6 FIELD, FOREST AND FARM 



starch used in the laundry is obtained in consider- 

 able quantities by similar means: dough is washed 

 and the whitened water, left undisturbed, deposits a 

 layer of starch which has only to be gathered to- 

 gether and dried. 1 



"So much, then, is made clear: flour contains 

 starch, but it contains something else also. There is 

 a limit beyond which the washed dough yields no 

 more starch ; it is useless to knead it, the water falls 

 colorless into the plate. What remains in one's 

 hands after this prolonged washing is a soft, gluey 

 substance, having something of the elastic quality of 

 rubber. Grayish in color, it has a rather pro- 

 nounced odor. When dried in the sun, it becomes 

 hard and translucent like horn. It is called gluten 

 from its gluelike character, its viscosity. 



"Now this substance, so unattractive in appear- 

 ance, all soft and sticky and getting clogged between 

 the fingers — this gluten, in short — do you know what 

 it is? Don't try to dispute me, for what I am going 

 to tell you is the exact truth. In its composition 

 gluten does not differ from flesh. It is vegetable 

 flesh, capable of becoming animal flesh by the sim- 

 ple process of digestion, without any material loss 

 or gain. Therefore it is gluten, first and foremost, 

 that gives to bread its great nutritive value. 



"Of all the cereals wheat contains the most glu- 

 ten, with rye holding second place. Maize and rice, 

 as well as chestnuts and potatoes, are wholly lack- 



i Laundry starch is now obtained chiefly from rice and from pulse. 

 — 'Translator. 



