BARLEY 175 



161. Seeding. — The small and shrunken kernels and 

 weed seeds, together with other foreign matter, should be 

 removed by a farming mill from the barley before seeding. 

 Barley may either be seeded with a grain drill or sown 

 broadcast. The former method is to be preferred in 

 all cases, as by its practice higher yields are secured, and 

 winter barley that is seeded with the drill is less likely 

 to be winter-killed. The rate of seeding with the grain 

 drill varies from 6 to 8 pecks per acre. When broad- 

 cast, a somewhat heavier rate is to be recommended. 

 In sections of the country having little rainfall, a lower 

 rate of seeding, sometimes as low as 3 pecks per acre, 

 gives better results than a heavier rate. The time of 

 seeding spring barley is slightly later than that for oats, 

 since the young barley plants are not so hardy as those of 

 wheat. Winter barley is seeded usually in September or 

 early October. 



162. Harvesting. — Barley is at the proper stage of 

 maturity for cutting when the straw and heads are a 

 golden yellow color, and the kernels are in the hard dough 

 stage. If cut while the straw is still green, the kernels 

 will later become shriveled and will retain an undesirable 

 color. If the barley is grown for the market, great 

 care should be exercised in shocking so as to prevent 

 bleaching or weathering, which greatly injures the 

 appearance, and thereby decreases the market value. 

 The shocks should be well formed so that they will not 

 be blown over by the wind, and well capped so as to 

 shed the rain. If a thrasher is available, the crop should 

 be thrashed as soon as the bundles have dried out. Some- 

 times, however, it is necessary to wait some time for the 

 thrashers, in which case the barley can be best protected 

 from weathering and discoloring by stacking. It should 



