HOWARD, LEAKE AND HOWARD. 243 



and 1 have baked the flour produced from each lot by at least three 

 diflerent methods, so that I may be able to form a confident opinion 

 as to their respective commercial merits on the markets of the 

 United Kingdom. 



In previous reports, I have discussed various technical details, 

 and, therefore, need not herein do more by way of preamble than 

 reiterate a few definitions. Conditioning is a term applied to 

 the adjustment of the physical condition of wheat, whereby an 

 optimum separation of branny liusk from kernel can be made in 

 milling. Where Indian wheats are concerned, it includes an ad- 

 dition of water varying widely in degree uccording to the nature of 

 the variety. Some idnds are described as free-miUing, because 

 the separation of such whetot in milhng into its various commercial 

 constituent products can be elfected easily, other kinds are 

 described by the expressive term woolly because separations in 

 milhng are effected with great technical difficulty. The coloiu* of 

 the resulting flour depends to a considerable extent upon the facility 

 with which the necessary separations in milhng can be efl'ected» 

 The term strength, apphed to flour, means its capacity for yield- 

 ing large shapely loaves. Stabihty inchcates the facihty with 

 which the baker can handle large masses of dough. Yield of bread, 

 which must not be confounded with strength, is the measure of 

 the quantity of bread which can be produced from a given quantity 

 of flour. Good flavour imphes a moistness and sweetness in the 

 taste of bread at least one day old. The term good coloui-, 

 applied to flour, indicates its whiteness or brightness. A wheat 

 which is translucent may be strong, but translucency is not a true 

 index of strength. Nor is it correct to use hard and strong 

 as correlated terms, for some hard wheats are weak ; some soft 

 wheats are strong. A w'heat is said to be red or white ac- 

 corchng to the colour of its skin. The term red really implies various 

 shades of brown ; the term white various shades of yellow. 

 A red skin may cover an endosperm of good coloui* ; a white 

 skin may cover an endosperm of poor colour. Many red 

 wheats are strong ; most white wheats are weak, but 



