230 



NA TURE 



\yune 27, 1878 



flours, and thattheformer constituent attains its maximum 

 in F, the coarse sharps, and the latter in 1, the long bran. 

 In K and L both nitrogen and ash are lower, these pro- 

 ducts containing much cellulose, made up as they are in 

 great measure of the three coats which form the pericarp 

 of the grain. But it must not be forgotten that all the 

 mill-products included under "bran" contain much more 

 cellulose than is present in flour, namely : — from 7 to 15 

 per cent., or even more, in lieu of i per cent., or less. 

 And it would appear that while flour contains more than 

 90 per cent, of its nitrogen in the form of true albumi- 

 noids or flesh-formers, in some of the brans one-third of 

 their nitrogen is in the form of non-albuminous bodies, of 

 no recognised value as nutrients. 



We have now to secure but one more datum before we 

 proceed to the determination of the main question before 

 us. How much flour and how much bran will 100 parts 

 of ordinary soft wheat yield on the ordinary system of 

 low-milling adopted in England ? As the averages from 

 an immense number of independent estimates we may 

 put down the flour at a total of 80, the bran at 17, 

 and the loss at 3. Thus, from an economical point of 

 view, we appear to lose \, or twenty per cent, of our 

 wheat by submitting it to the numerous treatments 

 involved in the manufacture of flour. But is this really 

 the case ? We think not. For much of the nitrogen in 

 the rejected parts is not in the form of flesh-forming 

 matter, and much that does so exists in the bran passes 

 unaltered and unused through the alimentary canal, 

 because of its close incorporation with fibre. But on 

 the other side we must not forget that bone-forming 

 materials are clearly deficient in wheaten flour, and that 

 those phosphatic compounds present in bran are readily 

 soluble to a large extent, not only in the several digestive 

 secretions with which they come in contact in the body, 

 but also in pure water. 



But in comparing and contrasting bread made from 

 flour with that made from whole wheat we must con- 

 sider other points. ■•■ We shall find it impossible to make, 

 by means of leaven or yeast, a light spongy loaf from 

 whole wheat finely ground, the so-called cerealin of the 

 bran inducing chemical changes wliich result in a moist, 

 clammy, dense product. Even whole wheat merely 

 crushed into meal, and not ground, partakes of the same 

 defect. Fine' flour, on the other hand, yields a bread 

 which is light enough before mastication, but which, 

 when masticated, possesses a maiked tendency to become 

 compacted into dense lumps which may never become 

 penetrated by the gastric and intestinal juices, and which 

 are a frequent cause of constipation. ' Whole meal bread 

 cannot be charged with this defect ; indeed it acts medi- 

 cinally as a laxative, and by reason of its mechanical 

 texture is hurried rather too quickly along the digestive 

 tract, so that the full virtue of such of its nutrients as are 

 really soluble becomes in part lost. Yet there is no 

 doubt that for many persons, especially those who have 

 passed middle age and are engaged in sedentary occu- 

 pations, whole wheaten meal in the form of bread, 

 biscuits, scones, &c., forms an invaluable diet. 



The following analyses may present some of the fore- 

 going statements in a clearer light and may add some 

 additional particulars of interest. They represent, so far 

 as a couple of sets of average results can do so, the per- 

 centage composition of ordinary white bread and of the 

 whole meal bread made by Mesrs. Hill and Son : — 



Water 



^ Albuminoids or flesh -formers 



Starch, dextrin, and sugar 



Oil and fat 



Cellulose and lignose ... 

 ^ Ash or mineral matter 



White. 



40*0 



7-0 



0-6 

 o'5 



I"2 



Whole Meal. 



43 '5 



"10-5 



40*6 



1-6 

 1-8 



2*0 



• Calculated from total nitrogen present. 



As much as i2'5 in s )me samples. 

