1 
498 Barley from a Maltsters Point of Viexv. 
to, but also injures the germ, and consequently the growth of 
the barley. Farmers generally wait till the mischief is done 
before they take measui-es to guard against it ; in other words, 
they do not think there is any need to have the barley heap turned 
so long as it does not smell badly. The fact is, however, that when 
once that " mushroomy " scent has been acquired, the quality of 
the grain has deteriorated beyond reparation. It is far better 
to be on the safe side and have the heap turned over every few 
days. The cost is trifling, and all danger of damage is thus 
avoided. 
In one of the communications alluded to above, the following 
passage occurs, and I quote it because the opinion expressed is 
perhaps shared by many of the writer's confreres, and it is 
desii'able that it should be corrected : " A good deal of injury 
has been done to the barley and malt trade by the rush for 
barley in the autumn, and the large customers leaN'ing off buying 
so early. If large deliveries could be taken during February 
and March, farmers would feed the market more regularly, and 
the barley would be much better kept in the straw than in the 
huge heaps by the maltsters, which are now general." It is a 
farmer who writes thus, and it affords a curious illustration of 
iEsop's fable, wherein the wolf charges the lamb with fouling 
the stream, though it flowed from him to it. The responsibility 
for the state of things complained of lies with the farmer, not 
wdth the maltster. It would obviously be greatly to the 
maltster's advantage if the deliveries of home-grown barley 
were extended uniformly over eight months of the year, instead 
of being for the most part compressed into four, because he 
would not then be compelled, as at present, to receive and store 
eight months' consumption in half that period. The " rush " 
complained of is assuredly not of his creation, but it is due to 
the fact that in times of agricultural depression, which are now 
unfortunately chronic, farmers are, generally speaking, in haste 
to realise before Christmas. 
Before proceeding to follow home-grown barley from the 
farmer to the maltster, attention must be called to the ever 
increasing competition of imported barleys, because this should 
serve to stimulate English producers to fight the foreigner with 
the only weapon left to them, viz. quality. The repeal of the 
malt duty has acted veiy much against the interests of the 
farmer by opening an immense field to foreign barley for malting 
purposes that did not previously exist, since the heavy duty of 
2 Is. 8cZ. per quarter formed a protection to English producers, as 
the best and worst barleys were liable to the duty if once steeped. 
There was ahvays a risk of foreign barleys not germinating 
i 
