l62 



THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



bleaching chamber, it is sprayed with air which 

 contains this chemical. Nitrogen peroxide has 

 the property of decolorizing the oil in the flour. 

 How the flour is actually affected by this method 

 of treatment has been a matter of dispute ever 



FIG. 76. General view of the 



since it first came into use. In 1910, the Lexing- 

 ton Milling Company of Lexington, Nebraska, 

 shipped 625 sacks of bleached flour to Missouri. 

 The question was then brought into court by 

 government inspectors. It was claimed that the 

 flour contained foreign injurious substances and 

 was thus in violation of the pure food law. Four 

 years were spent in preparation for the case and 



