to the truth. Instead of counting the corns by hand, an instrument
may be used for this purpose.
If 1000 corns of a barley were found to weigh 42 grammes, and 1000 corns of a finished malt from the same barley 32 grammes, then the yield of malt is 32 × 10042 = 76.1, this corresponding to a 1% increase. Assuming that the moisture content of the barley was 15% and that of the finished malt 2%, 100 grammes of malt will contain 2 grammes of moisture, and 76.1 grammes will contain 76.1 × 2100 = 1.5 grammes moisture; therefore 76.1 grammes of malt contain 76.1 − 1.5 = 74.6 grammes of dry matter. This was obtained from 100 − 15 = 85 grammes of barley dry substance. Hence 100 parts of barley dry substance will yield 74.6 × 10085 = 87.7 corresponding with a loss of dry substance equal to 12.5% of the dry substance of the barley, or with a loss of 10.7% on the barley containing 15% of moisture.
The results obtained by this method of laboratory control when it is accurately carried out agree very closely with those deduced from the practical results of weighing the barley, malt and coombs in the malting.
Special Malts.—In addition to the kinds of malt considered in what precedes, there are others mostly used for imparting specific flavours and colour to beers and stout. These are crystal malt, imperial malt, brown or blown malt, and black or roasted malt. Crystal malt is grown for a shortened period on the floors, and then placed in a wire cylinder, which is rotated over a fire so that it is dried at a very high temperature. The weight per quarter is from 250 to 280 ℔. Imperial malt is dried off on an ordinary kiln at a final temperature of 240–270° F., but it is not allowed the usual length of time on the withering floor. It is placed on the drying kiln in a layer not exceeding one inch and a half in thickness. A moderate heat from burnt wood is first applied until the bulk of the moisture has been driven off, when the temperature is suddenly raised so that the grains swell some 25% and the malt takes up a strong empyreumatic flavour from the products of combustion. This kind of malt weighs 270–300 ℔ per quarter. Black or roasted malt is prepared by roasting malt in a cylinder. Ford states that perfectly malted corn gives a colour of less intensity and permanence than does partially malted corn, and this has been confirmed by other observers. A certain quantity of the so-called black malt is actually made from raw barley, but this gives a product of inferior flavour. The weight per quarter of black malt varies as much as from 215 to 290 ℔.
Valuation.—For the valuation of malt the following determinations are usually carried out: Extract per standard quarter, moisture, diastatic activity by the Lintner process, tint, and matters soluble in cold water. The physical examination of malt is also a matter of importance, inasmuch as direct evidence is obtained thereby of the modification of the malt. Among the methods adopted for this purpose may be mentioned counting the percentage of corns in which the acrospire has grown up to one-half, two-thirds and three-fourths the entire length of the corn. In properly made malt the modification of the endosperm should proceed pari passu with the growth of the acrospire. The sinker test is also useful when carried out in an intelligent manner. Those corns which sink in water and lie flat are improperly modified. Normal malt has a specific gravity less than water and the corns have equal density throughout; consequently they float horizontally in water. In forced samples the proximal ends are frequently lighter than the distal ends, and the corns float horizontally in water, with the germ directed upwards. The latter, however, may in some cases fill with water, and the corns lie flat or sink. This is a characteristic of over-modified malt. It will be seen from these remarks that it is essential to carry out the sinker test under standard conditions. The modification of the malt may also be determined by means of the diaphanoscope already referred to under Barley.
Bibliography.—M. M. W. Baird, Journ. Inst. Brewing (1905), 11, 431; J. L. Baker, Journ. Chem. Soc. Trans. (1902), 81, 1177; The Brewing Industry; J. L. Baker and W. D. Dick, Journ. Inst. Brewing (1905), 11, 380; J. Baverstock, Treatise on Brewing and Malting (1824); E. S. Beaven, Journ. Fed. Inst. Brewing (1902), 8, 542; R. H. Biffen, Journ. Inst. Brewing (1906), 12, 366; Board of Agriculture and Fisheries (Leaflet 149); A. J. Brown, Annals of Botany (1907), 21, 79; H. T. Brown and G. H. Morris, Journ. Chem. Soc. Trans. (1890), 57, 458; H. T. Brown and others, Trans. Guinness Research Lab. (1903), vol.—pt. I. (1906), pt. II.; M. Delbrück, Journ. Inst. Brewing (1906), 12, 642; Ford, A Treatise on Malting (1849); C. Graham, Cantor Lectures, Society of Arts (1874); J. Grüss, Wochenschrift für Brauerei (1895), 12, 1257; (1896), 13, 729; (1897), 14, 321, 409; (1898), 15, 81, 269; (1899), 16, 519, 621; (1902), 19, 243; W. Johannsen, Résumé. Comptes rendus trav. lab. Carlsberg (1884), 2, 60; A. R. Ling, Brewers’ Journal (1904), 40, 741; E. J. Mills and J. B. Pettigrew, Journ. Chem. Soc. Trans. (1882), 41, 38; E. R. Moritz, Journ. Fed. Inst. Brewing (1895), 1, 228; E. R. Moritz and G. H. Morris, A Textbook of the Science of Brewing (1891); J. M. H. Munro and E. S. Beaven, Journ. Roy. Agric. Soc. (1900), 11, pt. II., 5; T. B. Osborne, Report of Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (1894); H. Stopes, Malt and Malting (1895); W. J. Sykes and A. R. Ling, Principles and Practice of Brewing (1907); H. Van Laer Bull. de la soc. chim. de Belgique (1905), 337; R. Wahl, Amer. Brewers’ Rev. (1904), 18, 89. (A. R. L.*)
MALTA, the largest of the Maltese Islands, situated between
Europe and Africa, in the central channel which connects the
eastern and western basins of the Mediterranean Sea. The
group belongs to the British Empire. It extends over 29 m.,
and consists of Malta, 91 sq. m., Gozo (q.v.) 20 sq. m., Comino
(set apart as a quarantine station) 1 sq. m., and the uninhabited
rocks called Cominotto and Filfla. Malta (lat. of Valletta
Observatory 35° 53′ 55″ N., long. 14° 30′ 45″ W.) is about 60 m.
