TESTING FLOUR.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19715, 4 September 1929, Page 13

TESTING FLOUR.

! PRESENCE OF MOULD. I i EFFECTS OF RUSHED \ THRESHING. A smail though very important section of the work carried out by Mr H. E. West, chemist for the Wheat Research Institute, at the Christchurch laboratory, is the testing of flour, and he revealed some interesting facts to a. representative oi The Prks yesterday, as to the cause and effect of mould and the accompanying musty odour in some flour which taints tlie bread made with it. He stated that the primary cause of the mould was that the wheat was threshed and stored out of condition, and the problem to the miller was that ordinary "rule of thumb" methods when buying will not detect, to within two or three per cent, of accuracy, the exact moisture content of the wheat, an excess of which caused, under bad storage conditions, the formation of a species of mould. The millers, who bought and milled the grain in good faith often found that the presence of this musty flavour due to the mould made bread baked with it absolutely unpalatable, and they were left lamenting with worthless stores. It is only by a proper system of testing, similar to that used in the Institute's laboratory, that mould faults can oe detected accurately, and in this direction Mr West is doing a great deal of work. However, said Mr West, there would be no need for rank flour if the growers observed certain methods which would ensure that wheat was not threshed when out of condition, or allowed to get out of condition through wTong methods of storage. It was a general belief that wheat was a dead organism. It was not, but "breathed" in a similar method to human beings, taking in oxygen and giving off carbon di-oxide. Thus when the grain was stored, as it was, in lots of some thousands of bags, and away from a constant current of air, it could not give off its surplus percentage of moisture. A chemical action then took place, the various bacterial organisms combining to form the destructive mould. A similar result was precipitated by farmers, who, instead of allowing wheat to aerate thoroughly and dry in the stooks, rushed its threshing for market or other reasons, and then left it covered in the paddocks so completely with straw that the residual moisture could not get away. Leaving the sides uncovered was a good solution in the case of "rushed" grain, and this, largely, would prevent fungoid growths making headway. Losses through the presence of the taint of mould were frequent, and wheat was often rendered fit only for fowl feed when such a state could have been avoided. LAMB EXPORTS. AN AUSTRALIAN OPINION. The Melbourne "Argus" of August 23rd has the following: —Shipments of frozen lambs to the London market are being maintained, but reports of conditions in Great Britain are not encouraging. Quotations for lambs in the London market are about 7sd a lb., and export parity is about od a lbThese prices are lower than any quoted in recent years, and there seems to be little immediate prospect of a recovery in the London market. Prices were forced down by the action of the New Zealand Meat Board, which held heavy stocks in the hope of more payable prices. Stocks of New Zealand lambs are stilr heavy, and they have been exercising a depressing effect on the market. Prices may recover somewhat, but August and September shipment* of lamb from Australia will meet competition from lambs raised in Great Britain and Ireland. Graziers regard present prices as so low that any further decrease is improbable. Many have, therefore, decided to have their lambs treated at freezing works and dispatched on consignment to the London market. The quality of the lambs being prepared for.export has improved since the rain, which put a atop to the forced selling of immature, lambs. Arrivals of stock in Melbourne are comparatively light, and few lambs are being purchased by exporters. The export season from Australia has commenced at an unusually early date.

SHOW DATES. The following show dates for the ensuing season have been arranged: OCTOBER, 23 and 24—Marlborcgh. 24 —Ellesmere. 30 and 31—Timaru. 30 and 31—Wairarapa. NOVEMBER. 5, 6, and 7 Manaw .u. 5 and 6—Cambridge. 7—Ashburton. B—Rangiora. 13 and 14—Waikato. 13 and 14—Wanganui. 14 and 15—Canterbury Metropolitan. 16 and 17—Hawke's Bay. 19 —Waimate. 20 and 21—Egmont. 21—Courtenay. 21 and 22—Oamaru. 22 and 23—Nelson. 27 and 28—Otago Metropolitan. DECEMBER. 6—Wyndham. 10, 11, and 12—Southland (Royal). FEBRUARY (1930). 27 and 28—Auckland Metropolitan. MARCH. 22—Mayfield. 25 —Amuri.