AMERICAN WHEAT AND CORN. 41 



INTERPRETATION OF THE ANALYSES. 



The wheat as it enters the mill is subjected to a series of operations- 

 which removes dirt, foreign seed, the fuzz at the end of the berry, and 

 a certain portion of the outer coats, through the agency of a run of 

 stones and brushes. The result of this operation is to lower the amount 

 of inorganic matter or ash and to increase or decrease the other con- 

 stituents but slightly, the albuminoids being a few tenths of a per 

 cent, greater in amount. The point from which a convenient start may 

 be made is at the first break. 



The chop from the first rolls is very marked in its difference in com- 

 position from the original wheat. It of course has less fiber, and also 

 it is seen, less ash, oil, and albuminoids; in fact, it is starchy. It con- 

 tains more water, owing to the fact that its comminution has allowed 

 it to absorb the moisture from the air, and in general it will be observed 

 that the coarser or more fibrous a specimen is the less water it contains, 

 while the finer material holds more. For example, the percentage of 

 water in several portions of the grain is as follows : 



Per cent. 



Original grain 9. 66 



Ready for the break 8.23 



Chop from first break 12. 52 



Fifth break 7. 62 



Bran '. 10 91 



The heat caused by the friction of the process, of course, is an active 

 agent; 'as may be seen on comparing the original grain and that ready 

 for the break. The question of the relation of the various products to- 

 humidity is, however, considered in greater detail in another portion of 

 this bulletin. 



The starchy chop from the first break is carried off to the various 

 purifying and grading machines, but for the present it will be left, as 

 it is desirable to follow the breaks to the end. 



The tailings from the first scalper, consisting of the wheat grain- 

 split open along the crease, which serve to feed the second break after 

 the cleaning which they undergo, vary but little from the wheat which 

 goes to the first break. There are slight differences which must be at- 

 tributed to the difficulty of selecting and preparing for analyses sam- 

 ples of the product of the different breaks, the finer chop having a 

 tendency to sift out from the lighter bran, but they are not great enough 

 to vitiate the conclusions. In the first break so little is done, except to 

 crack open the wheat and clean it for the following rolls, that only a 

 small change should be expected. 



The chop from the second break is more from the center of the wheat 

 grain. It contains less ash, fat, and albuminoids than any of the break 

 products, and includes as was shown by our preliminary investigation, 

 the greater portion of the endosperm. 



