STRENGTH IN WHEAT 161 



that they cannot even be used for hybridising 

 purposes. But the difficulty of using these varieties 

 as a basis for building up rust-resisting Indian 

 wheats has been circumvented by sowing the Indian 

 wheats here in the spring, when they flower at the 

 same time as our autumn sown crops. Hybrids 

 are then raised between them and the F 2 genera- 

 tions sown in India provide the material from 

 which selections suitable for that country can be 

 made. 



Another of the great failings of English wheat 

 is found in its lack of quality. All of the varieties 

 grown here are characterised by producing indif- 

 ferent loaves for which it would be difficult to 

 find any market now-a-days. When the flour 

 is made up into dough the gas formed during the 

 fermentation processes brought about by the yeast 

 leaks freely, with the result that the volume of the 

 loaf is small and the bread is lacking in lightness. 

 Moreover the loaf tends to flatten out rather than 

 to rise when placed in the oven. A considerable 

 proportion of the wheat which we have to im- 

 port is on the other hand particularly well suited 

 for the manufacture of the type of loaf now 

 universally demanded. The characteristic tough 

 dough from the flour of these wheats retains the 

 gas well, with the result that it swells strongly 

 during fermentation, and further the loaves do 

 not collapse in the oven. Such wheats are known 

 technically as " strong" wheats. In consequence 



S. S. N. ' II 



