REPORT OF THE CHEMIST 55 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



Stages of growth; at others, to ascertain the extent to which the crop exhausted the 

 land and afford data for a rational treatment of the soil with manures and fertilizers. 



SUGAE BEETS. 



Since the establishment of the Experimental Farms we have, season by season, esti- 

 mated the sugar content and "purity" of varieties of sugar beet specially grown for fac- 

 tory purposes. The examination has included beets grown in every province in the 

 Dominion. It is impossible to generalize in a sentence or two the voluminous data we 

 have accumulated — the season, the seed, the soil, and the culture, each has its marked 

 effect on the richness and purity of the beet. It may be stated, however, that ample 

 evidence, has been placed on record that beets eminently suited for factory purposes 

 can.be grown in many parts of Canada. 



CANADIAN CEREALS. 



The growth of Red Eife in the Canadian Northwest has earned for the Domin- 

 ion the enviable reputation of being one of the finest wheat-producing countries 

 in the world. Admitting the very high quality of the flour from the Fife wheats, 

 both red and white, there remains an important field for experimentation in the pro- 

 duction of earlier ripening varieties, better suited to northern portions characterized 

 by a short season. This, and similar problems, led to a large amount of careful woit 

 being done in the breeding of wheats, work commenced in the early days of the experi- 

 mental farm by Dr. Wm. Saunders and his associates, and in later years continued 

 imder the charge of Dr. C. E. Saunders, Cerealist. Concurrently with this research 

 chemical and physical analyses have been made of the cross-bred wheats so originated, 

 principally with the view of tracing from the composition of the wheat the effect of 

 cross-breeding and of environment or soil and climatic conditions. The results have 

 proved of considerable assistance in discriminating "between the many wheats pro- 

 duced from the work of hybridization. 



There has also been a hope that the investigations with wheats and flours in the 

 laboratory might lead to the establishment of some chemical basis for determining 

 the bread-making value of a flour that might accord more closely than is now possible 

 with the results from milling and baking tests. The publications of this Division show 

 that certain data of an encouraging nature have been obtained, but it must be admitted 

 that this difficult problem has not yet been satisfactorily solved. 



The occurrence or dtive'opment of soft or piibald wheat in ceitain dis!r!cts of the 

 Northwest, and more particularly on new land recently cleared of scrub, is a matter 

 regarding which there has been much controversy. The cause of this development of 

 starchy grains is not at present understood, and many theories have been advocated 

 to account for this deterioration. It seems in some way to be the result of environ- 

 ment, i.e., soil and climatic influences, and connected with the growth and riponing of 

 the wheat plant. A series of experiments has been instituted (and is now in progress) 

 in the hope of obtaining some light upon the peculiar conditions that bring about the 

 changes, and already results of great interest have been secured, indicating that a 

 large supply of soil moisture, especially when associated with an abundance of 

 available food, is an important factor in producing this piebald wheat. 



THE INFLUENCE OF SMUT PREVENTIVES ON THE WHEAT GERM. 



With a view to determining the relative feeding value of Canadian grown cereals, 

 inimerous analyses of oats, barley, emmer, spelts, rye, and buckwheat have been made, 

 and in this connection it may be mentioned that the composition of a large number of 



