67 
The Middleman in Agriculture. 
clucers.” It is, however, evident that in such a case as this these 
exorbitant profits have been amassed simply because the cheap- 
ening of produce has benefited, not the consumer, but the 
middleman. 
It is stated that it takes about 400 lb. of wheat to produce 
by the roller process 280 lb., or one sack, of flour. Thus a 
quarter of wheat, of 496 lb., will produce 347 lb. of flour. In 
the case of wheat ground into flour by the old system of stones, it 
takes only about 388 lb. to produce 280 lb., or one sack, of flour, 
and a quarter of wheat will produce 362 lb. of flour. A sack of 
flour of 280 lb. will produce at least 390 lb. of bread, or 974 
loaves of 4 lb. each, while the produce of a quarter of wheat 
ground by the rollers will be 347 lb. of flour, or 483 lb. of bread, 
or say 120 loaves of 4 lb. each. 
I have received from Mr. G. E. Francis, of Oxford, particulars 
of a bread-making test made by himself in his own kitchen in 
April last year which are of interest in this connection. The 
ingredients of a 4 lb. loaf, and their cost, were as follow : 
lb. of best seconds flour .... 
. 4 
1 oz. of German yeast 
2 teaspoonfuls of salt mixed with the yeast "1 
. 1 
say -j 
It pint of tepid water . . , . J 
Total 
• • 
The resultant quantity of dough weighed 4 lb. 12 oz. This, 
when made into two loaves of bread baked and brought out of 
the oven and set two or three hours tocool, weighed! lb. 3 oz., but 
when made into one loaf only it weighed 4 ib. 6 oz. The flour 
from which this bread was made cost 6s. Qd. per bushel, delivered 
at the house by the corn dealer. This would be 32s. 6d. per sack 
of five bushels of 280 lb. weight at a time when the average price 
of foreign and home wheat ranged from about 34s. to 36s. per 
quarter. The flour presumably was composed of about two parts 
of foreign and one part of home-grown wheat. The baker would 
probably get it at about 28s. 6d. per sack, or, if he paid within 
seven days, at a net price of, say, 27s. 9 d. 
The cost of this home-made 4 lb. loaf of bread, supposing it to 
have weighed only 4 lb. and not 4 lb. 6 oz., was 4 f d., or say 5 d. 
The baker who, according to custom, allows 5s. per sack, or Is. 
per bushel, to cover all expenses, including the cost of yeast, 
making, baking, delivering, &c., would produce the 4 lb. loaf 
quite £eZ., if not Id. cheaper, or say at 4 cZ., whereas he was 
at that time charging 5 \d. for it. He would, therefore, have 
been making a profit of nearly 14d. upon every 41b. loaf, or some- 
thing like 37 per cent. 
