59 



In comparing- the value of different Aarieties it is very desirable to 

 knoAV both the absolute weig-ht and specific gravity of the grain, as 

 these phj^sical qualities bear some relation to the chemical composition 

 of the grain and to the nature of the plant in general. All the infor- 

 mation concerning specific gravity, as well as a number of determina- 

 tions of absolute weight given in the table, are the results of a series of 

 interesting investigations made in the Seed Laboratory of the Division 

 of Botany of this Department by the late Mr. J. C. Dabney, then a mem- 

 ber of that Division. Almost all the data of the table concerning nitro- 

 gen content of the grain are the result of chemical analyses made under 

 the direction of Dr. H. W. Wiley, chief of the Division of Chemistry. 

 The greater part of these analyses were made at the request of the 

 chief of this Division with samples furnished b}^ the Division. The 

 remainder, together with a number of determinations of absolute 

 weight, are taken from reports of work formerly done by the Division 

 of Chemistry.^ A few anal3"ses are also given on the authority of 

 F. B. Guthrie' and Emerich Pekar.^ 



As the value of the grain for making bread and macaroni is meas- 

 ured almost wholly by its quality and quantity of gluten content, only 

 the percentage of moist and diy gluten and the total per cent of 

 albuminoids are given. 



Jt will be noted that no column for yields is given in the table. For 

 this omission, which under other circumstances would be a serious 

 one, there are three good reasons: (1) In experiments of this kind each 

 variety is given so small a space (an average space of one drill row 35 

 feet long) that it is not practicable to obtain accurate estimates of 

 yield. (2) Many of the varieties tested are already well-known Ameri- 

 can wheats, whose yields have often been reported by various experi- 

 ment stations, while as to the foreign sorts it is most important, first 

 of all, to know Avhether they will prove to be suited to our conditions 

 at all or not, before we an^, ready to test their yielding capacity. (3) 

 The 3'ield of a variety, whih^ it is of course directly the biggest thing 

 to the practical man, is, after all, not a distinct constant qualit^Mii itself, 

 but is the combined result of a luimber of qualities acting indirectly, 

 and often not thought of at all. For example, such sorts as Clawson 

 and Pool(> are fairlv ji'ood wheats, and under mild conditions would 

 probably yield better than Turkey; but in west Kansas or. southern 



'See "Analyses of Cureals collected at the World'w Colnmbiaii Kx|)osition," Bnl. 

 No. 4o, Div. CheiH., T^ S. Dept. Agric, pp. 39-5.'5, 1895. 



'^ "Noten oil the inilling qualities of different varieties of wheat," Dept. Agric. N. 

 H. W., misc. jml). No. 189, p. 47, 1898; "Milling Jiotes on the Lainl)rigg liarvest of 

 1897-98," Agric. (laz. N. S. W., Vol. X, Pt. 9, pp. 90()-9iri, Sept., 1S99, and "Absorp- 

 tion of water by the gluten of different wheats," Dept. Agrir. X. S. W., misc. pub. 

 No. 104, p. 7, 1S9<>. 



^"AVei/.cii mid :\h'hl nnsercr Krde," ini Auftragedes Kig. Ing. .Ministeriunis fur 

 Ackerbaiiiiidustric luid Handel, pji. 277, lUniapest, 1882. 



