Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-05-07
DURUM WHEAT.

DURUM WHEAT.
A correspondent of the Fargo For
UNI, who has made an expert study
Of .durum or Macaroni wheat, wrote
tae following article which should be
read by every person interested in the
growth and wealth of North Dakota:
Your editorial of April 20 urging
the Dakota farmers to use durum
-four is advice that If sounded down
the editorial llne through the Dako-
tas, and religiously lived up to, would
simply mean 100000 saved to the
farmers of the Dakotas, for that is
just how the 30 cents differential fig
ures out between 10000 900 and 30,
UO0, 900 bushels of durum wheat.
Let us review tne durum situation
and see where the farmers stand as to
durum today, and what of its future,
and how the future can be Influenced
for the benefit of the farmers.
The 100000 invested by Secretary
Wilson in connection with the distri-
button of durum seed wheat in 1900
has already given returns, durum har-
vests aggregating 5000, 100000 in
value. That's answer enough to any
one who refers to the growing of
durum wheat as an ephemeral fad.
II $4,000 investments in fads would
uniformly return $40 100000 in less
than ten years, fads would be the
most popular things on this earth
today.
The growers of durum have been
- h~~k ~
has had hard row to hoe, but no
harder than minnesota spring. or
Kansas turkey red" They ran the
gamut Of troubles thick and fast, and
by sheer worth downed the opposi-
ton, Just as is durum doing today.
So its, just case of history repeat
ing itself. Durum is NO chance, hit
or miss, fad wheat. Russia, Egypt,
Spain. Arabia, India, Chilli, Nicarau-
qua, South Africa, have raised it for
years. Russia prides herself on her
Kubauka wheat, and when the quo
tations go upon the exchange boards
Kubauka (durum) leads and carries
a premium-sells at the topmost
notch. And there's a reason, No
wheat in the world for bread or
pastry equals the -four made from
Kubauka durum wheat. Mark that
down In big letters. And the Dakota
farmers, ignorant of these facts, re-
fusing to eat the bread from durum
-four, they sell their aggregate crop
at a 100000 differential discount,
and 60 on eating bread from any old
flour the general store happens to
have in stock.
Again. What is it that gives a
value to any commodity? Demand,
arbitrary demand. If in a village one
house only is for sale and fifty new
Corners are after that house, want it
badly, we'll, that's arbitrary demand,
and the owner Of that house finds a
ready market. The demand exceeds
the supply. If on the other hand the
unsold houses dot the village streets
a score Of "for sale" signs in view,
and but one buyer, then the buyer is
in control-and he buys at his own
price.
1t is just the same with durum
wheat. Nobody in the Dakotas
thought enough of durum wheat to
eat durum bread. There was no
home consumption. The wheat was
shipped out. Maybe Europe wanted
it, some OF it, and may be the millers
and macaroni men might use some
and the demand being precarious and
uncertain, the elevator man said:
Thirty cents off, to the farmer and
he accepted.
What are the facts? The exporters
liked our durum, and If the farmers
would only plant Kubauka and Belo.
turka strains of seed, and take care
to send it out clean and up to grade
all Europe stands ready to take tel
times what we export today. They
don't use our durum or the Russian
or other durum solely for macaroni,
they use the flour for bread making,
and whenever traveller gets into a
district where durum -four is used
for bread, he remembers that district
because Of the bread he ate there"
Some Of our durum goes into domes-
tic macaroni, and it won't be long
before the manufacturers Of domestic
macaront will learn that blends of
soft and hard wheats may make
something called and sold as "mac-
.aroni," but the real simon pure goods
sof higa grade, capable of competing
with the foreign goods, can be made
only from durum wheat, and no
other. Ill. / H..
The mills grind durum into -four
but they have a way Of mixing 1t !
with softer fours and raising the
value Of the softer fours as bread
makers into the first place at the
highest prices. Estimates are more
or less reliable, and estimates have
been made that as much as IL, 900 900
bushels OF durum wheat have gone
into Minneapolis and presumably |
been blended with other flOurs. Again /
durum where it belongs is two things:
Arbitrary demand and q total har-1