BitREAU OF MARKETS. 471 



and they have been revised to make them more applicable under war 

 conditions. 



Storage experiments have been carried on in the Pacific North- 

 west to determine the increase in moisture content and gross weight 

 of wheat stored at the terminals and at country points, and methods 

 have been devised for determining the proper percentage of dockage 

 to be assessed. Extensive investigations have been made of the 

 problem of smut eradication, of cleaning grain on the farm to reduce 

 dockage and foreign material content, and of preventing dust explo- 

 sions in thrashing machines. The results of work done in the sum- 

 mer of 1917 indicate that the condition and grade of wheat can be 

 materially improved and its market value increased by attaching a 

 simple device to thrashing machines. This work was done in cooper- 

 ation with the Bureaus of Chemistry and Plant Industry. Average 

 price quotations received from grain dealers in Tacoma, Seattle, 

 Spokane, and Portland on 32 representative sets of samples showed 

 that wheat thrashed by machines so equipped brought about 2^ 

 cents per bushel more than other wheat from the same section. As 

 a result of these investigations, many of the larger thrasher manu- 

 facturing companies are sending out especially equipped machines 

 this year, and increasing interest in this matter is evident, especially 

 in smut-infected areas. 



Nematode galls, the result of a comparativel}^ new and rare disease 

 in the United States, have been found in some samples of wheat, 

 and investigations are now being made to determine the extent of 

 this disease and the proper method of handling wheat so infected. 



Tentative grades for oats have been formulated and extensive 

 work is being done to put these standards in final shape for official 

 promulgation. Throughout the year investigations have been made 

 regarding the practice of sulphuring oats on a commercial scale, 

 which have demonstrated the fact that sulphuring materially reduces 

 the germinating power of the grain. It has been ascertained that 

 a considerable percentage of oats which are being bought for seed 

 have been subjected to this injurious process. 



The rice standardization investigations have been continued along 

 lines similar to those laid down in the preceding year, with the 

 exception that the field of investigation has been extended to include 

 the rice producing and milling centers of the State of California. 

 Special attention has been given to methods of harvesting, handling, 

 storing, and grading rice, especially those factors which are of most 

 importance in grading rough and miUed rice, with a view to establish- 

 ing definite grades. 



Investigations of the handling, storing, and grading of barley, 

 grain sorghums, and flax are now being started in order to establish 

 grades for those grams. 



In the Pacific Northwest definite and valuable results have been 

 attained in promoting the practice of handling grain in bulk instead 

 of in sacks. Expert assistance has been given in constructing 

 granaries and elevators, and about 100 country elevators have been 

 built, mostly by farmers' cooperative organizations, according to 

 the bureau's recommendations. Assistance also was given in plan- 

 ning the million-bushel terminal elev^ator erected by the munici- 

 pality at Portland, Oregon. 



