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farmers build tlieir barley ricks with a hole or funnel in thecentre from top to bottom, in the manner formerly describedin the first part of this chapter. For this purpose, the openframes and central bosses, there described, arc admirablyadapted. Although perfectly well win in the field, yet whenmoistened by rain or mist, barley is more apt than wheat oroats to become musty in the rick, as its straw is a great dealmore tender, and claps much closer in the stack.
It is threshed and dressed up for market exactly in the samemanner as wheat or oats; yet most threshing-machines aredefective in regard to separating the awns of barley from thegrains, especially when it has been led home in a raw or softstate. Various devices are often had recourse to for obviatingthis defect. Some threshing-mills have an additional appara-tus for this purpose, somewhat on the principle of a malt-mill, through which the grain has to go after it is separatedfrom the ear. In others, by chain buckets formerly mention-ed, all the \\\-hummelled barley is repeatedly hoisted up to thethreshing-stage, and passed frequently through the fluted rol-lers, skutchers, and winnowing-machines, till the awns aresufficiently removed. In other cases, where either of thesedevices are wanting, it has to be hummelledon the barn-floor,either by means of threshing with the old flails or swiples, orby stamping it with an implement resembling a paviour’s ram,the under end of which is armed with plate iron made like ahoneycomb. On some occasions, barley has been known tobe too much hummelled, at least for the use of maltsters; as,when the awn breaks off so close as to leave a small portion ofthe kernel naked, such grains do not malt kindly. This error,however, is not often committed; and is no loss to the miller,as his produce depends on the kernel alone. The lately in-vented hummelling-machine, however, is likely to answer bet-ter than any of these modes.
§ 6. Produce and application —The produce of barley, likethat of all other grains, varies according to soil and seasons,from twelve bushels, reckoned a very miserable crop, to forty-