76 



S OUT BEEN FIELD CROPS 



^^ 



ki 



a\ 



a form of naked loarlcy in which the hulls do not adhere 

 to the kernels; unfortunatelj', the yield of this kind is 

 smaU. 



Beardless barley has excited some interest. Its chief ad- 

 vantage is its earliness and the absence of beards (Fig. 29). 

 Its disadvantages are small jdeld of grain, 

 weak straw, small number of stems produced, 

 and extreme tenderness, or susceptibility to 

 winter-killing. Even in the central part of 

 the Gulf States this variet}" recjuires sowing 

 after Christmas. It is the earliest of anj' of 

 the small grains tested at the Alabama Ex- 

 periment Station, but is scarcely practicable 

 except on a small scale and on rich land. 



78. Soils and fertilizers. — Barle}' requires 

 a richer soil than any of the other small 

 grains. It prefers a limestone soil, and on 

 acid lands the use of lime is usually advan- 

 tageous. The fertilizer should be either 

 stable manure or a mixtm-c of commercial 

 fertilizers containing nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, and potash. 



79. Sowing. — In the central 

 part of the cotton-belt, barley 

 may be sown at any date lietween 

 September 1 and December 1. 

 For sowing broadcast to afford 

 pasturage it is advisable to use 

 2.} bushels of seed per acre. For 

 grain production, or for soAving in drills as a soiling crop, 

 li to 2 bushels per acre is sufficient. 



Fig. 29. — Head and Spike 



LET OF BEAKDIiESS BaRLEY. 