from the nearest point of Sicily, 140 m. from the mainland of
Europe and 180 from Africa; it has a magnificent natural
harbour. From the dawn of maritime trade its possession has
been important to the strongest nations on the sea for the time
being.
Malta is about 1712 m. long by 814 broad; Gozo is 834 by 412 m. This chain of islands stretches from N.E. to S.E. On the S.W. the declivities towards the sea are steep, and in places rise abruptly some 400 ft. from deep water. The general slope of these ridges is towards the N.W., facing Sicily and snow-capped Etna, the source of cool evening breezes. The Bingemma range, rising 726 ft., is nearly at right angles to the axis of the main island. The geological “Great Fault” stretches from sea to sea at the foot of these hills. There are good anchorages in the channels between Gozo and Comino, and between Comino and Malta. In addition to the harbours of Valletta, there are in Malta, facing N.W., the bays called Mellieha and St Paul’s, the inlets of the Salina, of Madalena, of St Julian and St Thomas; on the S.E. there is the large bay of Marsa Scirocco. There are landing places on the S.W. at Fomh-il-rih and Miggiarro. Mount Sceberras (on which Valletta is built) is a precipitous promontory about 1 m. long, pointing N.E. It rises out of deep water; well-sheltered creeks indent the opposite shores on both sides. The waters on the S.E. form the “Grand Harbour,” having a narrow entrance between Ricasoli Point and Fort St Elmo. The series of bays to the N.W., approached between the points of Tigne and St Elmo, is known as the Marsamuscetto (or Quarantine) Harbour.
Mighty fortifications and harbour works have assisted to make this ideal situation an emporium of Mediterranean trade. During the Napoleonic wars and the Crimean campaign the Grand Harbour was frequently overcrowded with shipping. The gradual supplanting of sail by steamships has made Malta a coaling station of primary importance. But the tendency to great length and size in modern vessels caused those responsible for the civil administration towards the end of the 19th century to realize that the harbour accommodation was becoming inadequate for modern fleets and first-class liners. A breakwater was therefore planned on the Monarch shoal, to double the available anchorage area and increase the frontage of deep-water wharves available in all weathers.
The Maltese Islands consist largely of Tertiary Limestone, with somewhat variable beds of Crystalline Sandstone, Greensand and Marl or Blue Clay. The series appears to be in line with similar formations at Tripoli in Africa, Cagliari in Sardinia, and to the east of Marseilles. To the south-east Geology and Water Supply. of the Great Fault (already mentioned) the beds are more regular, comprising, in descending order, (a) Upper Coralline Limestone; (b) Yellow, Black or Greensand; (c) Marl or Blue Clay; (d) White, Grey and Pale Yellow Sandstone; (e) Chocolate-coloured nodules with shells, &c.; (f) Yellow Sandstone; (g) Lower Crystalline Limestone. The Lower Limestone probably belongs to the Tongarian stage of the Oligocene series, and the Upper Coralline Limestone to the Tortonian stage of the Miocene. The beds are not folded. The general dip of the strata is from W.S.W. to E.N.E. North of the Great Fault and at Comino the level of the beds is about 400 ft. lower, bringing (c), the Marl, in juxtaposition with (g), the semi-crystalline Limestone. There is a system of lesser faults, parallel to the Great Fault, dividing the area into a number of blocks, some of which have fallen more than others. There are also indications of another series of faults roughly parallel to the south-east coast, which point to the islands being fragments of a former extensive plateau. The mammalian remains found in Pleistocene deposits are of exceptional interest. Among the more remarkable forms are a species of hippopotamus, the elephant (including a pigmy variety), and a gigantic dormouse.
