BOMBAY GRASSES. 113 
The following information is kindly furnished from the Office of the Director, 
Land Records and Agriculture, Bombay Presidency :— 
** In the Bombay Presidency barley is not a principal cereal. In 1889-90 the 
total area under barley cultivation was only 35,800 
ACRES ° A 0 
Cit Ae ee 19,697 BCTeS, or about 0°3 per ein of whe total area, 
I cee eee 6,558 ‘The details are shown in the margin. In the 
Panch Mahals ........0+. 1,364 Presidency proper the principal barley cultivation 
Ahmednagar ....ccccecee BBG p F 5 
en ne Segoe . 1,174 38 seen in Ahmedabad and Kaira, where, owing to 
Sholapores.<.pcscacssarais: 1,364 the fact that it is nob subject to the wheat blight, it 
Satalaliessswarsceeasatvesces 5,245 thre a c Pal es 7 
ace ee woes 8 favourite rain crop in the Gorat o light brown 
Hyderabad ssessscccsecoee 5,935 tracts. It is generally an after-crop in garden rich 
ShiKArpUr...ceccsrersereree 3,003 lands, or in soils too sandy and open for wheat, 
We Ss Hirontiere.-ccdssnese 194 
It is always irrigated and manured, The grain is 
less appreciated than wheat, and the straw, which is 
considered more nourishing than wheat straw, is chopped and given to cattle 
with the husk. It is less important in the Deccan, where it is used chiefly in 
the preparation of a ready-cooked food called Sdtuche pith, The grain is 
parched, then ground and mixed with a small proportion of gram and wheat 
flour, and flavoured with spices. The grain is also used in certain religious 
ceremonies. The two-rowed naked barley (4. gymnodistichon) from the. 
North-West Provinces and Oudh is being experimentally cultivated on the 
Bhadgaon Farm with fair success.” 
As to the composition, I copy here the following from Church’s “ Food 
Grains of India” :— 
“ Barley is sown and cultivated in the same way as wheat, but needs fewer 
ploughings. It is often grown with wheat or pulse. 
Composition of barley (husked)— 
Thar and Parkar ..... 475 
In 100 parts. In 1 Ib. 
Water... noenironriarcagancopooos | ae Py Way 0) ash 
AO WITONIOONGIS Gonchoree coomoonouoeD ILS 1 SO Siers 
NHaRCHMakeenimeapetatcccctssrsetewosie, a0 UG are aM ites 
Batiatesescncsncceiaesr esas Neucccwscas re rete Olle 
Biioteleacdecuescecscssnsccsicsestesecs | 1200 Oar Lome. 
JANSIOL sogbsorqaccascobod Metaslonscns Sipe Oe tae 
The nutrient ratio is here 1 to 6°3, and the nutrient value 84:5. 
The above analysis of a roughly-cleaned or husked sample of Indian barley 
shows that it contains a higher percentage of albuminoids than average 
European barleys. ‘This fact is confirmed by the examination of other Indian 
samples, At the same time it must be recollected that it is inferior to Indian 
wheat in this particular, just ag the hundreds of analyses which have now been 
15 
