﻿MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATION OF FLOUR. 

 Table 2. — Hair counts obtained on experimental samples of flour 





Types of flour. 



Sample No. 



70 per 

 cent. 



97.5 per 

 cent. 



90 per 

 cent. 



27.5 per 

 cent. 



2.5 per 

 cent. 



1 



13 

 13 



18 

 12 

 9 



28 

 29 

 26 

 39 

 29 

 30 



26 

 22 

 28 

 31 

 28 

 34 



45 



120 



2 



49 131 



3 



47 112 



4 



65 



5 



51 .. 



6 



40 L 











13 



30 



28 49 



124 







1 As these flours were made under the supervision of the Bureau of Chemistry, their constituent streams 

 were known. A description of the streams composing them is given in Department of Agriculture Bulletin 

 839. 



SUMMARY. 



Experimental data secured by the Bureau of Chemistry have 

 shown in a general way the existence of a significant relationship 

 between the wheat-hair count and the flour classified according to 

 milling practices. Reliable informa- 

 tion on the quality of the mill streams 

 composing any finished flour was avail- 

 able only in the case of the experimental 

 samples of flour. Consequently, any 

 suggestion as to the tolerance to be 

 applied in a method of this kind would 

 be justified only when definite infor- 

 mation concerning the milling process, 

 such as the streams employed in com- 

 posing a flour and the cleaning of the 

 wheat, is at hand. 



The data obtained on the exper- 

 imental samples of flour, however, in- 

 dicate the possibility of making an in- 

 teresting classification based on the 

 hair count alone. It is possible, of 

 course, that the number of hairs or 

 hair fragments from the brush of the 

 wheat grain might differ materially, ac- 

 cording to the variety of wheat used 

 and the milling operations employed. 

 Nevertheless, an examination of a large 

 number of samples representing a great 

 variety of milling practices indicates 

 that flours made from purified mid- 

 dlings material show a low hair count, 

 while flours containing lower-grade mill 

 stocks show a higher hair count. 



/20 

 //O 



%/oo 



* 90 



\ 

 O 



S so 



\ 



«/} 70 



K 



^ 60 



k 



5 so 



8 



/O 



o 

























































1 











It 











"fAT'ST" "ST" "CL" "LG' 



Fig. 5. — Average hair count on a 70 per cent 

 patent, 90 and 97.5 per cent straight, 

 27.5 per cent clear, and 2.5 per cent low- 

 grade flour. 



