26 BRITISH GRASSES. 



kind known. The faithful and devoted Ruth gleaned, 

 with the maidens of Boaz, until u the end of barley har- 

 vest and to the end of wheat harvest," and the "six 

 measures " that Boaz put into her veil were of barley. 

 We read in the Book of the Kings that while the famine 

 desolated Samaria, Elisha prophesied that, on the raising 

 of the siege, " two measures of barley should be sold for 

 a shekel." All these mentions prove that, in those times 

 barley was a very important article of food. 



H. distichum (Early English Barley) is the kind 

 most usually cultivated in England, Scotland, and Ire- 

 land. Its stems are about three feet high, and the 

 spike three and a half inches long, the grains are firmly 

 inserted in the rachis, and the awns are long and adhere 

 tenaciously to the grain. While growing the plant is 

 of a lively light green, and the straw is of a clear glis- 

 tening yellow when ripe. It is suited to a great variety 

 of soil and climate, but light land and late districts are 

 the best for it. It ripens from thirteen to sixteen 

 weeks after the sowing. 



Chevalier Barley has thicker stems, deep orange- 

 yellow when ripe; plump grain, heavy, and well 

 grown, with a husk of pale colour, and white as chalk 

 within. This sort is especially good for malting, and is 

 used for the rich creamy ale for which Edinburgh is 

 famous, and the black porter characterized as London 

 and Dublin porter. Rich sandy loam suits this barley 

 best, and it flourishes well on the red sandstone, moun- 

 tain limestone, and trap formations. 



Annat Barley has more bulky stems, pinky under the 

 spike when ripening ; spikes four inches long, and 

 round, plump grains, about twenty-six in each spike ; 

 the awns are long, brittle, and easily broken off. This 



