Barley from a Maltster's Point of View. 
495 
to the quarter of malt, it is easy to understaud why they should 
be willing to pay higher prices for really hue malt. Moreover, 
there are several of our leading brewers (it would bo invidious 
to mention names) who will not buy inferior malt at any price, 
and therefore farmers who grow only poor barley are necessarily 
shut out from a considerable portion of the market altogether. 
These considei-ations all point directly to one conclusion, 
viz., that the aim of our farmers should be to grow the best 
malting barley, and to this end it is imperative in the first place 
that they should select the best seed. I will now mention a 
few vai-ieties of barley that experience has proved to be best 
adapted for malting purposes, but it must be understood that of 
recent years they have one and all of them sadly deteriorated by 
mixtures, owing to the want of care in preserving the several 
kinds intact. The " Chevalier," the " Golden Melon," and what 
is known as " Page's Barle\-," are amongst those which may be 
relied upon in a fair season to ripen evenly and give a mellow, 
thin-skinned barley ; but doubtless there are in eveiy barley- 
growing district other kinds which have secured a local reputa- 
tion equal to those named. There are also " Saale," " Austrian," 
and " Hungarian " barleys which possess the desired qualities, 
and which might also be used for seed with advantage. The 
great thing is to bear in mind the properties desired by the 
maltster, viz., that the grain should be of good size, evenly 
ripened, mellow, and thin-skinned, and to select with care and 
judgment seed of this character. I do not mean to say that it 
will prove at all an easy task, for the reasons already given, but 
it is certain that vast improvement on the present slipshod 
methods might be immediately effected, and if the demand 
existed for really first-class seed barley, there is no question that 
in a year or two the supply would be forthcoming. 
Having touched upon the initial stage, let me add a few 
words upon the subsequent operations of cultivation and pre- 
paration for market. Let it be clearly understood at the outset 
that I do not presume to minimise the inevitable influence of 
the season upon both the quantity and quality of the crop. In 
this variable and capricious climate it frequently happens that 
unfavourable weather will nullify all the fai'mer's best efforts and 
most careful calculations. Nor is it possible wholly to prevent 
the losses thus occasioned. My remarks must therefore be held 
to apply to the circumstances of an average season, and they are 
based upon my own observation and the experience of leading 
farmers whom I have consulted. The description of soil best 
suited for barley varies so much with the season that it is quite 
impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule. Sometimes 
