CHAPTER XXX 

 BARLEY '(Hordeum sativum) 



BARLEY, like rye, is an annual cereal grain of minor 

 importance in the cotton-belt. It belongs to the same 

 tribe as wheat and rye. In Europe where barley is ex- 

 tensively grown, the grain is largely utilized in the pro- 

 duction of beer. Much of the grain is also used as a stock 

 food, particularly in the form of barley meal. Malt 

 spr9uts and brewers' grains are two important by-products 

 in the production of beverages from barley. They are 

 used as food for domestic animals. Barley straw is at 

 least equal in feeding value to oat straw. The chief use 

 of barley in the cotton-belt is for pasturage and soiling. 

 Barley pasture is considered to be more palatable than that 

 produced by other small-grains. 



429. Nativity. Barley is thought to be native to 

 western Asia, and to have originated from the wild West 

 Asian Hordeum spontaneum. Like wheat its culture 

 antedates written history. Down to the close of the fif- 

 teenth century barley was universally used as >a bread 

 plant throughout the civilized countries of Europe, Asia, 

 and Africa. 



430. Description (Figs. 57-59). The barley plant, 

 aside from the spike, resembles wheat in appearance and 

 habit of growth. Usually the culms are shorter than those 

 of wheat, and the proportion of straw to grain is less 

 than in wheat or oats. The leaves of barley are provided 



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