51 



pies, as might be expected, the kernels were a little larger than those 

 examined in previous work of the Department. 



In respect of albuminoids, the American wheats, as a rule, are quite 

 equal to those of foreign origin. This is an important characteristic 

 when it is remembered that both the milling and food values of a wheat 

 depend largely on the nitrogenous matter which is present. It must 

 not be forgotten, however, that merely a high percentage of proteids is 

 not always a sure indication of the milling value of a wheat. The 

 percentage of gluten to the other proteid constituents of a wheat is not 

 always constant, and it is the gluten content of a flour on which its 

 bread-making qualities chiefly depend. The percentage of moist gluten 

 gives in a rough way the property of the glutinous matter of absorbing 

 and holding water under conditions as nearly constant as can be 

 obtained. In general, it may be said that the ratio between the moist 

 gluten and the dry gluten in a given sample is an index for comparison 

 with other substances in the same sample. Upon the whole, however, 

 the percentage of dry gluten must be regarded as the safer index of 

 quality. In respect to the content of glutinous matter, our domestic 

 wheats are distinctly superior to those of foreign origin. They are 

 even better than the Canadian wheats in this respect. It may be fairly 

 inferred, therefore, that while our domestic wheats give a flour slightly 

 inferior in nutritive properties to that derived from foreign samples, it 

 is nevertheless better adapted for baking purposes, and this quality 

 more than compensates for its slight deficiency in respect of nutrition, 

 a deficiency which, however, is so small as to be hardly worth consid- 

 ering. 



In this connection, attention should be called to the great influence 

 of climate upon the quality of wheat. The best wheats grown in the 

 United States are produced in the central-northern part of the coun- 

 try, while the poorest are grown in the Southern States. The influence 

 of climate and soil upon the quality of wheat has been fully pointed 

 out by Richardson in Bulletins Kos. 1, 3, and 9 of the Chemical 

 Division of the Department of Agriculture. The following quotation 

 from page 25, Bulletin No. 9, will illustrate the above statement : 



CHARACTERISTICS OP THE WHEAT GRAIN. 



From observations in this and previous reports, it may be said that of all grain 

 wheat is probably the most susceptible to its environment. 



Oats in certain directions are more variable, but in their general character are 

 more permanent, as will appear in subsequent pages. The inherent tendency to 

 change which is found in all grains is most prominent in wheat. It may be fostered 

 by selection and by modifying such of the conditions of environment as it is in the 

 power of man to affect. 



The most powerful element to contend with is the character of the season or 

 unfavorable climatic conditions. The injury done in this way is well illustrated in 

 Colorado, and it would seem advisable in such cases to seek seed from a source 

 where everything has been favorable, and begin selection again. 



