WHEATS AND FLOURS OF AROOSTOOK COUNTY. I3I 



The weight of flour produced for loo pounds of wheat would 

 naturally vary within quite wide limits because of differences in 

 dift'erent varieties of wheat, the character of the season and 

 numerous other causes. As the result of one milling test, given 

 in the table, a ^Minnesota miller obtained 73.1 pounds of flour 

 from 100 pounds of wheat. According to Wiley* a large mill- 

 ing Arm in the Northwest obtained 75.87 pounds total flour from 

 100 pounds of good quality spring wheat. Wiley also says : 

 ''From one of the largest mills in Minnesota I have received the 

 following ; When an exceptionally high grade of flour is formed, 

 the quantity produced is usually from 12 to 20 per cent of the 

 total weight of the wheat. Of the medium or straight flours, 

 which form the greatest part of the product, the quantity is about 

 50 per cent. Very low grade flours form from 2 to 10 per cent. 

 In general about 75 per cent of the weight of the wheat is 

 obtained as merchantable flour of some kind, of which from 60 to 

 70 per cent is high grade or straight fliour. About 24 per cent 

 of the weight of the w^heat is obtained as feeding stuffs, and 

 about I per cent, of the weight disappears as waste during the 

 process of manufacture. The miller above referred to states that 

 in producing a certain grade of straight flour he has obtained as 

 high as 72.2 per cent of straight flour and 8 per cent of low 

 grade." 



It appears from the above that with careful milling it is pos- 

 sible to obtain from ^2 to 75 per cent of the wheat ui the form 

 of flour. 



In the milling test at Washburn, in which prime ^Minnesota 

 grown wheat was used, about 57 per cent of the wheat was 

 recovered as flour ; in other words, the yield of flour should 

 have been at least one-fourth higher. It is true that the by-prod- 

 ucts cannot be considered as wholly waste, since they are used 

 as food for stock. But since herbivorous animals can utilize 

 coarser and cheaper foods than those required by man, the prac- 

 tice of leaving so large a proportion of flour in the feeds is to be 

 deprecated. 



There is also another fact that should not be overlooked. It 

 is probable that this loss is due chiefly to the large amount of the 

 endosperm that adheres to the seed coating and is lost in the bran 

 and middlings. The outer portion of the endosperm is richer in 



*U. S. Dept. Agr., Bui. 13, Part 9, p. 1232 



