May, 1900.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 347 
hake a portion of the grain out. On the whole, I consider it best to err on 
Pace of the grain being well ripe. It is like a person asking, “ What is the 
= 7 “i t time to pull a peach or any other fruit ?”’ It is no use pulling at a stage 
j ae eating it would cause stomachic trouble, nor, on the other hand, would 
0 to be left till decay sets in. The happy medium, therefore, seems to be 
== 4| tine but err on the side of over-ripeness, as, though a little may be lost, other 
| Thee being equal, the price obtained will more than balance the quantity lost, 
|; “teas most maltsters will decline to buy a green barley, or, if they buy, it will 
ata reduced price. 
i. THRESHING. 
| tes This is an important part in the production of suitable barley, and it is 
12 table that growers should know the main points of the maltster’s require- 
| “tts. Very often the machine is “set too close,” thereby either cracking the 
| on or, in endeavouring to take the awn off, the barley will be partly skinned. 
| .° objection the maltster has to either of these points is that once the grain 
injured it is almost an impossibility to prevent such injured grain during 
ian ting operations from becoming mouldy or mildewed, and to mouldy malt the 
d “Wer has an objection; consequently the maltster, in turn, passes the objec- 
a, on to the grower, and declines to buy if the grain be much injured. It is 
| ,2eheral theory that barley cut with the reaper and binder, and stacked some 
I the before threshing, is the best, as it undergoes some mellowing process in 
’ Nis 80; and this brings one to a question often asked—Whether harvesters 
‘tippers would not be equally as good for barley as the reaper and_ binder. 
| oka only say maltsters prefer it cut with the binder, and stacked. But, 
a | lthone at the question from another point of view—that of a supply of 
1 tr Uw—labour at harvest time is often difficult to obtain on the Downs, as 
| ,,"Yone wants labour at the same time. Therefore, in large areas, it may be 
| sai] Ssary to harvest with harvesters or strippers; and growers, if they elect to 
= | Vala the crop this way, must take care the machines are not “set too close.” 
Aifis ally the machine is set the same for barley as for wheat, and what will do 
} pent injures barley. The cure for this appears to be in the driving-wheel 
T ty © machine. For wheat, the driving-wheel is of as large or of larger 
] ) Meter than the wheel turning the drum, in order to obtain greater speed. 
aurley, the driving-wheel should be of less diameter than the wheel on the 
mt, and the machine driven slower for barley than for wheat. 
GRADING. 
Judging from the past season, very little care has been taken in the grading 
~ }4, 5tower does not make his contract binding with the owner of the machine 
| Ree the grain in a proper manner. There should be no difficulty in this, 
"i iy grain has to be handled then; and growers, if they reflect, must know 
aR tf it has to be handled again it costs the maltster something, and that 
a |i ¢  cthing” for labour is taken off the growers’ price. In addition to this, 
Ith gualtster looks with an unfavourable eye on a badly graded sample. It is 
} 4, 2°tly to the grower’s advantage to grade well, as he will get a better price, 
‘ave railage on screenings and labour in screening in the malt-house. It is 
A ty ® hoped that growers, in their own interests, will pay more attention to this 
‘ye tant point in the future. It might pay them to give the thrasher slightly 
| “toney for first quality, but they must watch carefully that the screens are 
| “ght, and then there will be no danger of the seconds going into the firsts. 
e | tis trust the foregoing may be of some use to growers. Barley is a crop 
can be produced well on the Downs; and if growers will take note of the 
ty Vhen sown and reaped, the kind of soil sown on, and any other information, 
ed to a central place the knowledge gained, they will confer an immense 
ge on the community in general. 
Stack, such process being hard to define as to the reason why, except that 
ia F i : 
2 ft the barley at the’ place where it should be eraded—that is, when passing 
SB ithe Ugh the thrashing machine. Hither the machines are not able to grade or 
fh) aT 
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