PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 
Edited by C. F. LAnGworsuy, Px.D, 
“What a Man Eats He Is.’ 
Author of “On Citraconic, Itaconic and Mesaconic Acids,’ “Fish as Food,” etc. 
MACARONI WHEATS. 
Macaroni wheats have from time to time 
been introduced into the United States dur- 
ing the past 35 years, but lack of demand 
for them has until recently prevented any 
extensive culture of these wheats, although 
“Wild Goose,’ or “Goose,” an _ inferior 
grade of macaroni wheat, has long been 
grown to some extent in Canada and the 
Northwestern United States. A few years 
ago, however, the Department of Agricul- 
ture undertook systematic work with a view 
to introducing improved varieties of mac- 
aroni wheats and building up a home mar- 
ket and foreign demand for macaroni flour. 
The Agricultural Experiment Stations and 
private individuals have co-operated effec- 
tively with the Department in testing the 
wheats under varying conditions and in 
studying the qualities and uses of the prod- 
uct. This work has been so successful that 
there is good reason for the belief that the 
United States will in time not only produce 
all the macaroni it consumes, but supply a 
considerable proportion of the macaroni 
and macaroni flour used abroad. 
These wheats are especially adapted to 
growth in the semi-arid regions of the 
United States, and render possible the 
building up of a profitable industry in re- 
gions in which ordinary wheats do not suc- 
ceed and which, without irrigation, are of 
little or no value except for grazing pur- 
poses. The macaroni wheats have been 
found to give the best results on the Great 
Plains near the tooth meridian, but they 
may be successfully grown over a _ wide 
area. 
The macaroni wheats are much harder 
than the ordinary hard wheats. In compo- 
sition they differ from ordinary wheats in 
having a smaller percentage of starch and 
a larger percentage of protein or nitro- 
genous matter. In samples examined by 
Professor Shepard, of the South Dakota 
Experiment Station, the protein varied from 
13.9 to 188 per cent. Ordinary wheats 
have on the average 11.8 per cent of pro- 
tein. As a consequence of the higher pro- 
tein content of the macaroni wheats the 
flour and by-products yielded by them are 
also richer in this valuable food constituent 
than those obtained from ordinary wheat. 
South Dakota macaroni wheat flour con- 
tained 16.9 per cent. of protein, the bran 
16.3 per cent., and the shorts 17.4 per cent. 
Ordinary wheat flour on an average con- 
tains 11.4 per cent. of protein, bran 15.4 per 
446 
cent., and shorts 14.9 per cent. The flour, 
or, as it is termed, semolina, from maca- 
roni wheats makes a richer macaroni than 
that of ordinary hard wheats, which has 
been used to a considerable extent by mac- 
aroni manufacturers. Macaroni of the 
highest quality was made from the maca- 
roni wheats grown in South Dakota, and 
analysis showed it to contain 16.5 per cent. 
of protein. The inferior quality of the 
macaroni made from flour of ordinary 
wheats is generally recognized in the trade. 
This has resulted in an increasing demand 
on the part of macaroni manufacturers, 
which has only partly been met by the mill- 
ers, for semolina from macaroni wheats. 
It is safe to assume that as this demand in- 
creases the millers will be induced to make 
the slight alteration in their milling ma- 
chinery necessary to grind the macaroni 
wheat and will supply the flour required for 
our growing domestic manufacture as well 
as for an increasing export trade. 
If, however, all of the macaroni wheat 
grown can not be disposed of profitably for 
the manufacture of macaroni, it may be 
used to advantage as a feeding stuff or for 
bread making, as is done in Russia and 
other European countries. The South Da- 
kota Experiment Station has shown that 
macaroni flour can be made into a sweet 
bread of good flavor and of average com- 
position. It has also been demonstrated 
to be well suited to the preparation of bis- 
cuits, muffins, griddle cakes, and similar 
products of good quality. For bread it is 
often considered desirable to mix 20 per 
cent. or more of red wheat flour with the 
macaroni wheat flour. 

BACON. 
Many who are fond of bacon hesitate to 
eat it, as they find that it causes indiges- 
tion. In a large number, if not the major- 
ity of cases, this is due not to the fatty na- 
ture of the food, but to the fact that the 
bacon was overcooked, or rather, cooked 
at too high a temperature. It is not sur- 
prising that this should be the case when 
we remember that fat heated to a high tem- 
perature is decomposed and that one of the 
products given off is acrolein, an unpleas- 
ant smelling compound which attacks the 
eyes, making them smart, and irritates all 
mucous surfaces. Acrolein is plainly no- 
ticeable in the acrid fumes of burning or 
