174 Observations on the Changes produced in the new Wheal ; 



cumstances under which the crops ripened or were saved in the 

 late unpropitious harvest. Every attempt, therefore, to improve 

 the new flour for the purpose of making bread, ought to be 

 founded on some previous knowledge of the injury the wheat 

 had sustained. The hope of being able to correct the bad qua- 

 lities of the flour, induced me more than two months ago to 

 lurn my leisure moments to the subject. 1 entered on the investi- 

 gation with some preliminary experiments on the new wheat and 

 flour. I examined several samples of new wheat: they had all 

 to a certain extent undergone the process of germination or inci- 

 pient vegetation. In some cases the germen had protruded from 

 about 1-lOth to 5-lOths of an inch, and the radicle from about 

 1-lOth to above an inch in length. These were, it is true, the 

 ■very worst samples I could procure. I likewise examined several 

 Sj)ecimens of wheat from different parts of this county, of a 

 <iuality far superior to those 1 have mentioned ; but in all of them 

 it was discoverable on a minute inspection that a slight and 

 •partial germination had taken place. And 1 have been given to 

 understand, that the average wheat of the country has suffered 

 more or less in this way. Some crops germinated before they 

 were ready for the sickle, and others after they were cut down 

 and made up into sheaves. 



As the natural germination of the wheat appeared to be similar 

 to that effected by artificial means, in the malting of barley, in 

 which a portion of the farinaceous part of the grain is converted 

 into saccharine matter, I made some experiments with a view 

 to ascertain how far this opinion was well founded. I placed 

 different samples of new wheat in tin dishes, and thoroughly 

 dried them on a hot iron plate. The grain had a sweetish taste 

 resembling malt, and afforded with warm water an infusion 

 which when boiled down nearly to dryness had a sweet taste, 

 and consisted of saccharine and mucilaginous matter. 



I mixed some new seconds flour of bad quality with distilled 

 water. After about forty hours the fluid was passed through a 

 filter. The solution^had a slight sweetish ta'ite ; on being boiled 

 a little albumen coagulated, and after the fluid was evaporated 

 to l-14th of its original volume, the residual liquor was quite 

 sweet to the taste, and consisted of mucilage and sugar. On 

 making a comparative trial with good old flour, the (juantity of 

 saccharine matter obtained was, in proportion, verv inconsider- 

 able. 



I made bread with the new seconds flour, warm water, ancl 

 yeast, without any salt. (Some of the bread was put in distiUed 

 water for twenty-four hours; tlie dear fluid was then decanted 

 and boiled down nearly to dryness. The residual liquor was 

 sweet. It was further evaporated and digested in warm alcohol. 



The 



