Malt
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Malt. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
grain, usually barley, steeped in water and fermented, by which the starch of the grain is converted into saccharine matter, dried on a kiln, and then used in brewing ale, stout, beer, or porter, and in the distillation of whisky. MALTA (mâl'tä) (anciently Melita), an island in the Mediterranean belonging to Great Britain; 62 miles S. S. W. of Sicily, and 197 miles N. of Africa; length 17 miles; central breadth, about 9 miles; miles; area, 95 square miles, to which the adjoining islands of Gozo and Comino add 24; pop. about 225,000. It is of an irregular oval shape, deeply indented on all sides except the S., where the coast forms a continuous and almost unbroken line. The most important indentation is the double bay on which the capital, Valetta, stands. The greatest elevation of the island is about 750 feet. The soil is thin, and rests on a calcareous rock; in some parts earth has been brought from Sicily and put down. Corn, cotton, potatoes, and clover are the chief crops. Both the vine and olive are cultivated, and fruit, particularly figs and oranges, manufactures conis very abundant. The sist of cotton goods, lace, jewelry, etc. in the The central position of Malta Mediterranean makes Valetta an invaluable naval station, although the harbor account of its is open to objection on small size; it has been provided with excellent docks and very strong fortificahot in sumtions. The climate is very mer, but pleasant and healthy in winter, season. attracting many visitors at this was During the World War Malta an important naval station for the British and the Allied navies. Malta passed successively through the hands of the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians, and was finally attached war. After to Rome during the 2d Punic was the fall of the Roman empire it seized at different times by Vandals, Goths, and Saracens. From the last it fortunes passed to Sicily, and followed its till 1522, when Charles V. granted it to In the order of St. John of Jerusalem. 1798 the grand-master surrendered it without defense to Napoleon. It was taken by the British in 1800, and finally annexed by them in 1814. The executive government is in the hands of a governor and council. Excavations carried on in of 1916-1918 have revealed the existence an advanced primitive civilization. The educational institutions include a university, a lyceum, secondary schools, besides the primary and infant schools. Besides capital Valetta and the "Three Cities" adjoining there are several considerable towns or villages.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
sprouted grain. In making alcoholic liquors from grain, it is necessary first of all to convert the starch into fermentable sugar. In sprouting, seeds develop a white substance called diastase, not very well understood save that it has the power of changing starch to sugar. Grain, sprouted by artificial means to develop this diastase, is called malt. Malt is as indispensable to the brewer and distiller as is yeast to the baker. See Beer