228 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL gouRNAL. [1 Sevr., 1898. 
Science. 
ADULTERATION OF FLOUR. 
Or all the staple ecreals used by the human race for food, maize is undoubtedly 
the cheapest. In this colony many people prefer maizemeal porridge for 
breakfast to the stronger and more heating diet of oatmeal. In the North of 
Europe, especially in Russia, Sweden and Norway, and the North of Germany, 
ryeis greatly used. Still farther north, in Lapland, cereals are scarcely known, 
and the inner bark of a fir-tree, dried, takes its place. Here it 1s customary, 
when describing a rich man, to say, “He eats white bread all the year.” 
*“ Corn” bread—that is, bread made of maizemeal—is largely consumed in the 
United States, but although maizemeal has been occasionally made into bread 
in Queensland, we have never heard of its becoming a substitute for wheaten 
bread, nor even of its adoption for the various forms of cake so common in 
the United States. 
Maize is much consumed in Italy, but apparently with bad effects on the 
human system. ‘The Farmer and Stockbreeder (London), writing on the 
subject, says :— 
The second point that needs looking into is, the ill effects said to follow 
ona maize diet. In Italy there are diseases diagnosed as exclusively caused 
by maize, while in our own country the extensive prevalence of diarrhea, 
dysentery, and a like class of maladies in prisons is said to be due to the 
employment of maize as food for prisoners.* 
The Italians’ trouble, however, is stated to be the result of damaged or 
sprouted maize being used for food, while the prison matter requires much 
fuller investigation than it has hitherto received. 
What the chemist has to tell us is briefly this: That maize is rich in oil 
and starch, poor in gluten; that it is far poorer than wheat in flesh-forming 
material, yet not so poor in that respect as rice. From these premises the 
doctor who makes a speciality of dieting will be able to give us some idea of 
how far men. should be fed on Indian corn. 
The third point dealt with is that of adulteration. 
‘Even if the maize be as healthy as wheat, the consumer does not wish to 
pay double prices. A wheat loaf [weight not stated—Ed. Q.A.J.] cannot well 
be made at present under 6d., but a maize loaf will yield a handsome profit at 
3d.; the temptation to adulterate is therefore very considerable. 
Tn telling one form of flour from another, recourse is usually had to a 
microscopic examination of the starch granules. 
Wheat starch consists of smooth circular globules of two very distinct 
sizes, some large and others noticeably small; but the two types do zo? tend to 
run into one another. In other words, if the diameter of one small granule be 
taken at unity, that of a big granule will be about 10, and granules from, say, 
3 to 6 or 7 in diameter will not as a rule be found. Rice starch consists of 
very small granules exclusively. Maize starch consists of polygonal, angular, 
and, for the most part, large-sized granules. 
While matters were in this stage, it was clear that the analyst could 
quickly tell if the flour was composed of wheat, rice, or maize. 
* This statement we can distinctly corroborate. When the Editor of this Journal first 
started farming many years ago in this colony, he and his partner always breakfasted on maize- 
meal porridge, and constantly suffered from such ills as above described. On abandoning the 
maize diet, no unpleasantness was experienced. 1 