 3 Includes comman salt added. 



It is clear from the above figures that if we could 

 reckon the whole of the nitrogenous matter in whole 

 meal bread as equally effective with that contained in 

 white bread, we should possess in the former a far 

 more perfectly adjusted food ; for the ratio of flesh- 

 formers to heat-givers is about i to 74 in white bread, 

 while it approaches i to 4 in some samples, at least, of 

 whole meal bread. Add to this the higher proportion of 

 phosphates in the latter, and its chemical superiority 

 over white bread becomes still more marked : its flavour, 

 too, is far richer. 



One word as to ordinary brown bread will suffice. It 

 is a poor preparation at the best. By adding a dash of 

 rather rough bran to flour we do not obtain a satisfactory 

 or rich product : analysis demonstrates this fact clearly. 



We cannot leave this subject without referring to the 

 little pamphlet which Messrs. Hill and Son have recently 

 issued,^ on the subject of wheaten meal. Though its 

 main purpose is necessarily a commercial one, it presents 

 many interesting and important facts in a readable form. 

 Messrs. Hill have certainly brought their specialty in 

 bread making some way on the road to perfection. With 

 a few of the opinions in their little brochure we cannot, 

 however, wholly concur ; nor do we see how their asser- 

 tion can be maintained that the present system of white 

 bread making involves the loss of 50 to 60 per cent, of 

 the wheat devoted to that purpose. 



The limited space at our command must be our ex- 

 cuse for the very imperfect treatment here adopted of 

 the wide subject before us. 



A. H. Church 



TJfE LAND OF BOLIVAR AND ITS 

 PRODUCTS^ 



VENEZUELA, or the Laijd of Bolivar, as Mr. Spence 

 prefers to call it, has certainly received less attention 

 from European travellers than many other less attractive 

 and more explored parts of South America. The Andean 

 ranges of the north and the llanos of the south of the 

 repubhc alike merit attention, and now that mining 

 enterprise has opened up several parts of the country and 

 tinged it with European civilisation, w^e know of no more 

 come-atable country to which the naturalist could turn his 

 steps. Certain it is that he would find ample materials 

 for investigation, and reap a good harvest of novelties in 

 either fauna or flora. 



Mr. Spence' s main object in visiting Venezuela was, as 

 it appears, the obtaining of a concession of the privilege 

 of working certain deposits of mineral phosphates in the 

 Roques Islands on the northern coast of the republic. 

 During the eighteen months occupied by the delicate 

 negotiations required for this purpose Mr. Spence seems 

 to have lost no time. Although nominally resident at 

 Caracas, in order to be in immediate communication 

 with the ministers, frequent excursions were made to the 

 most interesting of the surrounding districts. The coal 

 mines of Nueva Barcelona, the Lake of Valencia, and 

 the group of islands which were the seat of the wished- 

 for concession, besides other localities of interest, were 

 visited and explored. But the ascents of the Silla of 

 Caracas and the still higher peak of Naiguatd, the crown- 

 ing point of the Andean range between Caracas and the 

 coast, appears to have been the principal expeditions 

 to which Mr. Spence devoted his attention. The first 



1 "The Whole Meal Bread Question." By W. Hill and Son, Bishops- 

 gate Street. 



* ' ' The Land of Bolivar : or, War, Peace, and Adventure in the Republic 

 of Venezuela." By James Mudie Spence, F.R.G.S. 2 vols. 8vo. (London, 

 1878.) 



"Estudios sobie la Flora y Fauna de Venezuela." Por A. Ernst. 4to. 

 (Caracas, 1877.) 



' Estudios sobre las deformaciones, enfermedades y enemigos del Arbol 

 de Cafe en Venezuela." Por A. Ernst. (Caracas, 1878.) 



" On Venezuelan Birds Collected by Mr. A. Goering." By P. L. Sclater, 

 M.A., F.R.S., and Osbert Salvin, M.A., F.R.S. {Proceedings of the Zoolo- 

 gical Society of London, 1868-75. Five articles.) 



