36 [Assembly 



tofore we have had from 25 to 30 entries ; this year there were 

 only three, and in no case was the rule complied with. We have 

 taken altogether too long a stride. I have since made inquiries 

 in various quarters, v/hich have led me to the conclusion, that 

 we must either abandon the rule, or give up this important part 

 of our exhibition. Tlie following are some of the reasons why 

 it cannot be complied with : It would be necessary to stop the 

 mill and clean out the elevators, conveyors, coolers, bolts, &c., 

 preparatory to the manufacture of the 100 barrels, from which 

 the one was to be taken, and after this another stoppage and 

 cleaning out to ascertain the yield, a degree of trouble and ex- 

 pense which cannot reasonably be asked of any miller. Another 

 reason is, that no such uniformity as would render the competi- 

 tion just or judicious, exists in the manufacture ' of flour, each 

 mill having its peculiar system based on the demand it has to 

 supply. Country millers grind all they can into flour, the ofifal 

 being of little value to them, while city millers, whose offal is in 

 constant demand at a high price, have not the same motive to 

 make poor flour, and can therefore give it a due proportion of 

 wheat. Another reason is, that the quantity of grain used in the 

 manufacture of a barrel of flour is of little- or no importance to 

 the public, whose opinion will always be governed by its quality 

 and price. In addition to this, the details of the quantity of raw 

 material used in a mill, long and successfully established, vflth 

 the yields, &c., the result of great labor, experience and cost, are 

 precisely those things which prudent men would withhold from 

 others in the same business. Another reason is, that the rule 

 can only be fairly carried out, by requiring the competitors to 

 use ohe kind of wheat grown on the same soil, and ground and 

 bolted in a specified temperature, different wheats yielding differ- 

 ent results, according to the soil on which they are grown, and 

 the condition of the atmosphere in which the flour is manufac- 

 tured. In short, I am convinced that the rule is injudicious, if 

 not impracticable, and it sliould be abolished at once ; at all 

 events, it operates exclusively, and for that reason, if no other, it 

 should be abandoned. 



The few samples of flour exhibited were of very superior qua- 

 lity, and a sample of Fowler's " Patent Self-raising Flour " excited 



