UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



IN 



AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES 



Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 63-126 October 23, 1913 



STUDIES UPON INFLUENCES AFFECTING 

 THE PROTEIN CONTENT OF WHEAT 



BY 



G. W. SHAW 



In 1905 the Merchants ' Exchange of San Francisco, the State 

 Board of Trade, the Sacramento Valley Development Associ- 

 ation, and the more prominent millers and grain dealers of 

 California called the attention of the Agricultural Department 

 of the University to the fact that the milling trade found it 

 necessary to import many hundred tons of wheat per year to 

 maintain the quality of California flour owing to the low gluten 

 content of the wheat grown in the state. 



With the view of ascertaining the causes of such an undesir- 

 able condition, investigations were begun under an appropriation 

 made by the Legislature at the session of 1906 (Senate Bill no. 

 10, entitled "An Act to provide for the improvement of cereal 

 crops of California and appropriating money therefor"). The 

 investigations are still under way, the bill having been re-enacted 

 at the legislative session of 1908 and again in 1910. 



The chief points for study in these investigations are: (1) 

 To determine the effect of changes of environment upon the 

 growth of cereals, particularly as regards the composition of the 

 wheat kernel and with special reference to the causes of the 

 production of a low protein content; (2) to discover or produce 

 such wheat as will yield the largest profit per acre for the farmer, 

 and will supply the millers with wheat of superior quality; 

 (3) to conduct similar experiments with oats, barley, and other 

 cereals as may he desirable; (4) to determine the effectiveness of 

 various methods of culture as affecting the production of cereals. 



