REPORT OF THE CHEMIST. 



117 



The results are variable within limits which are so narrow as to make 

 it impossible to say that one flour will make much more bread than 

 another, and it will be observed that the lowest grade gives as large a 

 yield, or even larger, than the best patent. If, however, the moisture 

 in the flour had been less uniform, our results would probably show a 

 larger yield of bread for the drier flours. The conclusion must be then 

 that the yield is dependent on physical conditions of. bread-making, 

 and not to a large extent upon the chemical composition of the wheat. 

 In all our experiments we get a much larger percentage of bread than 

 the McDougalls, but it is due to the possibility of the use of larger 

 amounts of water in the dough. In other respects their conclusions are 

 confirmed that water is the chief conditioning agent, and that the per 

 cent, of gluten has but little effect upon the yield. 



That it has some, however, appears from the fact that the largest yield 

 was obtained with a Minnesota low-grade flour, having the highest 

 gluten of any experimented with, and the lowest yield was from the 

 Oregon flour, having the smallest amount. The bread from the low- 

 grade flour mentioned, although the heaviest yield, was dark and of 

 the worst quality; that from the Oregon flour was white and fair. 

 These flours are very peculiar, and in another place a few remarks are 

 made upon their conrposition. 



Aside from quantity the quality of the bread made from Minnesota 

 patent flours is certainly as near perfect as could be wished. That from 

 other patent flours suffers slightly in comparison, while, of course, the 

 bread from straight flours, bakers', and low grade, cannot compare with 

 that from patents. 



NOTE ON THE CHEMICAL ALTERATIONS IN GREEN FODDER DURING 

 ITS CONVERSION INTO ENSILAGE. 



In recent numbers of the Journal of the Chemical Society, Prof. Ed- 

 ward Kinch and Dr. O. Kellner have published some observations upon 

 the changes which take place in the silo, especially in the nitrogenous 

 constituents of fodder. Analyses which have been made in this labora- 

 tory during the past two years throw additional light upon the subject, 

 and are, although somewhat incomplete, presented here. 



Professor Kinch found in the ensilage of grass that of the total nitro- 

 gen present, 55 per cent, was of a non-albuminoid nature, while in the 

 original grass only 9 per cent, was in this form. Kellner found in the 

 case of mangold leaves 27.8 per cent, in the original leaves and 45.5 

 per cent, in the ensilage, while in the ensilage preserved in stoppered 

 jars the proportion was even 59.7 per cent, of non-albuminoid nitrogen. 

 In the ensilage of maize we have found — 



Per cent, of total nitrogen as non-albuminoid. 



Per cent. 



Original stalks 21.2 



Ensilage, No. 1 44. G 



No. 2 49.6 



Dried fodder 15.6 



Ensilage from young maize 53.3 



Ensilage from old maize 47.1 



The three results with grass, mangold, and maize show that in the 

 conditions existing in silos a large portion of the albuminoids are con- 

 verted into non -albuminoid nitrogenous substances, while in the ordi- 

 nary drying of fodder no such change seems to take place. During the 

 changes in the nitrogen Kinch and Kellner both found that a large 

 proportion of the nitrogen of the fresh plant was lost, or did not ap- 

 pear in the analyses. 



With grass it was 13 per cent., with mangold leaves 27.8 per cent., in 



