72 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 



The grains are absolutely hard and brittle, and when 

 broken the inside looks flinty. On chewing a few grains, 

 the starch is removed and there remains in the mouth 

 a small pellet of gluten which is tough and elastic, like 

 rubber, but not sticky. The Canadian wheat imported 

 by the New Zealand Government at the end of 1914 

 almost corresponded exactly with the above description, 

 but to one inexperienced in grain dealing it would appear 

 a very poor sample. 



"Weak" wheats present a contrast. Their colour may 

 be red or white, their skin is usually thick and tough, 

 the grain is usually large and plump and often has an 

 opaque appearance. It breaks easily, and inside is white, 

 soft and mealy. Very little gluten can be separated in 

 the process of mastication, and that little is much less 

 tough and elastic than the gluten of "strong" wheat. 

 On the whole, New Zealand and English wheats are 

 "soft," and from outside appearances are specially good 

 samples. 



4. Factors Fostering " Strength. 1 ' 



(a) Soil. The principal factors in promoting high 

 "strength" in wheat are soil and climatic conditions. 

 Rich black soils, high in organic matter, are most favour- 

 able to the production of "strong" wheats. William E. 

 Edgar says, "Gradually as the North Western States 

 have become cultivated the original hard wheat has 

 grown scarcer. Wheat raised on virgin lands has a 

 peculiar strength lacking in that produced in other 

 fields."* 



(b) Climatic Conditions. But of more importance in 

 determining the ' ' strength ' ' are climatic conditions. For 

 some time it was thought that sunshine during the later 

 stages of growth resulted in "strength," but many 



*"The Story of a Grain of Wheat." 



