THE QUALITY OF WHEAT 67 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE QUALITY OF WHEAT. 



1. Introductory. 



The quality of wheat must be viewed from the stand- 

 points of the farmer and the miller. While the latter 's 

 point of view is essentially the more important, it does 

 not always coincide with the former's, and hence allow- 

 ance must be made for this. 



From the farmer's side of the question a good wheat 

 is one that will give him, year by year, a good monetary 

 return per acre. The monetary return obviously depends 

 upon two factors; the yield per acre, and the value per 

 bushel. While these two factors are quite independent 

 for any given variety in a normal year, the farmer must 

 so relate them that he obtains the maximum profit from 

 the conditions under which he is producing. 



It is not necessary here to discuss the causes which are 

 responsible for different values per bushel of different 

 wheats, but only to point out that the value for the most 

 part is dependent, on the demand side, on the milling 

 qualifications of the wheat. Nevertheless, the consider- 

 ation is one of vital importance to the farmer; for it 

 may be very profitable to sacrifice extra yield to higher 

 value per bushel, while on the other hand a wheat of 

 very high quality may yield so poorly, that it will not 

 pay the farmers to produce it. Thus it was found that 

 the variety Red Fife would produce a strong wheat in 

 England, with milling qualifications as good as those of 



