GRAIN CONSERVATION 123 



the wall of the pit being composed of rock or masonry 

 and the interior lined with dry straw. " The air 

 within the granary becomes very heavily charged 

 with carbon dioxide, as a result of the ordinary 

 process of respiration by the grain, and before re- 

 moving the grain the granary must be thoroughly 

 ventilated by an air-pump or fan. The carbon 

 dioxide acts very effectively as an insecticide, so 

 that in a properly constructed granary, water-tight 

 and air-tight, no insect can develop." '^ Grain thus 

 stored can be kept indefinitely, the only evil effect 

 of long storage being an impairment of the germi- 

 nating power, which becomes torpid and irregular, 

 if the grain is stored for more than two years. At 

 the same time the bread-making quality of the 

 grain is improved, i.e. the bread-paste (dough) is 

 more readily affected by yeast. Fermentation can- 

 not take place unless the grain is heavily charged 

 with moisture, from exposure to rain, or infiltration 

 of sea-water on board ship." 



It is somewhat remarkable that, with so much 

 evidence in its favour, the method of air-tight storage 

 should never yet have been scientifically elaborated 

 and put into practice on a large scale in any of the 

 great grain-producing or grain-consuming countries 

 of the world. It is to be feared that scientific men 

 themselves are partly to blame for this state of 

 affairs. On the one hand a most curious belief has 



