CHAPTER VI 

 BARLEY 



HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION 



256. Origin and History. Barley belongs to the division 

 of the grass family known as the genus Hordeum. It is 

 among the oldest of cultivated plants, for it is mentioned in 

 some of the earlier books of the Bible, and carvings on the 

 ancient Egyptian tombs show heads of this grain. It was 

 probably cultivated at as early a date as wheat, and much 

 earlier than either oats or rye. As with many of our other 

 cultivated plants, the exact place of origin and the original 

 species are not now known. A wild form known as Hordeum 

 spontaneum, which grows in Asia Minor, is regarded by some 

 botanists as the original type, and it is very probable that 

 the cultivation of this grain was begun in some portion of 

 western Asia. The most common closely related species 

 in this country is the wild barley or squirrel-tail grass, 

 Hordeum jubatum, one of the worst weeds in meadows and 

 pastures in our Northwestern prairie states. Barley was 

 brought to Massachusetts and Virginia by the early colonists, 

 and has since been generally cultivated in North America. 



257. Botanical Characters. The cultivated varieties of 

 barley are all grouped by botanists under a single species, 

 Hordeum sativum. The plant makes a somewhat shorter 

 growth than wheat or rye, though otherwise it is quite similar 

 to those grains. The number of culms or stems, which are 

 produced varies with the thickness of the stand, but may be 

 as high as 15 or 20 where the plants have plenty of room. 

 The leaves are broader than those of the other grains, and 



