COMPARISON" OF AMERICAN WHEATS. 19 



for the soft white wheat, 1,470 to 2,180 for the soft red winter, 1,160 

 to 2,650 for the durum, 1,810 to 2,755 for the hard red winter, and 

 1,875 to 3,260 for the hard red spring wheat. The figures show great 

 variation, which is the result of growing these wheats under a wide 

 range of conditions of soil and climate. In a general way the data 

 gathered from year to year indicate that unfavorable climatic con- 

 ditions during the later part of the growing season tend to produce 

 the strongest wheats. This is illustrated with the hard red spring 

 wheat of the years 1911 and 1912. In 1911 the latter part of the 

 season was unfavorable and much shrunken wheat, low in flour yield, 

 was the result. Much of the wheat of that year, however, was of 

 exceptional strength. The following year (1912) the opposite was 

 true. Unusually favorable conditions resulted in well-developed 

 wheat high in flour yield, which was, however, of very low average 

 strength for spring wheat. 



Fig. 13. — Cross sections of loaves of bread made from wheat grown near Shelbina, 

 Mo., showing a considerable range in the quality of low-strength wheat. Loaf a, 

 soft red winter wheat, with a volume of 1,935 cubic centimeters and a texture of 

 94.5; 6, hard red winter wheat (Turkey), volume 2,075, texture 95; and c, d, and 

 e, soft red winter, with volumes of 1,815, 1,785, and 1,715 and textures of 91.5, 

 92, and 89, respectively. 



One fact clearly brought out by figure 12 is that there is no hard- 

 and-fast line between the various classes, so far as strength is con- 

 cerned, because of the wide range found in each. When averages 

 are considered, however, differences of considerable magnitude are 

 observed. Soft white and soft red winter are most alike, the average 

 loaf volumes being, respectively, 1,907 and 1,965 cubic centimeters. 

 Durum wheat is a close third, with a volume of 2,070 cubic centi- 

 meters, although the flour from this wheat differs in other respects, 

 particular^ in color, as was shown in figure 11, and in composition, 

 as will be shown later. Hard red winter and hard red spring wheats 

 have average volumes of 2,219 and 2,421 cubic centimeters, respec- 

 tively, which shows for these two classes considerable superiority 

 over the others in strength of flour. It shows also that in strength of 

 flour the spring wheat leads the hard winter by a good margin. 



Figures 13, 14, 15, and 16, reproduced from a series of photographs, 

 will help to visualize these differences. Figure 13 shows several 

 loaves of bread made from samples of soft red winter wheat and one 



