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XVI. — On the Groicth of Barley after a Grass-layer. 
By P. H. Frere. 
The unpromising state of the wheat trade encourages me to 
report the result of an attempt to substitute the growth of barley 
for wheat on light sandy soils in four following seasons of very 
varied character. If, on such lands the barley crop can be made 
to bring in as large a money value as that of wheat, the farmer 
will be benefited by such a change, from his horse labour being 
better distributed, from his retaining a valuable autumn run for 
his ewe-flock, and, as I believe, from less demand being made 
on the soil by the crop. In all cases the land selected for this 
trial has been the very weakest portion of my heath land, black 
sand on chalk rubble, resembling Newmarket heath. On this 
land which is too light to carry any other layer than rye-grass, 
with an admixture of trefoil and Dutch clover for sheep-food, 
the worst part of the field has been left at wheat sowing time, 
manured and ploughed at leisure during winter, and sown with 
barley on the whole furrow in the spring, part of it having been 
folded, the rest having received straw manure — a ton or two less, 
per acre than would have been applied to wheat. 
I first tried this course in 1859, a very scorching year, with a . 
wet harvest. Eight acres 3 roods then produced 36 quarters, 
5 bushels, of which 31 quarters were sold at 43s., and the tail was., 
valued at 26s. The total value of the crop was 8/. 9s. per acre. , 
The yield per acre, 31 bushels 3^- pecks. The adjoining 28 acres . 
of barley grown after rape reaching up to a man's middle, which 
had been eaten off with sheep, produced 76 quarters 3 bushels, 
which besides being more thin had been damaged by rain in 
harvest, and was sold for 25s., 26s., and 28s. per quarter, realizing 
102Z. 7s. in all, or only 3Z. 12s. per acre. In this season the whole 
barley crop from 102 acres amounted to 338 quarters, and realized 
862/. ; the highest price made, except on the trial piece, was 40s. 
per quarter. The wheat crop on 36 acres of heath land averaged 
26f bushels, and was sold at about two guineas per quarter,, 
making 247Z., or about 11. per acre ; its quality was inferior. 
In the year 1860, 15^^ acres of similar land treated in like> 
manner gave 61 J quarters of head corn, sold at 40s. and at 38s.,. 
and 4i quarters of tail valued at 30s. ; 66 quarters in all, or 5 
quarters 3^ bushels per acre, worth 8Z. 4s. In this, a good season,, 
heath barley after turnips on better land gave 5 quarters 2 bushels 
per acre of the same quality and value as the barley sown on a 
Avhole furrow. The entire barley crop, from 126 acres, yielded 
644 quarters, and made 1189Z. The wheat (25| acres) grown 
on the better part of the trial field, yielded 29 bushels, sold at 
52s. and 54s. per quarter, and made 9Z. 10s. per acre. Thus the 
VOL, XXIV. Q 
