GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WHEAT 



AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE STRAW. 



THE old theory, that says the best mechanics in the world are those 

 who work mo.st faithfully from morning till night at the drudg- 

 ery of their work, and know or care for nothing else, is fast giving 

 way, and to-day that mechanic can obtain the best situation who is 

 most thoroughly acquainted with his work, in all the minuteness of 

 its details, having a complete knowledge from the intricate me- 

 chanical problems down to the mere drudgery of the business. Is 

 there any class of workers to whom this can be applied better than 

 to the miller ? 



A miller who desires to be considered successful not partic- 

 ularly from a money point of view should be familiar with the 

 structure of every part of his mill know the power of the stones 

 just how much margin he has for safety in the steam boilers know 

 how much strain can be brought to bear on the great leather belts, 

 and be able to recognize and remedy at once any defect. He 

 should know what grains he can run through his mills with safety, 

 either to the mill or to his reputation as a miller. If it is his ambi- 

 tion to have the purest flour in market, he must know just what 

 wheat. to accept, not only the variety of the wheat, but the purity of 

 that wheat, for the very best variety of wheat will not give pure 

 white flour if the greater part of it is smut, or if it has been troubled 

 with any of the numerous parasites which live on wheat. Then, 

 for these reasons, our model miller should have a knowledge of the 

 different diseases to which wheat is subject, such as smut, blight, 

 rust, mildew, brand and ergot. A study of the history, geographi- 

 cal distribution and microscopic structure of wheat, will con- 

 stitute the present series of articles. 



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