BLEACHING OF OATS WITH SULPHUR DIOXID. 7 



sumer not be aware of the fact. Seed men generally buy their oats 

 under contracts stipulating that such oats shall germinate not less 

 than a specific percentage, and further that they shall not be sulphur 

 bleached. This provision, of course, safeguards the farmer when he 

 buys oats from a seedsman who states that such oats are suitable for 

 seed. However, as at present there is no general regulation govern- 

 ing oat handhng in intrastate transactions which requires that 

 sulphured oats are to be labeled as such, the farmer generally is 

 without protection and often sows oats that have been sulphured 

 because he has no knowledge of such condition. Some growers are 

 not acquainted with the sulphur-bleaching process, and do not know 

 that this process injures the germination. 



In the column headed "Sulphur reaction" are shown the results 

 of a qualitative determination, indicating whether the oats in question 

 had been sulphured or not.^ In the column above referred to four 

 designations are shown, namely: None, Shght, Medium, and Heavy, 

 which indicate whether or not the oats have been sulphured, and if 

 so, approximately to what degree. The moisture percentages wiU 

 be found to vary considerably in the samples before and after sulphur- 

 ing, according to the particular kind of method used. The weight per 

 bushel, while not influenced materially, is found to be a little higher 

 in most instances after sulphuring. 



In the column headed ''Oats appearing sound," it will be noticed 

 that the percentage of such oats is increased considerably by bleach- 

 ing, and in the column headed "Total oats appearing damaged," 

 it is noticed that there is a corresponding decrease. In the column 

 headed "Oats damaged by agencies other than heat," it is shown 

 that in the sulphured samples the damage appears much less. In the 

 last column, headed "Heat damaged oats," it is seen that while the 

 percentage of heat damage in many instances is small, there is a 

 corresponding reduction in this factor by the bleaching process. 



By examining the table in detail, it is noted that the facts set forth 

 in each set compare favorably with those in each of the other sets. 

 In samples Nos. 88783 and 88830 it is shown that the total amount of 

 oats appearing heat damaged was reduced from 54.8 to 31.4 per cent, 

 a reduction of 23.4 per cent. In samples Nos. 89242 and 89245, 

 however, it is seen that the total amount of oats appearing bin burned 

 before sulphuring was 62 per cent while those appearing bin burned 

 after sulphuring was 64.6 per cent. 



1 This method is given in detail in Circular 40, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture: "A Simple Method of Detecting Sulphured Barley and Oats," by W. P. Carroll, 1909; and in 

 Circular 111, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture: "Improved Apparatus for 

 Use in Detecting Sulphured Grain," by George H. Baston, 1913. 



