The Dickinson press., 1909-01-30
RAISE DURuM

ers Advantages 10 be Secured
in Raising Durum Wheat and
Experiments to Show Same
One has only to glance over the page
of almost any current milling journal to
learn how highly benevolent the millers
feel toward the durum wheat and durum
-four. To read their column, one would
naturally think it was a crime t raise
durum wheat and high treason to make
flour from it. However, one milling
journal assures its readers that the
miller cannot be induced to grind durum
any more than the farmers can be in
duced to stop growing it. 1t really looks
therefore as if we would have to get
is no loss to those who have never eaten
bread made from this -four, yet it would
be to those who have.
1t is not unnatural to suppose that
the export trade would demand a uni
might object to a shipment of durum
wheat -four this month and a shipment
of common wheat flour next month.
AAAAos AAO"OvVAs 40 IN = q 0NAS0
ture on the durum wheat flour than it is
on the common wheat flour. There is no
doubt but what fashion demands at the
that is white in color. But fashion
changes easily, and the writer believes
that the American public would change
its fashion in bread if it was aware of
what a properly milled, Kubanka durum
wheat flour will produce in the bread
line.
This question is of Rreat Importance
to the western Dakota farmers and it
| should be settled honestly and fairly,
using data from all available sources.
Unfortunately the millers evidently do
not desire to settle the question with all
of the evidence at hand. A great many
of them, at least; wish 10 try the case in
an ex parte amer. This is human
nature, and we often try cases in a
similar way. One Minnesota miller
writes that the durum loaves make
pretty good paving blocks but that is
about all that can be said of them. No
doubt this statement utters the senti-
ment of many other millers.
1t is a fact that durum wheat yields
from 20 to Is percent more per acre in
western North Dakota, than the common
wheats. This is a conservative esti-
mate. If it is also a fact that Kubanka
wheat produces more flour than the COM
mon wheats. then that fact is of great
significance to our western. North Dakota
farmers. If, further, the durum -four
produces a loaf equal in quality to that
produced from the common wheat -four,
or even superior thereto. then we have
another significant fact. Taken to-
gether, these statements ought to be
mighty important to dry land farmers
of Dakota. if true.
Now, from the evidence at hand. it ap-
Epears that these statements are true, at
least when applied to a high quality Of
Kubanka wheat. No data from the
millers is available. We lave only
their general statement that durum
wheat cannot be milled at a profit.
While it may be true that it has no
been milled at a profit, yet that neee
not apply to the future.
The Dickinson station recently sen
some wheats to the experimental mill al
the agricultural college. Fargo. Among
the lot was a Kubanka durum and &
wheat known as Girka, which is very
closely allied to our fife wheat. The
Girka wheat showed itself even sup
erior to the average run of flies as
found in the state, according to Prof.
Laid. and it will thus be quite fair tc
the Kubanka to use the Girka as g
comparison.
The Kubanka wheat yielded II pei
cent total -four and the Girka yielded
68K per cent total -four. The Girks
seems to have a somewhat low floul
per cent. The average for a number Of
flies and blue stem wheats was 7ON
per cent. The -four in the expert.
mental mill was divided into three
grades. These were patent or frs
patent, first clear and second clear
The Kubenka wheat yielded S. Der cen
patent -four, or in other words over II
per cent of the flour was patent. Thi'
is. a very high percentage of paten
flour. The Girka yielded 50 per cen o
patent flour or a little over II per cen
of the -four was patent grade. This in
crease over the Kubanka is more thar
Offset by the greater amount of Kubank.
flour produced. About 4 per cent O
the Kubanka -four produced was tn
second clear or red dog and about
per cent of the Girka flour was thu
same.
1t makes no difference how much fl0u
a wheat produces if the flour cannot b.
used proitably after it is made
Gluten and baking tests were made o
the wheats. In these tests the Kubank,
flour showed it's durum characters
These characters are expressed in tn
comparatively low gluten expansion
and a trife higher dry gluten content
If we let the Kubanka gluten expansion
be represented by 68. then the expan
sion of the Girka gluten would be 80
This ability of the gluten to expan'
determines the size of the loaf, il
greatest measure. When the sam
amount of flour was used the Kubank'
loaf was a trifle less than 80 per cen
of the size of the Girka loaf. The tex
ture of both loaves were marked good.
The Kubanka loaf was of a yellowisl
cast. This yellow makes the loaf
rich looking one and is not the era!
color that marks the lower grades o
flour.
But setting aside all figures. the brea'
!, itself is evidence enough. The brea,
would convince any jury on sight
They wouldn't care about the clutter
exhaustion or anything else. They WOul(