bushel of each grain is sown to the acre, using 

 a medium late variety of barley and an early variety of oats, 

 so that the two grains will ripen together. The yields from 

 these grain mixtures, which are quite commonly grown in 

 Ontario and other portions of Canada and to a lesser extent 

 in the northern United States, are larger than those from 

 either crop when sown alone. 



THE USES OF BARLEY 



281. The Manufacture of Malt. About one-half of the 

 barley crop of the United States is used in the manufacture 

 of malt, which is largely used in the production of beer and 

 other malt liquors. Malt is produced by extracting the 



