HOWARD, LEAKE AND HOWARD. 11)3 



translucent grains behave better in the mill and are more free 

 grinding. As strong varieties of wheat are generally translucent, 

 translucency is sometimes considered to be an indication of 

 strength, but this is not always the case as translucent weak wheats 

 also occur.' In spite of this fact, how^ever, the consistency or 

 appearance of the grain is a very important factor in the com- 

 mercial valuation of a wheat. 



5. Quality. — Good quality in wheaten flours has been defined 

 by Humphries' as " the sum of excellence on several points," and 

 these points are five in number : (1) flavour ; (2) colour of the 

 flour ; (3) strength, i.e., size and shape of loaf ; (4) stability of dough ; 

 (5) yield of bread per sack of flour. It is clear that excellence on 

 such points cannot be determined in any other w^ay than by 

 milling and baking tests. Many attempts have been made to 

 obtain a criterion for the estimation of strength, but so far without 

 success, and in seeking information on the eft'ect of environment on 

 the quality of the grain, it is absolutely necessary to submit the 

 sample to a complete test in the mill and bakehouse. 



Although during recent years a certain amount of attention 

 has been paid to the effect of external conditions, such as soil, mois- 

 ture and manurial treatment on the composition of wheat, but 

 little work has been attempted on the much more important prac- 

 tical question of the influence of environment on the milling and 

 baking qualities. The experiments described in this paper were de- 

 signed to throw light on this point and also on the change in con- 

 sistency. 



Perhaps the most interesting results on the influence of exter- 

 nal conditions on the composition of wheat are those of Le Clerc'' 

 in the United States, who found in the case of several durum wheats 

 that in humid districts and under excessive irrigation the grain 

 became starchy with a lower proteid content, while in the drier 

 localities the grain remained hard and flinty with a much higher 



' Bififen, Journal of AgricvUural Science, Vol. Ill, 1909. 



2 Huinpliries, Qunlily in ivhenten flour, suinmarv of a paper lend before the Joint Session 

 of the Chemistry-, Botany and Agricultural Sections of the British Association at Winnipeg, 

 1909. 



' Lc Clcrc, Yc'trOoolc of the Uniltd iitales Dcparlmcnl uf Ayriculture, 1900, p. 198. 



