MORPHOLOGY OF THE BARLEY GRAIN. 
29 
power will be most likely to succeed if they are directed separately 
toward the four factors of efficiency, viz: (1) The shape of the grain, 
(2) the size of the scutellum, (3) the quality of the epithelial layer, 
and (4) the vital energy of the mature grain. All of these factors but 
fche last are varietal characters. Fortunately, varieties of extreme 
inferiority are for the most part already eliminated because of their 
low yield. The only decidedly inferior ones often met with in actual 
cultivation in America are certain Russian barleys with long, thin 
grains, a few winter varieties of similar character, and hooded sorts 
that probably are abnormal in form because of the lack of the func- 
tional activity of the beard. 
Among the varieties the normal qualities of which are desirable, 
it not infrequently happens that the actual product is far from 
perfect; for ideal shape is largely a matter of development, even in a 
variety in which such is possible, and not only a matter of develop- 
ment but of ideal development. If the conditions of soil and cultiva- 
tion are satisfactory and the climate such as will allow a correct 
maturation, the whole crop will consist of good, uniform seed. If 
these conditions do not prevail, a faulty product will result. Soil and 
cultivation are under the control of the farmer, at least to a limited 
extent, and it is the neglect of these limited influences that is respon- 
sible for much of the inferior barley produced. The English farmer 
has a saying that " barley is a gentleman; " that is to say, if the ideals 
of structure in this grain and the delicately balanced physiological 
functions based on structure are to be secured, barley, above all other 
crops, can not be treated with indifference. 
The more general influences affecting adversely the cultivation of 
the best grades of barley by the American farmer may be briefly 
outlined as follows: (1) Overstimulation of purely vegetative growth 
by improper soil and fertilization, (2) unfavorable climatic conditions 
during the growing period, the factor which explains why the southern 
limit of good barley cultivation in the Mississippi Valley is so far 
north, and (3) improper methods of harvesting and curing the barley 
crop. 
It is probable that the part of the barley grain most quickly and 
extensively modified by changes in the conditions of cultivation is 
that organ w T hich occupies so prominent a place in these discussions — 
the scutellum or malting organ. Under adverse conditions or when 
vegetative development is unduly accelerated, the scutellum of even 
the best pedigreed barleys does not retain its excellence. (See PI. 
VIII.) The difference between a barley having a good scutellum 
and one having a poor scutellum is therefore not that the good one is 
constant, but that under favorable conditions it and it alone will prove 
to be superior. Normality of development is the means of attaining 
