18 



IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF WHEAT. 



repeat the experiment to remedy this, but he has j^ubhshed nothing 

 further. The amid nitrogen continued to decrease up to the time of 

 ripening, as did also the ash, fats, fiber, dextrins, and pentosans. 

 There was a gradual and marked increase in the proportion of gliadin 

 up to the time of ripening, and a somewhat less and rather irregular 

 decrease in the proportion of glutenin during the same period. 



Failyer and Willard " report analyses of wheat in the soft-dough 

 stage and when ripe. The ash, crude fiber, fat, and the total and 

 albuminoid nitrogen were higher in the soft-dough wheat, and the 

 nitrogen-free extract and non-albuminoid nitrogen were higher in 

 the ripe wheat. 



Dietrich and Konig ^' quote results from five experimenters — Reiset, 

 Stockhardt, Heinrich, Nowacki, and Handtke. Only in one case 

 (Heinrich) is there a constant decrease in total nitrogen as the grain 

 approaches ripeness. There is much inconstancy in the results, there 

 being in some cases a decrease in nitrogen between the milk stage 

 and full ripeness and sometimes an increase. There is little informa- 

 tion to be gained from the results quoted by Dietrich and Konig. 



Kornicke and Werner in their ''Handbuch des Getreidebaues "'^ 

 refer to the work of Stockhardt, and also that of Heinrich, to show 

 that during the process of ripening the percentage of nitrogen in 

 the wheat kernel gradually diminishes, as does also the percentage 

 of ash, and that, on the other hand, the percentage of carbohydrates 

 increases during the same period. Heinrich also shows by a state- 

 ment of the number of grams of these constituents in 2,600 kernels 

 at different stages of development that the absolute amount of 

 nitrogen and ash increases up to the time of ripening, and that 

 consequently the decrease in the percentage of these constituents 

 is due to the rapid increase in the cai*bohydrates. The results 

 obtained by Heinrich appear as follows when tabulated: 



stage of growth. 



Starch. 



14 days after bloom 

 Beginning to ripen. 



Ripe 



Overripe 



Percentage 

 in 100 



parts of 

 dry matter 



of kernel. 



61.44 

 74.17 

 75.66 

 76.38 



Grams in 



2,600 

 kernels. 



Protein. 



Ash. 



Percentage 

 in 100 



parts of 

 dry matter 



of kernel. 



22.0 

 58.5 

 67.0 

 70.0 



14.05 

 12.21 

 11.82 

 11.67 



Grams in 



2,600 

 kernels. 



5.0 

 10.0 

 10.5 

 10.7 



Percentage 

 in 100 " 



parts of 

 dry matter 



of kernel. 



Grams in 



2,(;oo 

 kernels. 



2.48 

 2.14 

 1.97 



1.88 



0.84 

 1.70 

 1.75 

 1.79 



Nedokutschajew'' analyzed wheat kernels at different stages of 

 development and found an almost uniform decrease in the percentage 



(' Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 32. 

 b Zusanimensetzung u. Verdauliolikeit der Futtermittel, 1, p. 419. 

 f Handbuch des Getreidebaues, Berlin, 1884,.2, pp. 474-476. 

 <'Landw. Vers. Stat., 56 (1902), pp. 303-310. 



