May, 1922 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICL'LTURE. 



285 



Red fife. 



White Fife. Marquis. 



itchener. 



Red Bobg. 



Te.^ 



$ Wonder* Kutank^. 



Pelissier. 



Red rife \StTSm} 



Loaves from the Standard Varieties of the 1919 Crop. 



(Note the superior quality of the Marquis loaf.) 



through coagulation, the yeast organism 

 is killed, preventing further action, and 

 the gases driven off through the pores 

 of the bread. It is the gluten of the flour 

 which gives the walls of the cavities their 

 elastic properties and also prevents the 

 gas from escaping through them. Ob- 

 viously then, the volume to which the 

 loaf will expand depends upon the elasti- 

 city of the gluten. In general, the loaf vol- 

 ume as determined by the baking test, re- 

 fers to the ability of the loaf to expand, to 

 hold up well, and to give a light well-piled 

 loaf. 



The texture of the loaf is an important 

 consideration but it is much more diffi- 

 cult to express than loaf volume. It in- 

 cludes such items as uniformity of the 

 cavities, size and evenness of distribution, 

 and thinness and transparency of the ca- 

 vity walls. 



In the mixing of the dough for baking, 

 water is added until the dough has reach- 

 ed the proper consistency. The amount of 

 water used will vary to a considerable 

 extent with the different flours. This is 

 spoken of as the absorption capacity. It 

 is of considerable importance to the baker 

 as the greater the absorption the greater 

 will be the yield of bread per barrel of 



flour. The weight of the loaf after bak- 

 ing is also important from the baker's 

 standpoint as it shows the ability of the 

 flour to retain the absorbed water and 

 thus increase the yield of bread. 



Tests of Varieties 



In tables I to VIII will be found 

 the results of the milling and bak- 

 ing tests for the years 1913 to 1920 in- 

 clusive. During the first four years (1913 

 to 1916) the tests were made by the Ho- 

 ward Mills, Minneapolis. These tests were 

 entirely satisfactory, but at the end of 

 this time it was thought desirable ^hat the 

 tests be made in Canada if possible. The 

 milling and baking tests from 1917 to 1919 

 were made by Dr. F.J. Birchard, in charge 

 of the Dominion Grain Research Labor- 

 atory, "Winnipeg, in 1920 the tests were 

 mad£ by Mr. R. Sneddon, Analytical 

 Chemist, 611 Notre Dame Investment 

 Building, Winnipeg. 



The tabulated results of the tests as 

 supplied by the Howard Mills and by Bir- 

 chard and Sneddon, although essentially 

 the same, are presented in somewhat dif- 

 ferent form. Both kinds of tables require 

 some explanation. 



In the Howard tables the results have 



