THE WHEAT CROP. 91 



cannot be a question, however, that the process which 

 produces the finest white tlour also deprives the grain 

 from which it is obtained of a large proportion of its food 

 value, and that bread containing all but the very coarsest 

 particles of the bran would be superior as an article of 

 food, and, at the same time, much more economical in 

 cost, than the whiter descriptions of bread so generally 

 sought after. 



Johnston gives the following as an average composition 

 of bran : 



Water, 13'1 



Nitrogen compounds, 19'3 



Oil 4-7 



Husk, 55-6 



Ash, 7-3 



100- 



Another more critical analysis, by Millon, 1 gives us, by 

 its details, the probable composition of the "husk," which 

 forms so large a proportion in the foregoing: 



Starch, gum, sugar 51* 



Nitrogen compounds 14'9 



Oily matter, 3'6 



Ligneous tissue, 9'7 



Ash, 57 



Water, 13'9 



98-8 



These researches into the composition of the bran of 

 wheat show clearly that it possesses a high nutritive value, 

 and at the price at which it is usually sold, must be con- 

 sidered a cheap feeding substance. Its very nature, how- 

 ever, would indicate that its constituents are not likely to 

 be so readily available as the other portions of the grain. 

 It requires to be submitted to the digestive process for 



1 A nnuaire de Millon et Reisct, 1849, p. 485. 



