Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-09-15
Barley.

We have found barley profitable crop and
raise il in preference to any other sowed
grain where the soil is adapted to it, and
can indorse the following Except as to
drilling and narrowing, which we have never
tried) from the Country Gentleman:
Barley grows successfully in wide range
Of latitude, and It is moro important to Sc
cure the requisites Of good soil and cultiva-
tion than any particular locality merely.
AS a general rule Il may be said that barley
will succeed we'll on good land for wheat,
but will do best on those rather lighter than
strong wheat soils. A melium loan is best,
If other requisites are secured. The land
should have good natural or artificial
drainage, for the one important reason, that
IL we'll drained, It may be prepared for the
seed early in the spring while without
drainage, the work would be delayed to the
serious detriment Of the crop. A weeks delay
a week IN sowing has sometimes diminished
the amount of the crop. A delay of week
in sowing has sometimes diminished the crop
twenty-five per cent Sowing early on wet
or badly prepared land is still worse. 1t is
best to plow the previous autumn, and ex-
periments indicate early plowing as better
than late. il kept clear of weeds till winter.
Ii the soil and drainage are such that the
all-plowed land remains loose and mellow
in early spring, it is not necessary to plow
again, but merely to mellow the surface in
spring preparatory to sowing the seed. But
if the ground has become hard, it should be
powed and rendered friable, even If the SOW
ing Is delayed. More than for any other
sown crop, barley needs clean, mellow, thor
ough cultivation to precede sowing.
The third great requisite, in addition to
drainage and an early sowing, is a rich soil.
Ii it follows we'll manured corn crop, the
previous manuring will he sufficient other
wise an autumn or winter top.dressing should
be given to the soil, to be powed shallow or
cultivated with a two horse wheel cultivator
or gang plow early in spring. The soil may
bo possibly made too rich--a fault, however,
less frequent than the reverse The roots
of the barley plant do not descend deep into
the soil, in which respect they are unlike
those Of wheat. For this reason, the man
ure and the tillage should be rather near the
surtace-say for about six inches Of the
top.
Barley succeeds we'll after potatoes, and
nearly as we'll following corn; or if the
stubble Of other grain crops is plowed in
autumn and enriched, the preparation will
be good one. If the manuriug has not
been sufficient, from one to two hundred
pounds of superphosphate on such soils as
are benefited by it, will be profitable ap-
plicaton.
The four.rowed (caled also six-rOwed) is
the best variety, where the best preparation
Of the soil and cultivation are given; but
for more ordinary management, the two
rowed will do best. Tho two-rowed ripens
later, which gives us the advantage that it
need not be harvested till after wheat. The
four.rowod is coming into more general use
now that the arrangement Of the crop is bet
ter understood. We cannot give the desired
information as to the other sub.varieties
named 1t may be had at the large city
seed stores.
The seed should be put in with grair
drill, at an even depth Of about an inch anC
half. If sown very early, bushel aud a
half or two bushels Of seed will do if later,
as it tilers less. there should be two and 0
half bushels, If the soil is quite dry, i
may be rolled after sowing or still better, ;
smoothing harrow may be run across tn,
drills aud if this harrow is used once OIL
twice when the barley is four or five inche
high, it will often increase the product sew
eral bushels per acre.
In harvesting, cut with 4 reaper, anC
when dry, throw up and load with the large
wooden barley.fork, without binding. II
keep the grain and straw bright avoid expos
ure to rains. 1t will sell better than i
backened by becoming wet.
Barley is usually employed in rotation al
ter corn aud before wheat, and leaves tn
soil in better condition than oats. Glove
does we'll sown with it, but the clover lessen
the barley. II should be sown thinner tina
otherwise, for seeding down. ...
Barley leaves the land in good conditio
; for two reasons, namel y--that it is not a
exhaustiug crop itself. and the mauurin
which it must receive to be successful add
to its productive power. The experiment
Of Lawes and Gilbert proved these tw
points. They raised it for twenty years !
E succession on the same land, applying annual
fourteen loads Of barnyard manure per acre
The land was rather poor when they bogar
and yielded only twenty-one bushels. Th
product went up to forty.eight bushels pc
acre by the twentieth year, and the increas
was more rapid the last ten years. The
estimated that the crop took only one mint
D Of the nitrogen applied annually in the man
ure, much Of it remaining in tho soil, an
annually increasing the fertility.
We have long adopted the practice {
grinding and feeding barley to domestic an
mails. Horses do we'll on it, and it is an el
a cellent feed for store pigs in winter, W
! 6nd one bushel of barley equal to two busl
els Of oats. We think it would be proftab
3 for farmers to use it more in this way tha
u TO sell It off the farm. Tho manure Civ
I tho balance in favor of the practice. Th
. manufacture Of barley into beer cannot
b. regarded as contributing TO national prosper
, itY. Chemists estimate that pound of nj
triment in beer costs no less than three do
lars, and this use is therefore nearly a dea
loss to the country.
"a To recaptulate, the requisites for barlC
? are-soil medium loan, but light or heav
!. will do, if rich and in fine mellow condition
ia well drained, to work early may follow p,
! tatoos, a clean crop Of corn, or well-plow'
D. stubbe sow early; cut rather carly al
IS avoid rains; cut with reaper, aud dra'
It n when quite dry, without binding.