The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-15
ABOUT HARD WHEAT
Manager AtkinsOn's Paper Read Be-
fore the Convention.
RICH BENCH LANDS SOIL
What Has Been Done Without Irri-
cation The Subject as reated
From a Strictly Commmer-
cial Standpoint

IN this city Thursday last, was the
following by Manager Atkinson of the
Royal mills of Great Falls. the pro-
duct of which is sent to all parts of
the Northwest:
MY paper on the hard wheat of
Cascade county will treat upon that
subject strictly from the commercial
and manufacturing point of view, and
will not bear upon the trials and tribu-
lations of the farmer
My experience with wheat in Mon
tana dates back to 1893, in the spring
of which year the Royal Milling COM
l2any shipped a quantity of hard wheat
from North Dakota and placed it with
a number of farmers of Cascade county
to be used for seeding purposes. This
wheat was of the hard Fife variety
and the very best for the purpose de-
sired. 1t was planted on both bench
and bottom land, and the result is
what we are now interested in.
The wheat grown on the bench land
and delivered to the mill in the fall of
1898 represented some of the finest
wheat l have ever seen, ii being
plump, well filled and containing in
large percentage that quality of the
wheat which is the delight of a miller's
heart-gluten-and gluten. to a mil
ler's idea, is the characteristic above
all others that he desires to have rep
means strength, and If he finds his
wheat to contain a large percentage
of that valuable property he is CORE
spondingly happy, for he knows that
with a stronger -four than his compe-
titor he can knock him out every time
And gluten, / say, is what we found,
to satisfactory degree, in the wheat
grown on the benches of Cascade
county; without Observation-Disclosures
wheat. on the contrary, we find to be
of softer quality than that which is
not irrigated, although, with judicious
use of water in irrigating, we do not
think the difference in the quality of
the wheat would be so great as is rep
resented by the figures given below.
These figures represent the percentage
of gluten obtained from various sam
Piles of wheat grown in this vicinity
as compared with samples of Dakota
wheat. 1t must be borne in mind that
a kernel of wheat contains starch and
gluten as its two principal properties,
or ingredients, and, for instance, the
wheats of the Pacific slope, which are
very white, very soft and make a
chalky, lifeless flour, have starch as
the principal ingredient and the gluten
is notable from its absence. A sample
of California-soft, or white wheat
will contain per cent of gluten;
whereas, Dakota wheat will have an
average of more than Is per cent of
that valuable characteristic.
The figures already referred to by
me are the result of tests made on
wheat that had not been specially Sc
lected for the purpose, and they were
taken Unfortunately from a large
line of samples:
Dakota wheat
l hard, tested 1892 per cent gluten.
l November, tested 1888 per cent
gluten.
Montana bench land wheat
1 hard. Paris Gibson, 1872 per cent.
l hard, w. b. Daniel, 1927 per cent.
Irrigated bench
Mr.. Morgan, 1910 per cent
Bottom land wheat
1 November, w. j. Ranton, 1471 per
cent.
! November. ]. NJ. Conner, s42 per
cent.
November. L. NJ. Gibson, s.42 per
cent.
by these figures you will observe
the excellent results obtained from
raising wheat on our benches, without
irrigation, and where conditions are
favorable, 1 favor this method every
time. Where water is used artificially
and supplies are always available, the
natural tendency is to use ii freely on
the growing plant. and to the detri-
ment of the wheat berry, as an excess
sive use of water undoubtedly has the
effect of making a soft berry, no mat
ter how hard the seed may be to start
with. Our figures also show that
low percentage of gluten is obtained
from bottom land wheat. which, of
course, receives more moisture than
wheat grown on the benches.
I'VE will now show the difference in
value between hard and soft wheats
as represented by the prices obtained
for the different fours.
1.-THE price obtained for hard wheat
-four at the present time will average
50 per 100 pounds, and the soft wheat
flour $1.40 per 100 pounds, a difference
of so cents per 100 pounds, or 81. 20 per
barrel. Take five bushels as the GUAM
tity of wheat necessary to make a
barrel of -four and we will find that
hard wheat nets up just % cents per
bushel over the soft wheat, certainly
a fine argument in favor of the former
variety. The reason for this wide diff
ference in the value of of two wheats
can only be accounted for by the value
placed upon the -four by the consumer.
and this, of course, must be the cor
rect way of determining same.
Flour fnom hard wheat is stronger.
will yield a far greater quantity of
bread TO given quantity of flour. ii
is sweeter. more nutritious and in
every respect n better bread flour than
that from soft wheat, the use of which
is confined almost wholly to pastry
purposes.
1t will be asked if our climate and
soil favor bench land farming We
have met many successful bench land
farmers that have raised wheat with
out irrigation and they agree in the
statement that il is mighty poor year
that will not give them a yield OF IS
bushels per acre. and generally the re-
ports are between 20 to so bushels
With irrigation. we know of crops that
run up to 40 10 As bushels, and the
majority Of yields from bottom lands
and irrigated bench land farms will run
from so TO IS bushels per acre; so that