510 COMPOSITION OF OATS AND RYE. 



in the manufacture of syrup (glucose) from potatoe flour — a branch of in- 

 dustry which has become of some '.mportance in certain parts of Frarce. 



§15. Composition of oats, and effect of manures in m/)difying that composition. 



The relative proportions of husk and meal in the several varieties of 

 the oat. differ in a greater degree, probably, than in any other grain. 

 Thus, the potatoe-oat is known to be richer in meal, the Tartary-oat in 

 husk. The round grain of the former is chiefly grown in Scotland, for 

 grinding into meal, the latter in England, for feeding horses. 



But even the round potatoe-oat varies much in the produce of meal 

 which it gives. Many samples yield only half their weight of oatmeal, 

 others 9 stones out of 16, while some give as much as 12 stones from the 

 same quantity, or three-fourths of their weight. In one variety of oat 

 Vogel found 66 per cent, of meal and 34 of husk, which is equal to lOi 

 stones of meal from 16 of grain. He also extracted from the meal 2 per 

 cent, of oil, and 59 of starch, and observed it to lose by drying upwards 

 of 20 per cent, of water. 



Soil, season, climate, variety of seed sown, and the kind and quantity 

 of manure appKed — all affect the amount of produce and the chemical 

 composition of the oats that are reaped. According to Hermbstadt, the 

 effect of different manures in modifying the composition of the produce 

 of the same seed are represented by the numbers in the following table : 



KIND OF « -JgSfldSrtd -^^S S^-d 



MANCRB. I §^|S|^i:= unci's 



OxBlood 120 19-3 5-0 0-4 53-1 3-8 5-5 03 04 12i 



Night-soil 12-1 19-2 4-6 0-4 53-3 38 5-4 0-3 0-5 14| 



Sheep's dung... 12-6 133 40 05 540 52 5-5 03 0-4 14 



Goat'sdung 12-9 170 43 0-4 53-2 5-4 5-7 03 0-4 15 



Human urine... 130 170 44 05 531 50 5-7 04 0-6 13 



Horsedung 13-1 160 40 05 545 52 5-6 0-3 0-5 14 



Pigeon's dung.. 12-3 183 3-2 0-3 532 50 68 03 0-3 12 



Cowdung 11-6 15-0 3'1 03 55-0 68 7-3 03 0-3 16 



Veget. manure.. 10-8 130 2-0 0-2 59-9 6-4 70 0-2 0-2 13 



Unmanured 10 8 12-0 1-9 02 600 6-4 70 03 0-1 5 



The difTerences in this table are very striking [see p. 515]. 



§ 16. Composition of rye, and effect of different manures upon its composition. 

 The grain of rye approaches nearest to that of wheat in the quantity 

 of gluten it contains, and in the consequent fitness of its flour for baking 

 into bread. It sometimes also contains much sugar — recent rye-bread 

 having almost invariably a sweet taste — but the proportion of sugar ap- 

 pears to be by no means constant. Thus Einhof and Greif exhibit the 

 composition of a sample of r^e-flour, examined by each of them, re- 

 spectively as follows : — 



Einhof, per cent Grief, per cent 



12-8 



3-0 



58-8 



10-4 



7-2 



7-8 



100 100 



