

PLANT ANALYSIS AS AN APPLIED SCIENCE 195 



Oats * stand the third cereal of importance in the United 

 States. Maine, Vermont, New York, and Wyoming raise 

 more oats than any other cereal. The muscle-producing value 

 of oats depends upon, the amount of their albuminoids. The 

 average composition of some American oats on analysis 

 showed a higher percentage of albuminoids than the richest 

 wheat flours. The amount of fat in oats ranges from four 

 to nearly six per cent. 



Barley 2 is successfully cultivated in a wider range of cli- 

 mate than any other cereal. It is the most hardy of all the 

 cereals, and it grows in the north nearly to the point where 

 all cultivation ceases. On the other hand, barley flourishes 

 well in semi-tropical countries, and in this country the region 

 of its greatest production is California. In Arizona and Ne- 

 vada, more of barley than any other cereal was grown in the 

 census year. 



Rye 3 has become of very minor importance in the United 

 States, in comparison with other cereals. It can be grown upon 

 very poor soils. In Europe, for many ages, it was the prin- 

 cipal bread-stuff of the people, for it could be cultivated on 

 soils too poor to grow wheat. Pennsylvania has, at each cen- 

 sus return, been the leading state in total production; it is 

 now followed by New York. 



From analyses, rye in the kernel is less nutritious than wheat, 

 and the deficiencies in their respective flours is still greater. 

 Wheat flours average about eleven per cent, of albuminoids, 

 while rye flours average at about six per cent. On the other 

 hand, rye bran is richer in albuminoids than wheat bran. 



The popular belief that buckwheat 4 is less strengthening 

 and more fattening than wheat, is founded on a chemical rea- 

 son; for the percentage of albuminoids is low, ranging from 

 four to eight per cent. The starch is in larger amount than 

 in wheat, the percentage of oil being about the same. The 

 peculiar aroma of buckwheat cakes is probably derived from 

 the presence of an essential oil decomposed by heat. 



Chemistry plays an important part in the cereal production 



1 Cereal Report, p. 491. 2 Ibid., p. 497. 



3 Ibid., p. 502. 4 Ibid., p. 508. 



