Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-11-08
Grain Looses by Age.

The assistant chemist OF the agricul.
tursl department at Washington has
been making investigations for two
years past OF the composition OF Ameri.
can wheat and corn. He has recently
given to the public the result of these
investigations in an exhaustive pam
phlet of some seventy pages.
Gluten and albumen are among the
chief parts of wheat. II Is for the
gluten that wheat contains that 1t is
most highly priced as an article or
food. We are usually able TO distin-
guish between good and bad wheat by
its appearance and without an analy.
sis. The plump, heavy grain is readi
ly understood to be good, while the
light, shriveled gain is as readily pro
nounced inferior. The reason why
one wheat is superior 10 another is be-
cause its per cent of gluten and albu-
men is greater. In comparing the an
alysis of American and foreign wheats
the chemists discovers that the chief
difference between them is a deficien-
cy on the part of the American grain
in albumen. This substance is found
to be most abundant in the Russian
wheat. 1t is on this account that the
American grain weighs less to the
hundred kernels than the foreign. 1t
also contains less water and fiber but
about the same of ash and more Of oil.
The highest per cent. of alhumenuids
found in the wheat in this country was
in Minnesota specimen, which con-
tained a little more than II per cent,
while twenty.four different specimens
of Russian wheat averaged nearly l95
per cent. A vast difference was found
between the wheat raised in the differ
ent sections of this country That
raised along the Atlantic coast is
poorest. and there is ii regular gradua
ton OF improvement as it advances
westward across the country until
the Pacific slope Is reached where
there is remarkable falling off in
gluten. alpumen, ash and oil.
But the most remarkable discovery
made by this chemist is the deteriora-
ton which wheat undergoes as it
grows older. and the American wheat
looses more by age than any other.
While Russian spring red and French
imperial spring showed little loss of
gluten in twelve months, the Fotz
wheat of this country was found to
lose in the same period more than half
its moist and nearly half its dried glu-
ten, and that variety known as Schu-
macher after years standing con-
tanned scarcely any Of these substan'
ces.
If these discoveries prove anything,
and certainly coming from the source
they do they should carry with them
some weight, it is that farmers and
others who suffer wheat to stand in
in their granaries from one season to
another do themselves and the con-
sumers of bread an injustice by such
course. The deterioration of the
wheat is not the only wrong done, for
the Withholding of the capital invested
in it from the legitimate channels of
trade also works hardshlps upon very
many. These are only a few of the
reasons why grain should find its way
into market within reasona ble length
of time after it has been harvested.
The grain is then in better condition
for consumption, the commercial in
terests of the country are benefited,
the speculator is thwarted and each
tend materially to general prosperity.