UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



JWT^Vt- 



1 BULLETIN No. 472 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



j&r&su 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



October 30, 1916 



IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE TEST 

 WEIGHT OF GRAIN, WITH A STANDARD METHOD OF 

 MAKING THE TEST. 



By E. G. Boerner, Assistant in Grain Standardization. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

 Introduction 1 



Variation in methods of making the test 



weight per bushel of grain 2 



Proper method of filling the test kettle 5 



Description of the devico 9 



Operating the tester 14 



Standard method of making the test 15 



INTRODUCTION. 



The improved testing apparatus for obtaining the weight per 

 bushel described in this bulletin was designed to reduce to a mini- 

 mum the personal error in making the test and to standardize the 

 method of determining the test weight of grain. 



The importance of " weight per bushel " is well known to the grain 

 trade. It is a recognized fact that, other things being equal, the 

 heavier a sample of grain, the better it is ; and consequently we find 

 grain dealers, grain judges, and grain inspectors referring to and 

 relying on this test almost more than on any other. The grain deal- 

 ers know that a heavy, plump sample has the highest commercial 

 value or will change hands most readily at a given price, and the 

 miller knows that the heavy sample will produce the most flour. 



Judges at shows and competitions, especially when the competition 

 is close, often select the best samples from among the competing lots 

 of grain and then award the prizes according to the weight per 

 bushel. 



Investigators endeavor, by comparing different varieties of grain 

 tested during a series of years, to determine which varieties in a 

 given district produce on the whole the heaviest grain, in order to 



62225°— Bull. 472—16 



