BLEACHED WHEAT.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 87, 9 March 1876, Page 7

BLEACHED WHEAT.

. The following article from the l Adelaid,,pbserv'er, 'of 'January. 22-, contains, much'^that 'is^iris'tructive to the New' .Zealand far'mer.V:>-4Now: I tha6ithe* painful, , fact /..h.as,Vfo reed .itself tis that a large -quantity r-ofv the. wheat in ithe Colony' has beefi.ihdfjß arVlessi damaged .-bys'thelheavy'rainSfthatfeiLabouttChrist-' rtiis.l aridjtk^t 1 aycdfisiderable v proportion of thVgrain-ithatliSLVfijhdin^ its way to •market Cisy;- being, irepctdd /as:j.unfitj for shiomeiitjjtVbec^^ question andi ; bad;'sairiples.;arextQ.t.bei7^djustedj so jthatra rfair, and] equitable standard may . -Ibp'lixe^o^i^ may appeal for the- settlement of disputes that must inevitably arise be- -

tween them. In the first place; what real harm hos been done 1 Is the "injury one.of fancy or, of fact ? Is bleached wheat really as good as unbleached? Millers who have tried . it. say so ; tnat the flour is weaker and will riot maka anything like so many loaves to the sack as if it were made out of good wheat. And this is after all the crucial test. They claim a rebate of. 3d to 5d a bushef on the bleached samples in consequence. But ane the millers prepared to take a lowei* price for their flour ? If one half of it is made from inferior wheat, then it follows as a natural-sequence, that the article they produce is not as good as usual • and, as the raw material costs them less-, surely the manufactured product should be sold at a comparative reduction, It will probably be argued that a bushel good wheat weighs on an average say 641bs, whereas a' bushel of bleached wheat only weighs about GGlbs ; but wheat is not sold by measure. As regards those who biiy for shipment, their case is very different to the millers'. They have orders say for cargoes ol of South Australian wheat,, and their .customers expect to get wheat of a good sound quality, It would never do for them to ship grain bleached and otherwise damaged by the Weather. Thosa who, had given them the order would probably throw , the cargo on their hands upon arrival at its destination", and decline to trade with the' shippers in; future. ; Tt is self-evident that Eng- • lish . orders* cannot be executed* ; with, bleached wh^at. The only chance td get rid ofit is to ship it on consignment j and- will prudent people do this ? Our damaged wheathas lost the speciality foi* ' which South Australian wheathas hitherto been so justly celebrated. , It, haa not that peculiar strength and .dryness which rendered it so suitable for mixing purposes, and will now liave to compete at home with. New Zealand, and Tasmanian. sorts, and in fact . be classed with medium qualities ihsteadof firstrate" ones. . And this is all: the more unfortunate, from the fact that the.English wheats this year are very soft and damp, and selling at a very low price. .We are .assured by competent authorities l-ecently arrived Irom Home, that our bleached wheats will be very difficult of sale ih Mark Lane at even a reduction of 6d a bushel as compared with, the unbleached. We learn thsit hun* dreds of bags are beirg daily rejected at Port Adelaide, shippers positively refusing to receive it*, and that considerable trouble and annoyance en-ue to both shippers and agents. We hope, for the sake- of the good name of South Australia as the -best wheat-growing country in the world; that none of tho damaged samples will be attempted to be palmed off on English account. It is very easy to destroy a reputation even 'as goocl as ours, and once confidence is lost, the difficulties of regain*ingit are neither few npi* small. England is the rtiarket to which we shall have to look for many years to come as the outlet for the increasing surplus of grain which we hope to produce, and we say unhesitatingly that it would in the long run pay the South Australian farmers better to destroy every bushel of damaged grain they hold than injure their reputation in the best and largest market in the world by allowinginferior wheat to - be sent forward as though it were good. It is of no use shirking the Matter any longer. Material damage has been done to our wheat crop, and much of it is considerably, depreciated in value. Tlie question is. how to appraise that depreciation So as to be fair between buyei? and seller, farmer and dealer.. A suggestion has been made which appears feasible, and it is that the standard weight of good: wheat being, £xed : at.say 6 libs ■a. bushel,, so - that the . deduction to be -•mad©, would.be 4d a bushel .from tha current price for good sound wheat. A , market for it' would doubtless be found in, England. or elsewhere V; Vbut let it be shipped for , what .'it really is— grain slightly damaged- with' the rain-^-and not foisted off as a. lair sample pt South Australian, produce. . VVe hope that tha farmers ami . .those who deal in ; grain will be able to-arriveat some amicable and satisfactory arrangements, -.for as it is, ' business i 3 .exceedingly slack, and that,, too, at a seaspnof: the, year when i t sh ould* be at - its- heigh t.