11 Jr.NK. 1917.] The Milling of ]Yheat. 349 



THE MILLING OF WHEAT IN VICTORIA. 



By r. Maiikln Scutt, Ctu'ini.it for Agriculture, and F. G. B. Winslow, 



Milling Expert. 



ITere in Victoria, where, iu normal velars, the wheat yield is so much 

 in excess of our home requirements, the question of the disposal of the 

 surplus is one demanding full consideration. It must be distributed 

 either by export in its natural state or by milling the grain and export- 

 ing the flour. From a commercial point of view it is, of course, more 

 desirable that wheat should be milled here rather than that the grain 

 should he sent away whole, for not only does the milling give employ- 

 ment, but further, the various bye-products are required by our poultry 

 rearers and dairy farmers for feeding purposes. Our principal market in 

 normal times is Great Britain, and during the past year a considerably 

 increased tonnage of flour was shipped there. In the oversea markets 

 the Victorian miller has to compete, not only against his British rival's 

 goods, but also against the flour shipped from other parts of the world, 

 for the British miller draws his supplies from almost all the grain- 

 growing cotuitries. Therefore, he is able to blend the wheats as occa- 

 sion demands, and thus mill a high-grade flour, and the science of blend- 

 ing having been raised to a fine art, he can supply the British baker 

 with an ideal baking flour. Grain exported by us is largely used in blend- 

 ing in order to give the flour quality and class. As Australian wheat is 

 so highly prized for blending — our flour, properly milled, should hold 

 its own in the markets of Great Britain, as well as in other parts of the 

 world. In order that the present reputation of our Australian wheats 

 may be preserved, the flour exported should be graded, and only the 

 best quality allowed to be shipped as No. 1 Australian. 



In milling a high-grade flour much depends on the treatment given 

 to the grain in the mill. Wheat, as it is received at the mill, contains 

 approximately between one and two per cent, of impurities, which, of 

 course, are of no value for milling into flour. Besides these impurities 

 there is always adhering to the beard of the berries a quantity of dust 

 and earthy matter, which must be removed before the wheat can be 

 considered fit for the conditioning process. 



Wheat Cleaning. 



When the wheat is received at the mill, it is passed through a ware- 

 house separator to eliminate the bulk of the dust and earthy particles, 

 and to remove the larger pieces of straw, &:c. During this operation 

 a large amount of dust is raised by the action of the fans, and some 

 portion of it is not retained by the dust collectors, but floats through 

 the air in the vicinity of the separator. Impregnating the air inside the 

 mill with this foreign body should be avoided as much as possible, and 

 in order to save trouble through this dust-laden air being drawn into the 

 other wheat-cleaning machinery, the operation is best carried on otitside 

 the mill. After passing through the separator the wheat is passed on 

 to the silo for storage, and thence is run through a milling separator 

 as required for milling. This latter machine is designed on much the 

 same principle as the warehouse separator. A thinner stream of wheat 



