70 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



INVESTIGATIONS OF AMERICAN CEREALS AND THEIR 



PRODUCTS. 



The investigations of the past year has been confined almost entirely 

 to wheat and its products, previous analyses of corn having been suffi- 

 cient in number to demonstrate the very universal uniformity of its 

 composition. A number of weighings of varieties of the latter have 

 been made, however, to obtain information as to the size of kernels 

 grown in different portions of the country, and a few determinations oi 

 ash and albuminoids. 



The wheats which have been analyzed, while including some scat- 

 tered specimens, which have from time to time come to hand, have 

 been principally from parts of the country which were not well repre- 

 sented in our previous report, or where those which have been selected 

 were deemed by good judges to be not truly characteristic of the State, 

 as in the case of Minnesota. A selection from Professor Blount's crop 

 of 1883 has also been examined, it being the third consecutive year in 

 which Colorado varieties grown under his direction have been ana- 

 lyzed. The roller process of milling having attracted much attention 

 and taken a prominent position in the methods of milling at the present 

 day. a complete series of samples illustrative thereof has been supplied 

 by C. A. Pillsbury & Co., of Minneapolis, and partial series by Warder 

 & Barnett. of Springfield, Ohio, and Herr & Cissel, of Georgetown, D. 

 C, together with numerous flours from different millers in Minnesota 

 and elsewhere, manufactured by gradual reduction. 



The question of the susceptibility of flour and other grain products 

 to the humidity of the atmosphere has also been a subject of considera- 

 tion, and baking experiments with flours from various States- and of 

 different grades have been carried on for comparison with similar work 

 done in England a few years ago, in which some of our wheats were 

 included. 



WHEAT. 



In previous reports the analyses included determinations of water, 

 ash, oil, fiber, and albuminoids. During the past year the determina- 

 tions of oil and fiber have been omitted, as the slight variations which 

 have been found to occur are of less importance in the consideration of 

 the value of the grain, and as the data already obtained are quite suffi- 

 cient for this purpose. The determination of the albuminoids in connec- 

 tion with the size and condition of the wheat settle, as far as a chem- 

 ical and physical examination can succeed, the peculiarities of the sam- 

 ples in hand. 



The results are presented in the following tables, arranged in the 

 same manner as in previous reports. There is also a table giving such 

 analyses of wheats from other sources as have not hitherto been col- 

 lected • 



