86 ESSAYS ON WHEAT 



As the space between the top of the grain and the roof of 

 a box-car is often very limited, tall men are at a disad- 

 vantage in the work of sampling. Taking samples re- 

 quires considerable physical strength and endurance, and 

 cannot be undertaken by weaklings. The men chosen 

 as samplers, therefore, are of medium height and sturdy 

 build. 



The amount of wheat taken out of each car to fill the 

 sample bag is from two and a half to three pounds, and, 

 relatively to a car-load which varies from 60,000 to 100,- 

 000 pounds, is very small indeed, 



Not a day passes without from one to six cars being 

 found unevenly filled or plugged. When a car has been 

 found to be unevenly filled, several separate samples are 

 taken from the load. Thus in one case which came under 

 the observation of the writer, a sample taken from the up- 

 per layers of the load graded ISTo. 3 ISTorthem, another 

 sample taken from the bottom layers at one end of the car 

 graded No. 4 Smutty, a third sample taken from the 

 bottom of the other end of the car also graded ISTo. 4 

 Smutty, while a fourth sample representing an average 

 for the whole car graded No. 4 Smutty. The shipper 

 would have done better with his grain had he put a parti- 

 tion in the car and loaded his No. 3 Northern at one end of 

 the car and his No. 4 Smutty at the other end. The in- 

 spectors are aware that uneven filling may be due to acci- 

 dent as well as to design, and they use their judgment in 

 penalizing the shipper accordingly. 



If a car is too full, it is impossible to use the stabber 

 properly. Thus, if the space in which the grader must 

 work is only 10 inches high at one end of the car, 30 

 inches in the middle, and 12 inches at the other end, it 

 is impossible for the sampler to obtain a satisfactory sam- 



