The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-12

rarely be sold at the elevators or mills
and was considered an inferior article.
1t was grown in small quantities only,
and then it was generally fed to stock.
Since it's commercial value has been
demonstrated the production has in
creased from 100000 bushels, the larg-
est estimate in 1901, to at least $780,
goo bushels in 1903, an increase of
sixty in two years. On March Is
of this year durum wheat sold at Buff
falo at $1.03 per bushel. Since May
20 of this year 81 a bushel has been
offered at Buffalo for No durum
wheat. to arrive at the opening of nav
igation. A good export record was
made in 1903, although the quality of
the grain for export in that year was
the worst that it has ever been, or is
likely to be, because of the unusually
wet season.
Has Remarkable Record
In the entire history of the country
no other crop seems to have made so
remarkable record, and yet macaroni
wheat was once despised for purposes of
commerce. 1t is a striking fact that
100000 bushels of a grain formerly
rejected should be sold at fancy fig
ure toward the close of the winter, long
before the season opens. Most impor-
tant of all, much the larger portion
was sold to the mills for making bread
-four. Prominent authorities in Mime
sofa, where the -four milling industry
is Conducted as a science, We're declar-
ing three or four years ago that durum
wheat, as it is now called, was entirely
i'll suited to use for making bread -four
ct should properly be considered as IL
wheat of the highest class" says the
department of agriculture, in reporting
on the subject after a long and expen-
! sive series of experiments, ranking
with hard spring and winter, but should
be raised on its own merits and kept
absolutely distinct from either of
these"
The experiments were conducted by
Mark A. Carleton, cerealist in charge OF
cereal Investigations, and DR.. Joseph S.
Chamberlain, physiological chemist,
both of the department of agriculture.
A good deal of the work was carried on
at the South Dakota experiment sta
ton, but the researches covered many
states and territories. Millers and
bakers were interviewed by scores, and
many of them co-operated with the
representatives Of the government in
making the experiments. AS yet the
millers are not prepared to offer flour
made from durum wheat at an at
tractive price to the bakers, and SO its
use has not become general. 1t is prob
able, however, that this difficulty will
disappear as the miHers become ac-
quainted with the process of making
the flour economically.
The frequently high prices of this
class of the wheat also has an effect
on the price of the flour. of course, and
its use by the bakers. The use of
durum wheat for macaroni furnishes
material for a long discussion in the re-
port recently made to the department
on durum wheat, but the main object
was to demonstrate the suitability of
this grain for making bread flour.
There are large number of maeornii
factories in the United States. big and
little, although a large portion of the
macaroni consumed in this country is
imported from Europe There are a
number of these factories in the north
ern belt of states between the Missis-
sippi river and Puget sound-three of
them in Minnesota, of which two are
at St Paul and one in Minneapolis !:
one in Montana, two in Oregon. both
of WHICH are in Portland. and two in
Washington. one Of which is at Seattle
and the other at Tacoma. The depart
ment of agriculture has published a
full list of them in these and other
states. The people Of the United
States. nevertheless, import somethill g
like $4,000, 900 pounds Of nacaroni
every year. Walter E. Clark.