The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1903-07-01
TWIN CITY LETTER
State Grain Inspection OF the
Law and Methods of WOrk-GOvernin
Rules and Who Makes Them-GOOd
Judgment Required.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE

The object and methods of state
grain inspection, including weigh
ing, has been so much written about
that the subject is beginning to ac-
quire a chestnuttv flavor. But hav
ing been requested to give the de-
tails of the work to the GAZETTE
readers | am more than willing to
do so.
Previous to 1885 all grain shipped
to Minneapolis or Duluth to be
sold was subject to the self assumed
supervision of the chamber of COM
merce or board of trade of these
cities, respectively, and the meth
DDS of weighing and inspection
were devised, and the work exc
cuted directly or indirectly, by
these bodies. And as these bodies
were made up almost wholly of
grain dealers-the men who bought
practically all the grain that came
to market-the feeling quite natur-
ally obtained among shippers and
growers that the inspection and
weighing of grain was carried on
too much in the dealers interest.
AS result of this feeling the leg
islature of 1885 passed the law Gre
ating and governing the state grain
department. The original terminal
points (plaees designated by law
for state supervisory were Mime
apoIis, St. Paul, Duluth and St.
Cloud. Later on, New Prague,
Winona, Willmar, Fergus Falls and
Little Falls were added to the list.
The last four places tried state SER
vice, but it proved too expensive
for the small quantity of grain they
had to inspect and the service was
abandoned.
At present St. Cloud and New
Prague have each one man who
does both weighing and inspecting
for the state, and St. Paul has four
men in the two departments. Du-
luth has 81 weighers, and forty in
spectors, including samplers, seal
ers and helpers, and Minneapolis
has sixty-seven weighers, and forty
four inspectors, including samplers,
sealers and helpers. These num-
bers represent about the average
throughout the year
Grain is inspected according to
certain fixed rules established at
the beginning of each crop year.
The rules are made by the state
appeal board, though the chief in
spectors and representative grain
dealers aud growers who are presen'
with samples of the new crop, are
consulted The rules are based
upon the peculiar conditions of the
grain for the current year, as ap
pear from samples and all the in
formation available. The variations
one year with another are slight
and are made to give the crop The
very highest grade that it's quality
and general condition will permit
The rules for spring wheat, thi:
: year, reduced to the fewest words
are as follows:
No. l Hard-must be sound
bright and we'll cleaned, and mus
be composed mostly of hard Scotch
Fife. 1t must weigh not less thai
fifty eight pounds to the measured
= bushel.
No. l Northern-must be sount
and we'll cleaned, and contain no
r less than fifty per cent of the hare
Il varieties. 1t must weigh not les
+ than fifty-seven pounds to the meas
ured bushel
No. 2 Northern-must be sound
reasonably clean, of good millin,
: quality and weigh not less thai
fifty-six pounds to the measured
bushel. This grade includes al
wheat of otherwise good qualit
which is not suitable for highe
grades on account of too much smut
cookie or other foul stuff.
Anything below No 2 Norther
is graded No. 3, Rejected or N
| Grade as quality or condition war
| rants. There are also many differ
| ent grades of Eastern and Southern
: white and red wheat, winter wheat
mixed wheat and macaroni wheat
!. The latter is more commonly know