Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-10-26

Filling a Measure of Wheat Prepare
Grade of
Of prime Importance to the wheat
growing farmer is an understanding Of
dockage as the term is used in federal
wheat grades, and how dockage in
wheat is determined, since in grading
wheat under federal standards one of
the fundamental principles is to deter
mine the numerical grade on Il dock
age-free basis. With a few exceptions
the dockage is first removed from the
samples and the grade determined
with the clean or dOckage-free wheat.
Dockage is the foreign material
screened from sample of wheat to be
graded, by the use of appropriate hand
sleeves or other cleaning devices. and
consists of sand. dirt, weed seeds, weed
stems, chaff, straw, grain other than
wheat, and any other foreign material.
1t also may contain finely broken or
small, shriveled grains of wheat, IN
cases where such material cannot be
separated from dirt and other foreign
material by the use of appropriate
sleeves.
FOREIGN Material Determined.
The purpose of the dOckage provi-
sion in the federal wheat standards is
to enable the person grading the sam
pie to determine the approximate
amount of easily separated foreign ma
terial that is in the lot of wheat.
Therefore, dockage is approximately
the percentage of foreign material
which can be easily removed from the
lot of wheat by the commercial types
Of cleaning machinery commonly found
| In grain elevators and mills.
The dockage test is described in
Farmers Bulletin 1118 entitled Dock
age Under Federal Wheat Grades,
! which has recently been issued by the
| United States department of agricul'
| ture to aid wheat growers and others
in understanding this important fea-
ture of wheat grading as provided in
| the revised federal grain standards for
wheat, which became effective July 10
| 1918.
Dockage Test Described.
The dockage test is made ordinarily
by weighing 1000 grams Of wheat
| (about 2A pounds), which constitutes
representative sample. Grams are
| used instead of other units for ease in
determining percentages.
The dockage is separated from this
| 1.OO0-gram sample by screening with
pan sleeves of specified types or by
using a cleaning device which has been
| officially approveG. The d0ckage 50
separated is weighed and the percent
age is found, baset on the total weight
OF the sample including the dOckage.
| If the amount of dockage is below /
per cent it is disregarded. For exam
pie. if only one-half of l per cent Of
| foreign material is separated by the
means described above, no dockage is
assessed. This One-half of l per cent,
however, should not he returned to the
sample used in determining the grade.
If ~ per cent of dOckage is separat-
ed. l per cent of dockage would be in
dicated in assigning the grade. Thus
II will be seen that any fraction of a
per cent of dockage is considered as a
tolerance" in the standards.
indicated in Certificate.
After the dOckage is removed the
w, lott FFNt in 4
the grade, save in a few exceptions.
Dockage does not affect the grade as
signed to the wheat If l per cent or
more of separable foreign material is
found, dockage is assessed. In the in
spection certificate the amount is in
dicated Immediately after the grade
designation, as, for example, No. j
northern spring, dOckage ] per cent.
If the wheat seed used is carefully
selected, cleaned tested and treated
before planting if care is exercised in
cultivation and crop rotation, and If
the wheat is carefully threShed and
cleaned. there should be, ordinarily,
very little foreign material present
when the crop is marketed.
Apply to Foreign Material.
Two terms in the federal wheat
standard apply to foreign material-
"dockage" and foreign material other
than dockage." The former is foreign
material that is separated from the
sample of wheat by the proper use OF
appropriate hand sieves Foreign
material other than dOckage" is the
foreign material not separated in the
screening, and remains in the dockage-
free sample. Foreign material other
tbnn dockage," on the other hand, is
factor in the grade aud definite per
centages are permitted in each numer-
zeal grade.
Dockage Easily Removed.
Ordinary dockage can be removed
from quantities of wheat with compar-
atively simple cleaning machinery.
such as is installed in many grain ele-
vators and mills, or it can be removed
IN the farm with an ordinary portable
tanning mill equipped with screen
having perforations ike those speci-
fed for the dockage sieres.
Dockage found in wheat in many
cases is % real value, while in other