ter purpose the hard, somewhat flinty grains are
preferable, and they are prepared by grinding off the outer cuticle which
forms "pot barley." When the attrition is carried further, so that the
grain is reduced to small round pellets, it is termed "pearl barley."
Patent barley is either pot or pearl barley reduced to flour. Under the
name _decoctum hordei_, a preparation of barley is included in the [v.03
p.0406] British Pharmacopoeia, which is of value as a demulcent and
emollient drink in febrile and inflammatory disorders.

_Cultivation_.--Apart from the growth-habits of the plant itself, the
consideration that chiefly determines the routine of barley cultivation is
the demand on the part of the maltster for uniformity of sample. Less care
is required in its cultivation when it is intended for feeding live-stock.
It is essential that the grains on the maltster's floor should germinate
simultaneously, hence at the time of reaping, the whole crop must be as
nearly as possible in the same stage of maturity. On rich soils the crop is
liable to grow too rapidly and yield a coarse, uneven sample, consequently
the best barley is grown on light, open and preferably calcareous soils,
while if the condition of the soil is too high it is often reduced by
growing wheat before the barley.

Barley (see AGRICULTURE, _Crops and Cropping_) is a rapidly-growing and
shallow-rooted plant. The upper layer of the soil must therefore be free
from weeds, finely pulverized and stocked with a readily-available supply
of nutriment. In most rotations barley is grown after turnips, or some
other "cleaning" crop, with or without the interposition of a wheat crop.
The roots are fed off by sheep during autumn and early winter, after which
the ground is ploughed to a depth of 3 or 4 in. only in order not to put
the layer of soil fertilized by the sheep beyond reach of the plant. The
ground is then left unworked and open to the crumbling influence of frost
till towards the end of winter, when it is stirred with the cultivator
followed by the harrows, or in some cases ploughed with a shallow furrow.
The seed, which should be plump, light in colour, with a thin skin covered
by fine wrinkles, is sown in March and early April[1] at the rate of from 8
to 12 pecks to the acre and lightly harrowed in. As even distribution at a
uniform depth is necessary, the drill is preferred to the broadcast-seeder
for barley sowing. In early districts seeding may take pla