54 



Jounitil of Af/ricii/fiiri:, Victoria. [10 Jan., 1917. 



up and development of virgin country, the employment of superphos- 

 phates, better methods of cultivation to conserve soil moisture, &c., it 

 is still capable of returning heavier yields per acre, and better quality 

 wheat. Illustrative of the production of wheat in the four States men- 

 tioned it has been computed that, for last season, the yield exceeded 

 160,000,000 bushels, the amount required for local use not exceeding 

 36,000,000 bushels, we have a balance of 124,000,000 bushels to export, 

 this State contributing a yield of 58,200,000 bushels. For the purpose 

 of comparing the milling and baking qualities of the wheats they were 

 submitted to the following tests: — 



1st. Determination of the amount of foreign matter ipresent, and 

 the respective amount of each material. 



2nd. Determination of the percentage of the different grades of 

 wheat grains. 



3rd. The milling, including some of the ordinary chemical tests. 



4th. The baking test. 



The Foreign Matter. 

 The amount of foreign matter in wheat is a matter of importance 

 to both the miller and to the exporter. From a miller's point the 

 quality of the wheat depends largely on the percentage of impurities, 

 the moisture, and the strength. The exporter is concerned in handling 

 and paying extra freight for the impurities which are useless to the 

 miller. 



Table I. — Showing Amount of Foreign Matter and Kelative 

 Percentage of Each Ingredient. 



(1,000 grams taken). 



New South Wales 

 South Australia 

 Westera Australia 

 Victoria J.. ^ 



0-23 



12- 



2-32 



4-72 



1-77 

 1-97 

 3 02 

 2 32 



0010 75 

 0-52012 

 1-260-59 

 0-760-47 



0-40 

 0-39 

 57 

 0-47 



0-69 

 0-31 

 004 

 0-76 



33 

 004 

 008 

 0-29 



0-73 

 0-82 

 1-27 

 2-64 



1 11 

 019 



1-46 



02 

 005 

 005 

 0-24 



0-60 



1-72 

 0-98 

 1-41 



Comparing the results obtained from the wheats one or two notable 

 features become evident, for example, the percentage of foreign matter 

 is very variable, ranging from that of South Australia 1.72 per cent, 

 to that of New South Wales .60 per cent. — the high percentage found 

 in the South Australian wheat being largely due to barley grain. Our 

 "Victoriaii wheat contains a high percentage of whiteheads. The New 

 South Wales wheat is practically free from drake, and the Western 

 Australian wheat contains no wild oats. One ingredient common to 

 all, smut, is worthy of special mention ; it is a matter of regret that our 

 Australian wheat should contain this fungus, in view of the fact that 

 its ravages can be controlled, and its presence eliminated by the simple 

 process of pickling the seed wheat. While the average percentage of 

 impurities found does not appear large, the number of bushels present 

 in the 124,000,000 bushels for export reaches the res,pectable total of 



