BARLEY.
Any kind of grain can be converted into malt: but in England it is most usual to employ barley for that purpose. There are three species of barley.
1. Hordeum Distichon, the common barley, characterised by two lateral rows of seeds on the spike. Professor Thomson’s experiments give 0.343 inch as the average length of a seed; 0.143 the breadth; and 0.108 the thickness.
2. Hordeum Vulgare, commonly termed Bigg in Scotland, having, according to Linnæus, two rows of seeds more distinct, and two imperfect ones.
3. Hordeum Hexastichon, with hermaphrodite flowers and six rows of seeds.—Records of General Science, vol. i. 441.
By the experiments of Professor Thomson in 1806, malt of bigg of that year was found inferior to that of English barley by 14 per cent.: the weight of the bigg being 48.848 lbs. per imperial bushel, while the barley weighed 51.444 lbs. From these experiments the excise duty on malted bigg was fixed at 16s. per quarter, whilst that on malted barley was 20s. 8d. per quarter.
Since 1806, from superior knowledge of agriculture, and the selection of improved varieties of the different grains, &c., both barley and bigg have much improved in quality, and have increased in
