HGO EXPKIUMKNT STATION UKfOHD. 



lut'llioils of tostiiif: llie quality (if Hour cuiiiloyt'd l)y luillcis. iiuludinj,' (Ictorniina- 

 lions of nioisluns ash, acids, tola! uitro^'on and K'ii'diu. haliiu}; tests, alisoiptioii 

 aud e.\liansit)n tests, and deterniiiiatioiis of wet and dry jxluten. 



"These are the principal tests, technical and dieniical. j,'enerally used in tesi- 

 iiifr flour. Xo siufile test has yet been found wbidi can be used to the exclusion 

 of other tests nor can any hard and fast rule be laid down as to what constitutes 

 a Hour of !iii;li bakiuK (pialities. I'.y making these tests day in and day out 

 records accunnilate which are iiivalual)le as guides in the testing and making 

 of flour." 



Defense of the bleaching of flour, B. S. Elliott (Amcr. lUuj, Fhiur, and 

 J'ccil .lour., I 'i {l!)()!)\, Xo. .^, ii/i. .n'-2!>). — A sununary of data presented in a 

 hearing before the Secretai-y of Agriculture, with i-eference to the legal status 

 of flour bleaching. 



Air bleaching of flour in the doughing state, ('. Cuistadouo (Atmr. MiUrr, 

 3G {U)08), Ao. 8, piK 619, 620 ).— According to the author, white bread can be 

 made from yellowish durum flours by so controlling the fermentation of the 

 dough that the bread is thoroughly aerated. 



Fungus and bacterial growth on stored flour, II. (J. Bell (Amcr. Miller. 

 87 (1909), Xo. J,, pp. 2S0, .2St, fig. /).— As the author points out, the chief de- 

 structive agencies in stored flour are fungi and bacteria. " The fungi or molds 

 readily break down the starches of the flour, setting free organic ncids and 

 causing the flour to go sour. The bacterial forms, on the other hand, are all 

 liquefying, or decomposing, in nature, aud cause the rapid destruction of the 

 flour." 



In a comi)arison of patent flour and baker's flour of good grades stored under 

 the same conditions a greater number of both bacteria and molds were fomid in 

 the baker's flour than in the patent grade. " This is probably due to the finer 

 separations made in the process of separating the high-grade flour. Without 

 doubt, these molds and bacteria have much to do with the deterioration of 

 flours in storage. Probably the molds cause the rapid increase in acid, which 

 reacts upon the gluten of the flour. Some of the liquefying bacteria probably 

 react upon this same element, the gluten of the flour, causing the value of the 

 material stored to deteriorate very rapidly." 



As protection against the growth of these low forms of life the author sug- 

 gests storage in well-lighted rooms. 



The water content of bread, O. Mezger {'/Jschr. Uiitrrsiich. Xnhr. u. 

 Genu-^synU., IG (1908), Xo. 7. pp. 3.9.5-3^7).— Determinations of the water con- 

 tent of black bread and white bread are reported which were undertaken in a 

 comparison of actual conditions with the food-law requirements. The results 

 show, according to the author, that in many cases the crumb of freshly baked 

 bread does not show^ the qualities which might be expected from a determina- 

 tion of its water content. 



Concerning the potato content of bread, J. Totii (Chcin. Zig., 32 (1908), 

 pp. G8.5, 68G; ahs. in Chcm. Ahs., 2 (1908), Xo. 20, p. 28.31).— 'So ditferences in 

 protein content were noted in bread made from wheat, rye, a mixture of wheat 

 and rye, and wheat and potato in equal parts. The potato bread, however, gave 

 a smaller and moister loaf. The ash of the potato flour contained considerably 

 less phosphoric acid than the wheat or rye flour. 



Sophisticated zwieback, E. Glaser (Zt.scfn: Untrr.snch. Xuhr. u. Genu.s.<imtl.. 

 16 (1908), Xo. 8. pp. .'i69-473) .—One of the samples of zweiback described 

 showed green patches due to the use of artificially colored caraway seeds and 

 the other showed brown spots due to rancid oil from aniseed added to the 

 dough. Suitable packages for marketing zweiback, and similar questions were 

 discussed. 



