626 
Proceedings of the Boycd Society 
3. On M. Mege Mouries’ Process of Preparing Wheat Flour. 
By Professor Wilson. 
Some twelve years ago M. Mege Mouries had his attention 
directed to the composition of the grain of wheat, and to the 
processes of grinding and panification. The object of that gentle- 
man’s investigations was to show the defective knowledge and 
waste of material in the ordinary practices of the trade ; but 
although these were fully proved by the results, there appeared to 
have been trade and other difficulties in the way of its general 
adoption. Having last year acted as juror on “ Food Substances” 
at the Dublin Exhibition, I had my attention recalled to the sub- 
ject by an article which was submitted to the jury under the name 
of “ Cerealina,” purporting to be a preparation of wffieat flour by 
the process indicated by M. Mege Mouries, and which, on examina- 
tion, confirmed the opinions which had been previously formed of 
its food value. On further inquiry, it was found that a simple 
mechanical process had been devised in the United States, where 
the flour had been prepared, for effecting the most difficult part of 
M. Mege Mouries’ process — that of decorticating the grain. This 
rendered the operation of preparation so easy and so inexpensive 
as to make it desirable that attention should again be called to the 
process. In examining the composition of the grain of wheat, M. 
Mege Mouries found that it was a far more complicated structure 
than was commonly supposed — that it consisted of (1) an outer 
covering or epidermis, (2) epicarp, (3) endocarp, and that these 
three layers consisted chiefly of ligneous tissue, and formed the 
exterior covering of the grain or true bran, and had no food value. 
Together, they averaged from two to three per cent, of the weight 
of the wheat. Beneath these came (4) the testa or seed-coat 
proper, which was a distinct cellular tissue of a dark colour — yellow 
or orange, according to the description of the grain ; and (5), the 
embryo membrane, directly connected with the germ, which, indeed, 
it supplied as soon as the vital principles of growth were excited. 
These two coats or layers contained nitrogenous matters in large 
proportions, and enveloped the mass of starch-cffils which formed 
the body of the grain. Ordinary flour was composed entirely of 
