GENERAL EFFECT OF MANURES. 513 



§ 18. On the alleged general effect of different manures in modifying the 

 amount of gluten and albumen in wheat, barley, oats, and rye. 



Among the general deductions in regard to the Special influence of 

 manures upon the quality of the grain we reap, that which has been re- 

 ceived with the greatest confidence is this — that the richer in nitrogen the 

 manure we apply, the richer in gluten the grain we reap. 



The only experiments, having any pretensions to accuracy, by which 

 this opinion has hitherto been supported, are those of Hermbstadt. The 

 results of these experiments are contained in the four tables to which I 

 have directed your attention under the heads of wheat, barley, oats, and 

 rye. As the opinion founded upon them is one which, if correct, is of 

 great practical value, — it will be proper to examine the experiments them- 

 selves a little more narrowly. Are they really deserving of implicit 

 credit ? Do they justify the conclusion that has been drawn from them ? 



Turn first to the experiments upon wheat, of which the results are 

 embodied in the following table, repeated from page 503 : — 



o -ji,-; 0)= eSc «= fee SjC Pc tefS 5 O £ 



OS ZS ^% O-o Ms ffi-c £•§ O-o > a Ua 



Retui-n 14 fold. 14 fold. 12 fold. 12 fold. 12 fold. 10 fold. 9 fold. 7 fold. 5 fold. 3 fold. 



Water 4-3 42 4-2 43 42 4*3 43 42 4-2 4-2 



Gluten 34-2 339 329 32-9 361 13-7 122 12-0 96 92 



Albumen 10 1-3 r3 13 1-4 1-1 09 10 08 0*7 



Starch 413 414 42*8 42*4 39-9 61-6 632 623 659 66-6 



Sugar 1-9 1-6 1-5 15 14 1-6 19 1-9 1-9 19 



Gum 1-8 1-6 1-5 1*5 1-6 1-6 19 19 1 6 IB 



FattyOil 0-9 \i 10 09 10 1-0 09 TO 10 10 



SolublePhosphates,&c. 0-5 0-6 0*7 07 0-9 0-6 0-5 05 0-5 0-3 



Husk and bran 13-9 14-0 13-8 14-2 14-2 14-0 14*0 14-9 14-0 14-0 



99-8 99-7 99-7 997 99-7 99-6 99-8 99-7 99-8 997 

 1°. Water present. — The water in each of these 10 specimens of grain 

 was nearly the same, about 4| per cent. I have already stated the quan- 

 tity of water in English flour to amount to about 16 per cent, on an ave- 

 rage. Many samples of wheat also have been dried in my laboratory. 

 From the results I extract the following, showing the water lost by corn 

 grown in four different parts of the world : — 



English, Lammas red 15-1 per cent. 



Seminoff' wheat 13-2 *' 



St. Petersburg 16-1 " 



Burletta wheat 13-1 " 



This weight of water is lost when the grain, as it is sold in the market, 

 IS crushed and then heated to a temperature not exceeding 220° as long 

 as it loses weight. 



The above quantities of water are very much greater than those found 

 in the wheats of Hermbstadt. I cannot offer these results, however, as a 

 jsroq/' of inaccuracy on the part of this experimenter, as I have not had 

 access to his original memoir. It is only fair towards him, therefore, to 

 conclude that, before they were subjected to analysis, his wheats had been 

 artificially dried in a very considerable degree. 



2°. Oil in the different samples. — Again, it appears remarkable that 

 the quantity of oil in all the samples of wheat in the above table is nearly 

 identical, and is also very small. I have examined the fine flour yielded 

 by several samples of tlie same wheat, grown by Mr. Burnet, of Gad- 



