Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 406 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

BARLEY (Hordeum sativum) , a member of the grass See also:family, and an important cereal which belongs peculiarly to temperate regions. It originated from a See also:wild See also:species, H. spontaneum, a native of western See also:Asia and has been cultivated from the earliest times. Three subspecies or races are recognized. (i.) H. sativum, subsp. distichum (described by See also:Linnaeus as a distinct species, H. distichon), two-rowed barley. Only the See also:middle spikelet of each triplet is fertile; the See also:ear has therefore only two See also:longitudinal rows of See also:grain, and the spikes are strongly compressed laterally. This approaches most nearly to the wild stock, from which it is distinguished by the non-jointed See also:axis and somewhat shorter awns. This is the See also:race most commonly grown in the See also:British Isles and in central See also:Europe, and includes a large number of sub-races and varieties among which are the finest malting-barleys. The See also:chief sub-races are (a) See also:peacock, See also:fan or battledore barley, described by Linnaeus as a distinct species, H. zeocriton, with erect See also:short ears about 21 in. See also:long, broad at the See also:base and narrow at the tip, suggesting an open .fan or peacock's tail; (b) erect-eared barleys (See also:var. erectum) with erect broad ears and closely-packed plump grains; (c) nodding barleys (var. nutans). The ripe ears of the last hang so as to become almost parallel with the See also:stem; they are narrower and longer than in (b), owing to the grains being placed farther apart on the rachis; it includes the See also:Chevalier variety, one of the best for malting purposes. (ii.) H. sativum, subsp. hexastichum, six-rowed barley (the H. hexastichon of Linnaeus). All the See also:flowers of each triplet of spikelets on both sides of the rachis are fertile and produce ripe fruits; hence the ear produces six longitudinal rows of grain. The ears are short, erect, and the grain thin and coarse; the See also:straw is also short.

It is a See also:

hardy race, but owing to the poor quality of the grain is rarely met with in See also:Great See also:Britain. (iii.) H. sativum, subsp. vulgare, here, bigg or four-rowed barley (the H. vulgare of Linnaeus). All the flowers of each triplet are fertile as in (ii.), but the rows are not arranged regularly at equal distances See also:round the rachis. The central fruits of each triplet See also:form two See also:regular rows, but the lateral spikelets form not four straight single rows as in (ii.), but two regular See also:double rows, the whole ear appearing irregularly four-rowed. This race seems to be of later origin than the others. The ears are erect, about 21 in. long, the grains thinner and longer than in the two-rowed race, and the awns stiff and firmly adhering to the flowering glume. The var. pallidum is the barley most frequently cultivated in See also:northern Europe and northern Asia. This race was formerly used for See also:malt and See also:beer, but owing to its larger amount of See also:gluten as compared with See also:starch it is less adapted for See also:brewing than the two-rowed sorts. To this belong the varieties naked barley (H. coeleste and H. nudism) and Himalayan barley (H. trifurcatum and H. aegiceras). In both the fruits fall out freely from the glume, and in the latter the awns are three-pronged and shorter than the grain. Barley is the most hardy of all cereal grains, its limit of cultivation extending farther See also:north than any other; and, at the same See also:time, it can be profitably cultivated in sub-tropical countries. The See also:opinion of See also:Pliny, that it is the most See also:ancient See also:aliment of mankind, appears to be well-founded, for no less than three varieties have been found in the See also:lake dwellings of Switzer-See also:land, in deposits belonging to the See also:Stone See also:Period.

According to See also:

Professor Heer these varieties are the See also:common two-rowed (H. distichum) , the large six-rowed (H. hexastichum, var. densum), and the small six-rowed (H. hexastichum, var. sanctum). The last variety is both the most ancient and the most commonly found, and is the sacred barley of antiquity, ears of which are frequently represented plaited in the See also:hair of the goddess See also:Ceres, besides being figured on ancient coins. The cultivation of barley in ancient See also:Egypt is indicated in Exod. ix. 31. Till within See also:recent times barley formed an important source of See also:food in northern countries, and barley cakes are still to some extent eaten. Owing, however, to its poverty in that form of nitrogenous See also:compound called gluten, so abundant in See also:wheat, barley-See also:flour cannot be baked into vesiculated See also:bread; still it is a highly-nutritious substance, the salts it contains having a high proportion of phosphoric See also:acid. The following is the See also:composition of barley-See also:meal according to Von Bibra, omitting the salts: See also:Water . 15 per cent. Nitrogenous compounds . 12.981 See also:Gum . 6.744 See also:Sugar 3.200 Starch . 59.950 See also:Fat .

