COMPOSITION OF WHEAT 



43 



Influence of Season and Fertilizers Upon Wheat. 



It will be seen that in seasons unfavorable for the yield the 

 weight per bushel was light but the nitrogen content as well as 

 the ash content svas high, and on the other hand that in seasons 

 of favorable growth the weight per bushel was high and the 

 nitrogen and ash content were low. In these cases, covering a 

 series of years and several conditions of fertilization, high weight 

 per bushel was associated with large percentage of starch. 

 Lawes and Gilbert conclude that " High percentage of nitrogen 

 is by no means a characteristic of the wheats held in highest 

 estimation either by the miller or the baker ; and that so far as 

 both the baker and consumer are concerned the condition of 

 nitrogenous matters is of more importance than their total 

 amounts. Comparing one description of wheat with another, 

 the one with a relatively high percentage of nitrogen may be 

 Detter, provided the grain be at the same time fully ripened and 

 not too horny. But when the percentage exceeds a certain 

 limit, the grain is generally either too hard, or there is deficient 

 storing up of starch and an unfavorable condition of the nitrog- 

 enous substances." 



