In chemical composition, barley is quite similar to wheat. Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert give the composition of a wheat-crop of 30 bushels per acre, 1,800 lbs. of grain, and 3,000 lbs. of straw; and of a crop of barley, 40 bushels per acre, 2,080 lbs. grain, and 2,500 lbs. of straw, as follows:
| In Grain. | In Straw. | In Total Produce. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat | Barley | Wheat | Barley | Wheat | Barley | |
| lbs. | lbs. | lbs. | lbs. | lbs. | lbs. | |
| Nitrogen | 32. | 33. | 13. | 12. | 45. | 45. |
| Phosphoric acid | 16. | 17. | 7. | 5. | 23. | 22. |
| Potash | 9.5 | 11.5 | 20.5 | 18.5 | 30. | 30. |
| Lime | 1. | 1.5 | 9. | 10.5 | 10. | 12. |
| Magnesia | 3.5 | 4. | 3. | 2.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Silica | 0.5 | 12. | 99.5 | 63. | 100. | 75. |
A few years ago, when the midge destroyed our wheat, many farmers in Western New York raised “winter barley,” instead of “winter wheat,” and I have seen remarkably heavy crops of this winter barley. It is not now grown with us. The maltsters would not pay as much for it as for spring barley, and as the midge troubles us less, our farmers are raising winter wheat again.
Where, as with us, we raise winter wheat and spring barley, the difference between the two crops, taking the above estimate of yield and proportion of grain to straw, would be:
1st. Almost identical composition in regard to nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, lime, and magnesia; but as it has more straw, the wheat-crop removes a larger amount of silica than barley.
2d. The greatest difference is in the length of time the two crops are in the ground. We sow our winter wheat the last of August, or the first and second week in September. Before winter sets in, the wheat-plant often throws out a bunch of roots a foot in length. During the winter, though the thermometer goes down frequently to zero, and sometimes 10° to 15° below zero, yet if the land is well covered with snow, it is not improbable that the roots continue to absorb more or less food from the ground, and store it up for future use. In the spring, the wheat commences to grow before we can get the barley into the ground, though not to any considerable extent. I have several times sown barley as soon as the surface-soil was thawed out five or six inches deep, but with a bed of solid frozen earth beneath.
3d. Two-rowed barley does not ripen as early as winter wheat, but our ordinary six-rowed barley is ready to harvest the same time as our winter wheat.
4th. We sow our barley usually in May, and harvest it in July. The barley, therefore, has to take up its food rapidly. If we expect a good growth, we must provide a good supply of food, and have it in the proper condition for the roots to reach it and absorb it; in other words, the land must be not only rich, but it must be so well worked that the roots can spread out easily and rapidly in search of food and water. In this country, you will find ten good wheat-growers to one good barley grower.
“That is so,” said the Deacon; “but tell us about Mr. Lawes’ experiments. I have more confidence in them than in your speculations. And first of all what kind of land was the barley grown on?”
“It is,” said I, “rather heavy land—as heavy as what the men call ‘clay-spots,’ on my farm.”