?o6 



Journal of Agricidiiirc, Victoria. [.o April, 1912. 



The following figures give the mean of the results of twelve representative 

 samples of Victorian wheat recently analysed in this Department by the 

 Chemist for Agriculture :— - 



TABLE IV. 



Composition of Ash of Twelve Typical Vap.ieties of Victorian Wheat. 



Phosphoric anhydride 



Potash . . 



Magnesi?., 



Lime 



Soda 



Sulphuric anhydrile 



Brown oxile of manganes! 



Silica 



Chlorine 



Alumina 



Iron oxide 



Less oxygen = Chlorme 



100-00 



With regard to the essential ash constituents, it is interesting to note 

 the relatively large amounts of phosphcric acid and potash present, and 

 it is not d flficult to understand why manuring with superphosphate has 

 produced such remarkable results during the last decade on soil naturally 

 deficient in this constituent. Whtn we realize that practically all the 

 phosphoric acid absorbed bv a wheat crop is transferred to the grain and 

 thus carted off the farm each year, it is not hard to understand the 

 necessity for continuous phosphatic fertilization. A comparatively large 

 amount of magnesia is found in the wheat ash, Init soils generally contain 

 an abundance of this constituent. 



Proiein. 



The nitrogen us compounds of the wheat kernel have been the subject 

 of much painstakin.g research. In a communication to the American 

 Chemical Journal of 1893, Osborne and Voorhees pointed out that the 

 nitrogenous compounds of wheat consist principally of proteids, of wh'ch 

 they recognised five. 



\\'igner, however, has since shown that nitrogen, combined in other 

 forms than prote'd, is present in the wheat kernel, and in quantities far 

 larger than has been generallv suppored. He shows that, Avhile the flour 

 contains very little ncn coagulable nitrogenous matter, there is a consider- 

 able quantity of non-proteid nitrogen in the bran or husk. 



The principal prote'd of wheat is glu'en, which, however, really con- 

 s'sts of gliadin and gJntcnin. If a small quantity of flour be mixed with 

 waler so as to make a dough, and this dough be kneaded out under a 

 gently flowing stream of wa'er, the starch and other non-gluten compounds 

 are gradually washed away, and a sticky elastic mass of gluten is left 

 behhid. This gluten is composed of two proteids, viz.. gliadin, which is 

 soluble in dilute solutions of alcohol, but is insoluble in neutral aqueous 

 solutions, and glutenin, which is insoluble iii alcoholic solutions. Gliadin 

 may, therefore, be separated from glutenin by digesting the gluten with 



