HORDEUM, a genus of plants of the natural order Panicaceze, furnishing the barley so much used by the more northern nations of the world.
H. distichon, Linn., 2-rowed barley.
H. deficiens, Stendel, of Red Sea, 2-rowed barley. H. hexastichon, Linn., 6-rowed barley.
H. vulgare, Linn., 4-rowed barley.
H. zeocriton, Linn., 2-rowed barley.
To this species belong the sprat, battledore, Ful ham. Pultney rice, and Turkish barley, and the Dinkel.
English barley is that with 2-rowed ears, and its botanical name is Hordeum tmlyare distichon. The Scotch bere or bigg is the Hordeum vulgare hexastichon. It has two rows of ears, but three corns come from the same point, so that it seems to be 6-eared. . The grains of bigg are smaller than those of barley, and the husk thinner. The kinds of barley especially cultivated for making pearled barley or malt,- are Hordeum perlatunt, II. distichon B., Zeocriton commune, Ilordeum mundatum. These are technically known as Scotch and French pearl barley, battledore barley, German rice, sprat barley. Fero de ozzo is made from sprat barley.
Professor Einhof analyzed 1000 parts of barley flour, and found it to contain 720 of starch, 56 sugar, 50 mucilage, 36.6 gluten, 12-8 vegetable albumen, 100 water, 2.5 phosphate of lime, and of fibrous or ligneous matter.
The specific gravity of English barley varies from to ; of bigg, from 1.227 to 1.265. The weight of the husk of barley is 1/6, that of bigg 2/9. Professor Ure states 'specific gravity of barley is 1.235 by my trials.'
H. mgiccras, Boyle, MSS., has ears cylindrical ; florets arranged in a confused manner, not in rows ; awns soft, short, hooded, and bent down wards ; grains loose in the husk. It is found in the northern parts of India, and probably in Tartary, as its grains have been sent to England under the name of Tartarian wheat.' Its appear ance is more that of wheat than of barley, and its naked grains assist the resemblance. It is, however, a genuine species of Hordeum. It appears to be a productive plant, but little is as yet known of its quality in the climate of England.
H. gymnodistichum has the ear cylindrical ; awns almost parallel with the ear ; grains loose in the husk. Naked barley, a species but little culti vated now, is of unknown origin. It is said to have been introduced into England in the year 1768 ; but it is reported to have preserved its characters unaltered from time immemorial in some parts of Europe.
H. gymno-hexastichon has the ear cylindrical ; awns very long, rough, and rigid, rather spreading away from the ear ; grains loose in the husk. The original of this, the naked 6-rowed barley, is unknown. It is extemely productive, and in some parts of Europe it is reckoned the most valuable of all. The French call it, on account of its good qualities, Orge celeste.