WHEAT. 23'J 



Hard and Soft Wheats. — At present the markets in 

 South Africa do not make much distinction between hard and 

 soft wheats, although some millers -object to the former on 

 account of its hardness. Elsewhere this is one of the major 

 distinctions, hard wheats fetching very much higher prices 

 than soft wheats. Generally speaking, the hard wheats are 

 dark in colour, often translucent, while the soft wheats are 

 light and opaque. The soft wheats show a white starchy 

 interior and the hard wheat usually a dark. The durums are 

 always hard, angular, dark and translucent to an extent not 

 met with in the bread wheats. Some of the common wheats, 

 however, have comparatively hard, translucent grains. In 

 composition the soft wheats are much lower in gluten and 

 make what is called a weak flour. In general, this means 

 they do not make a lai^ge porous loaf of bread. For biscuit 

 and pastry manufacture soft wheats are preferred. 



Hard wheats have more gluten and make a strong flour, 

 which is especially suitable for making light bread. The 

 strength of flour is mostly duo to the quality of the gluten, 

 which not only makes the dough clastic, but enables the bread 

 to absorb more water, and also gives more pounds of bread ; 

 a hundred pounds of good, strong flour will make 120 or more 

 one pound loaves. 



Structdre and Composition. — In wheat the aluerone 

 layer is only one cell thick, while in barley it is usually three 

 cells in depth. 



Bran consists of the pericarp, inner integument, nucellus 

 and aluerone layer. In the process of milling these become 

 detached from the endosperm, which forms the flour. 



Compared with other portions of the grain the embryo is 

 rich in protein, fat and ash constituents, and though it con- 

 tains a considerable amount of sugar, it has but little starch. 



Nearly one-sixth of the embryo consists of fat and ash 

 and about one-third protein. 



The endosperm composes on an average about 80 per cent, 

 of the kernel, consisting mainly of starch with about 8 to 10 

 per cent, of gluten. 



Quality. — In wheat quality involves a number of factors, 

 and numerous theories, some of a highly controversial nature, 

 have been put forward. Probably on no similar agricultural 

 subject has so much research been directed. 



Good wheat should, of course, be free from extraneous 

 matter, and should have a low moisture content. 



