70 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
the fact that the more water a wheat contains, the less 
flour it will yield in the mill. Consequently, the less 
value it has to the miller. A difference of 5 per cent. 
of natural moisture means a difference of from 1s. 6d. 
to 2s. Od. per quarter in favour of the drier wheats. 
This is one of the reasons why New Zealand millers 
prefer Australian wheats, and the New Zealand farmers 
clamour for protection. 
(c) Strength. — Of vastly greater importance is the 
third factor from the miller’s point of view. We 
may provisionally define ‘‘strength’’ as the capacity 
for making bread which suits the public taste of the 
day. The generally accepted method of determining the 
“‘strength’’ of a sample of wheat is to mill it, and make 
it usually into cottage loaves. The strength of the wheat 
is then determined from their size, shape, condition, and 
general appearance. A ‘‘strong’’ wheat makes a large 
well risen loaf of uniformly porous texture. The 
principle of greatest importance is the capacity of the 
bread to absorb water, that is, the production ofa porous 
loaf is the most desirable end. 
(ad) Importance of Gluten Content. — The degree to 
which this end is attained is dependent on the amount 
and character of the gluten of the flour produced from 
the special variety of wheat. The technical processes of 
baking do not concern us here, but in order to compre- 
hend the importance of gluten a passing comment on the 
technicalities of baking will not be inappropriate. 
‘In making bread flour is mixed with water and yeast. 
The yeast feeds on the small quantity of sugar contained 
in the flour, fermenting it, and forming from it, alcohol 
and carbon dioxide gas. The gluten being coherent and 
tough is blown into numberless small bubbles by the gas 
which is thus retained inside the bread. On baking, the 
high temperature of the oven fixes these bubbles by 
drying and hardening their walls, and the bread is thus 
