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impaired for brewing purposes is a matter of considerable 
importance. 
I can readily understand that a change in the method of 
transporting grain in India from the present system to one 
based on an elevator system, combined with official grading, 
would have many advantages, particularly as regards railway 
carriage, but a number of other advantages, attached to an 
elevator system, would be lost (as regards exportation) if the 
grain had to be sacked when transferred to the steamers, and 
it is improbable that the grain would carry in such good con- 
dition in bulk as it does in sack. 
As regards barley for brewing purposes, the three greatest 
drawbacks at present are:— 
(1) Weevil. 
(2) Heating. 
(3) Dirt and impurities. 
Weevil.—I think this evil would be minimized if barley could 
be stored in country elevators where it could be readily moved 
from one bin to another, if it remained in store for any 
length of time. I do not think the shipping of barley in bulk 
would be advisable on account of the conditions being more 
conducive to weevil development. 
The whole conditions prevailing in India are peculiarly 
favourable to weevil development, and it is not practicable to 
reduce the moisture in barley to 4 or 5 per cent. in order to 
make it immune from weevil. 
Heating.—If barley could be placed in proper storage, as 
soon as threshed and delivered by the ryots and zemindars, 
no doubt the damage by heating would be reduced to a 
minimum; but while Indian barley is liable to contain anything 
from 4 to 30 per cent. of dead, decayed and heated grain, 
which will not germinate, it will only be used for the lowest 
class of malting barley, and at prices less than Californian, 
Oregon, Smyrna and Mediterranean brewing barleys. 
Dirt and Impurities.—Indian barleys are rapidly improving 
in this respect, and with the continued use of the grain for 
brewing this defect (which was very bad two and three years 
ago) is already working out its own remedy. 
Mr. A. E. Humpnrtes (contributed after the meeting): I 
wish to enter a caveat on two points arising out of that part of 
Mr. Noél-Paton’s paper which has been read. 
Provided any wheat is used for some special purpose, the 
demand might be easily in excess of the supply at some given 
period, and such a wheat may then realize a relatively much 
higher price than it would do if there were a slightly or sub- 
stantially larger supply. Mr. Noél-Paton pointed out that 
most of the Indian wheat is exported soon after harvest, and 
