The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-09-16

no one Qr6dm6u, WIFI Lu6
exception of himself, that it's growth
and consumption would ever reach
the proportion that it has, and the
farmers located in the so-called semi
arid districts of Montana where this
wheat is so successfully grown have
much to thank him for, as the adop-
ton of this wheat as a crop has trans
formed parts of these states which
were previously of little value, into
one of the most productive wheat
belts in the United States.
Until recently this wheat came to
market comparatively pure, that it,
free from any admixture of other
grain, and of the finest quality, but
as the manufacture of macaroni dur
ing the interval had been developing
slowly, there was not sufficient de-
mand for the constantly increasing
volume of durum wheat and as a con-
sequence it was always at a discount
under the price of other wheats, with
the result that farmers were tempted
to seed the same ground with some
thing that would give better returns
When wheats of different type are
alternated on the same field an adj
mixture is sure to follow, and this
has been practised to such an extent
that the situation is becoming alarm
ing. This condition has been further
aggravated by carelessness on the
part of the elevators handling durum
wheat, considerable mixing having
resulted through their neglect to
properly clean out bins that had been
previously used for storing other
wheat.
Clean Wheat of High Quality Needed
In addition to the above, a variety
of wheat known as "Red Durum,"
which has practically no value for
macaroni purposes, has been intro
duced and is now grown in large
volume, and unless the farmers are
made to realize the seriousness of
the situation, the manufacturers will
be unable to compete successfully
with the foreign macaroni.
This Is bound to mean a decreased
demand for durum wheat products
which will be reflected In the price
of wheat to the farmer, and 1t is very
evident that if he Is to get the high
returns from his crop he must
grow clean wheat of high quality
can only be accomplished by
good clean seed on we'll titled
soil that is free from weeds and
other wheat.
Macaronf Becomes Staple Food
The situation at the present time
as regards the manufacture of maca-
roni products from durum wheat is
most encouraging. American manu-
lecturers very soon discovered that
through the use of the proper quality
Of durum flour and semolina they
could produce as high quality maca-
roni as was made anywhere in the
and the consuming public was
quick to recognize and appreciate the
fact, with the result that the demand
Tor American macaroni has grown to
such an extent that now instead of
It's being a rare dish with the aver
Furthermore, this fine
has been responsible for
building up a large export demand
which now absorbs millions of
pounds annually.
The American macaroni manufac-
,urers recognize that the growth of
heir industry is largely due to the
of pure durum flour and
3emolina used, and insist that the
nillers furnish them with the very
best, but it is evident that within re-
cent years farmers and elevator men
have become more or less careless in
the selection of the seed and the
handling of durum wheat, as a large
quantity of wheat has appeared on
the market with an admixture of
other varieties which will neither
produce good bread nor macaroni,
and although the quality of the wheat
may be of the best, it has been thor
demonstrated that flour
to breadmaking will not pro-
duce good macaroni and durum
wheat flour will not make good bread
so that an admixture of the two is
unsuited for either purpose; conse-
quently must sell at a considerably