136 MAINE AGRICUIvTURAI^ I;XPE:RIAIE:NT STATION. I903. 



accords quite closely to his standard of a hard flour. The second 

 grade flours, Nos. 6383 and 6385, are equally recognized and so 

 classed. 



The Staten Island first quality flour (No. 6384) and the Cat- 

 aract best patent (No. 6386), while agreeing with the standard 

 in color and gluten, make loaves very much like the patents 

 milled at Washburn (Nos. 6349 and 6356). The three flours 

 from Maine grown wheats milled at Houlton (Nos. 6608, 6613 

 and 6618) are low in gluten and make small loaves which weigh 

 considerably more than the standard. For example, 100 pounds 

 of flour of No. 6618 would make a twelfth greater weight of 

 bread than 100 pounds of the standard, but this bread would be 

 much closer in texture and on that account less pleasing to the 

 eye and less open to the action of digestive juices when eaten. 

 Flours Nos. 6608 and 6613 were ground too fine for the Minne- 

 apolis standard, while Nos. 6618 and 6628 were just right. The 

 flours from the two Minnesota wheats (Nos. 6623 and 6628) are 

 high in gluten and make good loaves. ]\Ir. Foster attributed the 

 dark color of No. 6623 to the dryness of the wheat at the time 

 of milling, which caused particles of the bran to appear in the 

 early breaks and which could not be subsequently eliminated. 



The Kansas flour (No. 6605) comes but little nearer the Min- 

 neapolis standard than those milled in Maine from Maine grown 

 wheat. The arbitrary nature of the standard and the fact that 

 it is applicable only to the hard wheats of the Northwest, thus 

 becomes very evident. These wheats are so abundant that they 

 largely regulate the ideals of the flour market and to successfully 

 compete flour must more or less correspond to the standard. 

 Still there is plenty of room in such a district as Aroostook 

 county to develop the growing and the milling of wheat along its 

 own lines. The experiments at Houlton show that most of the 

 flour can be obtained from the wheat in our own mills. The 

 appearance of flours Nos. 6618 and 6628 show that we can make 

 a flour equal in that respect (and 6618 was from a Maine grown 

 wheat) to the western flour. There is little question but that 

 by careful breeding from wheat now being grown in Maine it 

 would be possible to develop a strain equal for our conditions to 

 some of the improved strains of other sections. The improve- 

 ment must come, if it comes at all, by careful attention to the 

 details of wheat breeding and wheat milling. 