. 2.170 Barley is now chiefly cultivated for malting (see MALT) to prepare See also:

spirits and beer (see BREWING), but it is also largely employed in domestic See also:cookery. For the latter purpose the hard, somewhat flinty grains are preferable, and they are prepared by grinding off the See also:outer cuticle which forms " pot barley." When the See also:attrition is carried further, so that the grain is reduced to small round pellets, it is termed " See also:pearl barley." Patent barley is either pot or pearl barley reduced to flour. Under the name decoctum hordei, a preparation of barley is included in the British See also:Pharmacopoeia, which is of value as a demulcent and emollient drink in febrile and inflammatory disorders. Cultivation.—Apart from the growth-habits of the plant itself, the See also:consideration that chiefly determines the routine of barley cultivation is the demand on the See also:part of the maltster for uniformity of See also:sample. Less care is required in its cultivation when it is intended for feeding live-stock. It is essential that the grains on the maltster's See also:floor should germinate simultaneously, hence at the time of See also:reaping, the whole See also:crop must be as nearly as possible in the same See also:stage of maturity. On See also:rich soils the crop is liable to grow too rapidly and yield a coarse, uneven sample, consequently the best barley is grown on See also:light, open and preferably calcareous soils, while if the See also:condition of the See also:soil is too high it is often reduced by growing wheat before the barley. Barley (see See also:AGRICULTURE, Crops and Cropping) is a rapidly-growing and shallow-rooted plant. The upper layer of the soil must therefore be See also:free from weeds, finely pulverized and stocked with a readily-available See also:supply of nutriment. In most rotations barley is grown after turnips, or some other " leaning " crop, with or without the interposition of a wheat crop. • The roots are fed off by See also:sheep during autumn and See also:early See also:winter, after which the ground is ploughed to a See also:depth of 3 or 4 in. only in See also:order not to put the layer of soil fertilized by the sheep beyond reach of the plant. The ground is then See also:left unworked and open to the crumbling See also:influence of See also:frost till towards the end of winter, when it is stirred with the See also:cultivator followed by the harrows, or in some cases ploughed with a shallow furrow.

The See also:

seed, which should be plump, light in See also:colour, with a thin skin covered by See also:fine wrinkles, is sown in See also:March and early See also:April' at the See also:rate of from 8 to 12 pecks to the See also:acre and lightly harrowed in. As even See also:distribution at a See also:uniform depth is necessary, the See also:drill is preferred to the broadcast-seeder for barley See also:sowing. In early districts seeding may take See also:place as early as See also:February, provided a fine tilth is obtainable, but it rarely extends beyond the end of April. If artificial See also:manures are used, a usual dressing consists of 2 or 3 cwt. of superphosphate to the acre at the time of sowing, followed, if the ground is in poor condition, by r cwt. of nitrate of soda when the plant is showing. See also:Nitrogen must, however, be applied with caution as it makes the barley rich in albumen, and highly albuminous barley keeps badly and easily loses its germinating capacity. See also:Farm-yard manure should also be avoided. After-cultivation may comprise See also:rolling, harrowing (to preserve the fineness of the tilth) and in some districts hoeing. Barley is cut, either with See also:scythe or See also:machine, when it is quite ripe with the ears bending over. The crop is often allowed to See also:lie loose for a See also:day or two, owing to the belief that See also:sunshine and dews or even showers mellow it and improve its colour. It may even be stacked without tying into sheaves, though this course involves greater See also:expenditure of labour in carrying and afterwards in threshing. There is a See also:prejudice against the use of the binder in reaping barley, as it is impossible to secure uniformity of colour in the grain when the stalks are tightly tied in the sheaf, and the See also:sun has not free See also:access to those on the inside. In any See also:case it must not be stacked while See also:damp, and if cut by machine is therefore sometimes tied in sheaves and set up in stooks as in the case of wheat.

The above See also:

sketch indicates the See also:general principles of barley-cultivation, but in practice they are often modified by See also:local See also:custom or farming exigencies. Barley is liable to smut and the other fungus diseases which attack wheat (q.v.), and the See also:insect pests which See also:prey on the two See also:plants are also similar. The larvae of the ribbon-footed See also:corn-See also:fly (Chlorops taeniopus) caused great injury to the barley crop in Great Britain in 1893, when the plant was weakened by extreme drought. A See also:fair crop of barley yields about 36 bushels ,(56 lb to the See also:bushel) per acre, but under the best conditions 40 and 50 bushels may be obtained. The yield of straw is from 15 to 20 cwt. per acre. Barley-straw is considered inferior both as See also:fodder and See also:litter. BARLEY-BREAK, an old See also:English See also:country See also:game frequently mentioned by the poets of the 17th and 18th centuries. It. was Barley is occasionally sown in autumn to provide keep for sheep in the following See also:spring.played by three pairs composed of one of each See also:sex, who were stationed in three bases or plots, contiguous to each other. The couple occupying the middle base, called See also:hell or See also:prison, endeavoured to catch the other two, who, when chased, might break to avoid being caught. If one was overtaken, he and his See also:companion were condemned to hell. From this game was taken the expression "the last couple in hell," often used in old plays. BARLEY-CORN, a grain of barley, and thus a measure taken from the length of a grain of barley, three of which (sometimes four) were considered to make up an See also:inch.

End of Article: BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
BARLETTA (anc. Barduli) 		[next]
BARLOW, JOEL (1754-1812)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries