286 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



May. 1922. 



Loaves from Some of the Poorer Varieties of the 1920 Crop. 



been collected under three main headings ; 

 flonr, gluten, and loaf. Under "flour" 

 the vield is given in percent and the color 

 of tiie flour described. The abbreviations 

 used for describing flour color are as fol- 

 lows : — wh. white ; cr. creamy ; L. a little ; 

 and G. grey. Under "gluten" the per- 

 cent dry crude gluten in the flour is given 

 in figures and the quality of the gluten 

 described. The abbreviations used in des- 

 cribing gluten quality are : F. fairly ; and 

 E. elastic. Under "loaf" the volume of 

 the loaf is given in cubic inches, the weight 

 of the loaf in ounces, the water used (in- 

 dicating absorptiou capacity) in ounces, 

 and the shape and texture described in 

 terms. Usually the shape and texture are 

 "normal" and this is sometimes abbre- 

 viated to N." 



Another column given in the table is 

 headed "Relative Value". This is ob- 

 tained as stated in the Howard Milling 

 Test Reports by the Howard Value S.-or- 

 ing for' hard wheats. Number 2 Northern 

 is taken as the basis and a price of $1.00 

 per bushel assumed. This scoring- system 

 is never offered as evidence by which the 

 buyer or seller must abide for it must be 

 understood that the score represents the 

 present comparative intrinsic value of the 

 particular sample of wheat scored, unmix- 

 ed, for milling and bread making purpo- 

 ses. In this regard it would be weU to point 

 out that the value of our wheat depends 

 primarily upon the fact that it is in great 

 demand for blending with weaker wheats. 

 Tender these circumstances, therefore, it 

 appears that the relative value as deter- 

 mined by the Howard Scoi-ing System is 

 based on a wrong assumption, at least as 

 fas as our wheats are concerned. 



The Birchard tables require very little 

 explanation. The water absorption is 

 given in percent i>f the Avcight of flour 



used in the test (340 grams). Loaf vol- 

 ume is expressed in cubic centimeters and 

 is measured hy the number of cubic cen- 

 timeters of turnip seed displaced by the 

 loaf when placed in a box of known vol- 

 ume. Shape denotes the ratio between the 

 height of the loaf above the pan and the 

 extreme width. It is thus correlated with 

 loaf volume. Cylinder volume (made use 

 of in only one table) is the measurement of 

 the number of cubic centimeters to which 

 one-sixth of the weight of the dough will 

 expand before dropping. Loaf volume, 

 shape, and cylinder volume are considered 

 to be measures of the strength of the flour. 

 Color, texture, and general appearance 

 are expressed by a score according to a 

 standard which is scored 100 for each of 

 these qualities. 



In each of these tables, some attempt 

 has been made by the authors to arrange 

 the varieties in order according to their 

 performances for that year. In the case 

 of the Howard tables they have been ar- 

 ranged according to their relative values 

 but as stated above it must not be under- 

 stood that this is considered a perfectly 

 reliable and absolute measure of their re- 

 lative milling and baking qualities. Fur- 

 tlierniore, it will be noted that in some 

 cases the relative values apjiear to lack 

 justification. Thus in Tal)le IV, compar- 

 ing Kitchener Avith Red Bobs, the yield of 

 flour is the same within the experimental 

 error, the amount of gluten, color of flour, 

 and loaf volume the same, the weight of 

 loaf and water used in favor of Red Bobs, 

 the shape and texture are the same, and 

 yet Red Bobs according to the relative 

 values is worth three cents less per bushel. 

 For this reason it is highly recommended 

 that anyone wishing to become closely 

 acquainted with the rc-ults, make a care- 

 ful studv of the different elements of each 



