564 EXPERIMENT STATION RECOED. 



Chemical composition of some Sudan grains, W. .Beam (Rpt. Wellcome Re- 

 search Labs. Gordon Mem. Col. Khartoum, 3 (1908), pp. Jf01-411).—A large 

 number of analyses are reported of different varieties of sorghum, Indian corn, 

 teff (Poa abyssinica), millet, rice, fenugreek, beans, corn, and of other grains 

 aud oil-bearing seeds. 



Milling and baking tests with wheat, L. R. Waldron (North Dakota 8ta., 

 Rpt. Dicldnson Suhsta. 1908, pp. 24-26, pi. 1). — Milling and bailing tests carried 

 on under the direction of E. F. Ladd are reported with the following varieties 

 of wheat : Kahla, an Algerian durum with black chaff and beards ; Gatineau, a 

 Canadian Red Fife and Wild Goose hybrid; two Kubankas; Galgalos, a velvet 

 chaff " hard " wheat ; and Girka, a Russian wheat that very closely resembles 

 Fife. All the wheats were heavy, ranging from 60.5 to 64.5 lbs. per bushel, and 

 the yield of flour was high in every case, all giving an average corrected per- 

 centage of 70 except Girka. " In yield of patent flour, the Kahla wheat leads 

 with a percentage of 59.9. The percentage of the ' clear ' flours and the bran 

 are correspondingly low. The Gatineau is apparently with the durums as a 

 milling wheat. The durums are apparently much superior in milling qualities 

 to the two ' hard ' wheats." 



A study of the gluten of the different flours showed that in the case of the 

 durum wheats the expansion was decidedly lower than with the hard wheats 

 and that the Gatineau was intermediate in this respect. The Girka flour showed 

 a high expansion and in the author's opinion " ought to make very ' light ' 

 bread. The Galgalos loaf fails to ' stand up' in the oven." 



The baking tests were made in comparison with a standard flour. The results 

 reported indicate " that a less amount of the durum is required to make a loaf 

 of a certain weight than is required of the hard wheat flour. From the stand- 

 point of the baker, the durum flours ought to be much more preferable. The 

 Girka flour shows its ability to make a loaf, very nearly as large as the ' stand- 

 ard.' . . . The Kahla and Kubauka loaves are but three-fourths as large as the 

 standard loaf, of the same weight. The Kahla is considerably superior in the 

 number of loaves it produces per bushel of wheat and per barrel of flour. The 

 Girka is at the bottom of the list. The Gatineau shows up very favorably, both 

 as a milling and as a bread wheat. Unfortunately the trials for two seasons 

 do not indicate that it yields as well as the Girka or Kubanka." 



Beport of the Local Government Board on " facing- " and other methods of 

 preparing rice for sale, J. M. Hamill (Local Govt. Bd. [Gt. Brit.} Rpts. Insp. 

 Foods, 1909, No. 8, pp. 21). — An investigation was undertaken into the condi- 

 tions under which rice is prepared and sold, with a view to securing data re- 

 garding the extent to which " facing " and other treatment of rice is practiced 

 in addition to the ordinary milling. 



Millers generally polish rice, according to the author, talc or kindred sub- 

 stance being used to impart a high polish or glaze to the grain. Furthermore, 

 pigments of various kinds such as, most commonly, ultramarine blue, but some- 

 times Prussian blue, indigo and anilin dyes may be employed to modify the 

 yellowish color of rice, while oil, either vegetable oil such as arachis oil, or 

 some mineral oil, is used to increase its translucency. A sample of the talc 

 used in " facing " rice was analyzed, and analyses of extraneous mineral mat- 

 ter from the surface of rice by P. A. E. Richards reported. Of 509 samples 

 of rice examined 86 were unpolished, 69 lightly polished, and 354 highly polished. 



According to the author, " there seems to be no reason for anticipating that 

 injurious results are likely to follow the use of polishing materials if they are 

 used in such a way that only comparatively small amounts, such as shown in 

 the majority of the analyses [reported] . . . remain iu the rice. 



