The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1912-10-04
BARLEY AS DRY FARM CROP
Success In Western states During the
Past Few Years Has Attracted
Much Attention.

ny H. B. DERR. Agronomist in Charge
of Barley Investigations. u. 8. Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
Barley has generally not been con-
si6ered a dry land crop. but its sue
cess In the western states during the
past few years has attracted attention
to its possibilities for that purpose. In
the northern great plains and Rocky
mountain states, where corn is an I'm.
certain crop barley will furnish an
excellent feed for all kinds of larm
animals. This fact has already given
an impetus to the growing of live
stock, especially hogs, throughout the
northwest. In the Rocky mountain
and Pacific coast states hooded, or
beardless, barley has long been grown
for hay, of which It furnishes an ex-
cellent and highly palatable crop. near
ly equal to alfalfa In feeding value.
In Utah. Idaho, eastern Colorado,
Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Tex
as farmers are beginning to realize
the advantages of winter barley over
spring sown barley as a grain crop.
Winter barley, being fall sown, has
the advantage Of an early start in
the spring and will frequently produce
. crop where spring sown barley may
fail. At present there are but two
forms Of winter barley grown In the
west, the square-head Tennessee winter
and the round-head Utah winter The
ONCE of grain Investigations, bureau
Of plant industry, department OF ag-
ricultrre, has developed a number Of
Others winter forms which were dis
tributed in 1911. and results will be
watched with interest
No single variety, either spring or
winter, seems to be adapted to the
entire semi-arid region. Among the
winter forms. Tennessee winter, a
beared six-rowed barley, has 80 far,
given best results. and Hannchen, a
beared two-rowed spring barley, leads
In yield In the Dakotas. Among the
six-rowed spring forms, Manchuria,
Gatami and Odessa are the best.
Among the hulless varieties Himalaya
Guy Mayle), Black hulless and Ne
pal { White hulless). give the best
results
With the exception of sandy and
very alkaline land, barley can be
grown on a variety of soils, but the
best results are generally secured on
the prairie or alluvial loan soils Bar
ley Is a more certain crop on alkaline
soils than is either wheat or oats.
The crop requires a mellow seed
bed. II the land is plowed it should be
Immediately narrowed to conserve the
moisture. In many localities best re-
suits are obtained when the land is
fall plowed and left rough until spring
and then disked and narrowed. Where
there is tendency to blowing Of the
soil, granular soil is preferable to the
dust mulch generally advised.
! The yield and quality of barley are
considerably influenced by the kind of
seed sown. The seed should be thor
oughly cleaned and graded before SOW
Ing. Large, plump seed will produce
strong plants, which, in the struggle
for existence that always follows seed
Ing dry land crops, will be more likely
to survive than will plants produced
from small, shrunken seeds.
The tanning mill should be found on
every farm, but when not available
q simple yet highly Elective method
for cleaning and grading the seed ia
to immense 1t in tub OF water and
stir thoroughly. All the light. chaffy
and diseased grains, as well as the
larger portion Of wild cats and other
weed seeds. will come to the surface
and can be skinned OF and burned
II the seed was smutted. adding form
din at the rate Of one pound to 4(
gallons OF water will be fond efrec
tive in preventing its further propa
cation.