110 THE SOILS AND CROPS OF THE FARM. 



The spring wheats contain a somewhat larger per- 

 centage of albuminoids than the winter wheats. In 

 individual instances there is considerable variation. 

 Flour made from the hard spring wheats is richer in 

 albuminoids than the winter wheats. The lightness 

 of bread depends upon the per cent, of albuminoids, 

 and it is for this reason that, with the modern process 

 of milling, spring wheat makes the b^st flour. 



High weight is almost always an evidence of high 

 quality, but not always of large, plump, well-matured 

 grains. 



The hard spring wheat of the Northwest, which is 

 small in size, and not well-motured in the sense of 

 having a large, plump berry, is very heavy in its 

 weight per bushel; while the large plump wheat of 

 Oregon, which is very starchy, is light in weight. The 

 weight of a bushel may vary from 55.5 to 65.5 pounds. 

 In the majority of cases where trials have been made 

 the weight varies with the percentage of albuminoids. 

 Hence we find wei-ght, together with the comparative 

 uniformity of the kernels and cleanliness, fixes the 

 grade of wheat. The shape rather than the size of 

 the kernel affects the weight per bushel. Richardson 

 found, as the result of nearly 400 determinations, that 

 there were about an average of 12,000 kernels in 

 a pound of wheat; in some samples there were less 

 than 8,000, while in others 24,000 kernels to ttie pound. 

 Obviously one bushel of seed in the one case would 

 be equivalent to three- bushels in the other. 

 /The analyses of wheat given show that wheat con- 

 tains 10 to 11 per cent, of water. 



This represents the moisture in the samples as 

 analyzed, often after they have stood in the dry-room 

 of the laboratories. What percentage of water wheat 



