The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-17
MINNESOTA AND INDIANA WHEATS.
The Result Of an Analysis of the Qualities Of
Several Grades Of the Cereal.

Regarding the relative qualities of the Mil
waukee and the Indianapolis fours used by DR..
Fletcher at the Insane Asylum. it may be held
that these fours are no better than the wheats
from which they are made. The Milwaukee
spring wheat -four is doubtless made from the
Northwestern No. l hard spring wheat, so large
ly raised in Minnesota and Dakota. The
wheats milled through the winter wheat
section of the middle States, Missouri, Illinois,
Indiana and Ohio is a winter wheat Of which
about seven-eighths is the Fulz wheat, and the
remainder Long Mediterranean In the summer
Of 1884 DR.. A. w. Brayton and John Hurry, of
this city. analysed a series os wheats from all
parts of the world for the Milestone, of this city.
Europe, the Egyptian, Baltic. Bombay hard red,
white Bombay, Australian, Russian, Persian.
American hard spring (Milwaukee) and
Indiana winter wheat. Their ~nutritive and
bread making qualities were determined; the
percentages of moisture, ash, oil, extract ives,
c~ellulose, starch and gluten accurately stated in
per cents. The Indiana sample was a typical
one, taken from the Board of Trade rooms, and
was one of the handsomest wheats. as far as ex-
ternal appearance is concerned, that was OK
amined.
AS to bread making qualities, the Bombay
hard red stood first, and scarcely varied from
Indiana winter wheat. The hard spring stood
eighth in the list. The hard spring had 90
per cent. of cellulose. {. go per cent. of extract
ives" (sugar, dextrine and soluble albuminoidsl,
2 SO Oil, SO ash and II. 81 water. The Indiana
wheat had l3. 90 per cent gluten, $751; starch,
5. o5 c~ellulose. 6. IS extractives, 2. 90 oil and 49,
water. 1t will be seen that the hard spring
wheat only excelled in starch among the nutri-
tive properties, although 1t is q great wheat and
the wealth of the Northwest. The hard spring
is a small grained wheat, and rather inferior in
external appearance.
The object of the Milestone in having these
analyses made was to get at the facts of the
milling, nutritive and four-maKing qualities of
all the grades without prejudice or self interest,
or a desire to boom any grade of wheat. The
prize barrel of -four made at the first Interna-
tional Millers' Association, at Cincinnati in 1880,
was made from the long berried Mediterranean
wheat from southern Indiana, which stands
above all wheats grown in the United States,
and as a milling wheat is without q peer in
the world. This is also the estimate put upon
the Mediterranean by the editor of the Milestone
at the present 'time-that the flour from this
wheat, properly milled, is as good as any. AS a
matter of fact. the people of the belt from mid
die Missouri to Ohio use the Fulz winter-wheat
-four. This -four is inferior to the Houl spring.
wheat -four, which, regardless of the results of
chemical analysis, has such an even distribu-
ton of proximate principles in milling properties
as to give it the lead in the great -four markets
of the United States.
1t is stated that the PilIsbury Milling Com
pany will establish a depot of their -four in this
city and sell directly to consumers. In that
case, the relative commercial and bread making
qualities of Houl spring and winter wheats will
be put to q practical test in this locality. The
Full wheat, Of which we raise and eat most, is
more prolific that the long berried Mediterran-
can, and so has been the leading winter wheat
of this region.
DIR. Fletcher's conclusions probably only rela-
ted to the samples employed, and are not in any
sense final, as to relative value of Indiana and
Minnesota wheat.